ASO president steps down

Interim president is interested in the position

MONICA VILLACORTA Reporter @Slesterphoto

Barbara Lombrano, an advocate for student leadership, announced her resignation from her position as ASO President after a year and half due to health issues.

According to the Dean of Student Engagement Juan Carlos Astorga, Lombrano did not want to be contacted and wished to have her privacy respected.

“She submitted a resignation as of last week, and I really want to be able to respect her privacy and support her decisions,” Astorga said.

Barbara was not available for comment.

According to ASO CoAdvisor Lara ConradyWong, they will have the executive board meetings divided between Vice President Amir Haghi, Treasurer Mkrtchian Mher and Club Council President Andre her goal to have these benefits for them.”

Necochea Barnett.

According to Barnett, the ASO constitution states that the vice president has to fill in the vacancy until further notice.

"The problem is that, for me personally, the role is a little bit too much, when you have to go from meetings to meeting,” Barnett said. “In the light of that, because it's a hard position to have. We are trying to divide the work. It takes a lot."

Haghi is making sure the role of presidency is compatible with his schedule, however he is looking forward to stepping up.

Haghi believes he has the skills and ability to take on the position.

“I think I have a good connection with the students and good relationships with the senators,” Haghi said. “I think that’s a good trait to have, to be able to communicate with people.”

According to Barnett, being a part of ASO committee gives them the opportunity to help Pierce College and the student body.

"We were missing Barbara,” Barnett said. “She was doing her part. Again, without her, we are supposed to fill in her part. We weren't prepared for this."

According to Wong, the senators have been really productive the past few weeks and is proud of the members for learning how to work together without Barbara.

“We have a really great group of senators who are eager to step up and shine at this time and represent students the best way they can,” Wong said. “We wish her all the best. She did such a great job. She worked so hard for ASO. We’ll continue to do so and thankful for her service.”

The solo goal for the Brahmas was scored by Destiny Brandstetter.

The last time these teams met was Sept. 27 at Pierce College at the Pit, which also resulted in a win for the Pirates, 4-2.

Volleyball to play first playoff game

The women's volleyball team plays Mt. San Antonio College in the first round of playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m.

The Brahmas come into this game with a 26-3 overall record and were undefeated in conference. Their last game resulted in a win over Glendale College by three sets, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20.

Open mic night

The English Department is organizing an open mic night on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in the Great Hall at Pierce College.

The event is open to the community. Participants can recite or perform their original works or material that was created by others. There will be a wait list at the event to sign up for a performance slot.

“I’m still trying to figure out my schedule, but I am interested in that position,” Haghi said. “It’s a big responsibility, but I’m ready for the challenge.”

According to Barnett, the president also has to attend the LACCD region meetings and represent Pierce College.

"She [Barbara] did everything she had to. She was on top of her game,” Barnett said. “She was working on the Metro discounted pass for all students and that was

“My grandma makes this cranberry relish sauce from Minnesota thatʼs super good. It has apples and oranges in it so I always look forward to eating that.”

-DeShawn

Cavanaugh, 19, Film/ TV Production

“My grandmotherʼs string beans, theyʼre from Italy. They are just authentic style and everything. It is so good! By far the string beans.”

- Michael Daggi, 22, Biology

It’s time to stop ignoring, or worse shutting down, opinions that differ from our own.

In the past few weeks since the United States elected its 45th president, it seems like about half of our country went through the five proverbial stages of grief. It started out with a general denial of Trump’s victory; the hashtag #notmypresident trended widely on Twitter and it seemed everyone was posting Facebook posts the length of short novels expressing their shock and disbelief. Then they moved on to anger as people across the country took to the streets to protest, which sometimes resulted in violent rioting. Next they tried bargaining, arguing the importance of the popular vote over that of the electoral vote. Now, though many are still scared and saddened by the result, our nation is slowly but surely arriving at that last stage of acceptance.

Acceptance doesn’t necessarily mean favorable reception, but it does require us to be open to reception overall. Beyond our reception of the elections’ results, we have to accept (and take responsibility for) the conditions we created that allowed this result to happen in the first place.

According to election results provided by AP.org, Trump won three states with a significant number of electoral votes (16-29) by a margin of just one percent. This means that the states voted so close that the difference between Clinton or Trump winning that state over was determined by 120,000 votes or less. Even beyond the electoral vote, Clinton only won the

“Whatever is leftover, I pile it on with deviled eggs. Itʼs the family tradition since i was young. We never really did turkey because everybody would pass out and we did not want that. We would give them ham so they can get the heck out. Plus I just love deviled eggs.”

-Ivan

Haley, 28, Education

“The wall of shame that happens. When someone falls asleep you take a picture of them, print it as fast as possible and put it up on the wall. You just try to not get caught sleeping. My grandma also canʼt cook turkey for the life of her so I enjoy eating the tamales she makes when theyʼre not dry.”

-Alondra

Sandoval, 18, Undecided

“My favorite part is when youʼre gathered around your friends and family and start eating.”

-Jessa Samson, 19, Accounting popular vote by a 395,050 gain. In light of how incredibly close the race for presidency was, there are probably far more people you know who in all likelihood supported the candidate that you didn’t. They might even be sitting right next to you. However, this election had a polarizing effect and people tended to cling onto their personal beliefs, quick to try to silence anyone who disagreed with them. We have got to start talking to people we disagree with. Isn’t that what healthy communication is all about? A discussion absolutely has to be between two parties. If you’re the only one spouting your own opinion and you’re not even willing to acknowledge the other side, what are you achieving? Offensive content shouldn’t be ignored; it should be challenged!

To quote Tom Walker’s fictitious political character, Jonathan Pie, “When will we learn that the key is discussion? When has anyone ever been persuaded by being insulted or labeled? Being offended doesn’t work anymore. Throwing insults doesn’t work anymore. The only thing that works is bothering, doing something, and all you

Should Thanksgiving be celebrated?

BRIAN CALDERA Reporter @BTVCaldera

Thanksgiving is one of America’s biggest and most widely celebrated holidays. It is a time to give thanks for the year’s good fortune, even if there is a surprising lack of good fortune to be found in the year. Even so, every fourth Thursday of November, millions of Americans gather around their dinner tables with family, friends and loved ones to celebrate the holiday.

In recent years, the tradition has received criticism about its origins and the United States’ treatment of Native Americans, along with many other cultures throughout history. Now, younger people are wondering if we should continue to recognize Thanksgiving or if we should reform the holiday to recognize other various cultures living in America.

The holiday should remain the same as it always has, not for routine or nostalgia, but rather for what it represents.

Although there are many similar holidays all around the world, Thanksgiving is distinctly and undeniably American, and should remain so. America is a country of immigrants; it always has been and will continue to be. But for decades these immigrants were proud to call themselves American. However, this is no longer the case.

In contemporary times ‘American’ is said almost as a dirty word.

Photographers: bcaldera.roundupnews@gmail.com

Individuals no longer want to label themselves as such or assimilate with the rest of the country, and instead stick closer to their own cultures. They are no longer MexicanAmericans, African-Americans or Indian-Americans, but rather Mexicans, Africans and Indians living in America. The idea of a cultural melting pot becomes more of a cultural stew.

All the different ethnicities are next to one another, but don’t mix. This causes the system to fail as communities become less integrated and more tribalistic and competitive with one another. As President Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This is more true now than ever before, especially in these turbulent times.

Now is the time to unify as a nation and treat one another as our own, instead of competing against your neighbors. Will the nation change based on whether or not we celebrate Thanksgiving? No, of course not, but it’s a start.

A holiday is a solid foundation, which we all can relate to as Americans. We may not be able to choose our families, where we were born or what ethnicity we are born into, but we can choose who we decide to break bread with.

Cartoonists:

In America there are two tales of Thanksgiving. There’s the story told to children around the country about how the Pilgrims shared a meal with the Native Americans, and then there’s the one told by actual Native Americans about the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1637, that followed the massacre of 700 Native Americans by English and Dutch mercenaries.

The second story is far more staining on the conscience of Americans and so we prefer to paint an image of the “Pilgrims and Indians” peacefully sharing a bountiful meal, and consequently instilling a sense of false pride.

Present-day Thanksgiving has evolved into a consumerist holiday that gives more attention to football and Black Friday deals than to the values of thankfulness or giving.

It is a holiday diluted with literal “white lies”, that continues to celebrate the violence perpetrated against Native Americans.

It is important to remember that the native Wampanoag welcomed and assisted the European settlers with their first harvest, only to be nearly wiped out by the warfare and disease.

Modern Americans are now starting to acknowledge the long history of brutalization suffered by indigenous tribes. Many cities have have to do is engage in the debate. Stop thinking that everyone who disagrees with you is evil, or racist, or sexist, or stupid, and talk to them!” begun to recognize Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day. This has helped generate a conversation about the treatment of Native Americans in the United States. It is time to also use the holiday to accurately represent Native American history in mainstream America.

When we categorize, group, and label all who disagree with us we create a dangerous mentality. We should be encouraging people to generate thoughtful, respectful discussion with others who might think differently than them. When we open up our minds and engage in intelligent conversation we’re taking the right steps towards change and progress.

Though Thanksgiving is beloved by many Americans and represents a long-held tradition, it is important to remember that just because people have been doing something for a long time, doesn’t mean that they should continue to do so.

Let us not continue to perpetuate the spread of misinformation. It is time to instead use this holiday to educate others and tell the entire story.

The recent election already has families talking about politics around the dinner table, so why not use this Thanksgiving to bring up a conversation about the true history behind the holiday?

To those arguing that a discussion would put a damper on the celebration, please keep in mind what Spanish philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” slester.roundupnews@gmail.com

Advisers: the editorials. Cartoons and photos, unless run under the editorial masthead, and columns are the opinions of the creators and not necessarily that of the Roundup. The college newspaper is published as a learning experience under the college journalism instructional program. The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff. Under appropriate state and federal court 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.