The sheriff's promise

Pierce College upholds sanctuary city initiative

VANESSA ARREDONDO News Editor @v_anana

Racial and religious diversity at Pierce has long been celebrated, but the upcoming revised immigration ban, the increase in deportation and the proposed border wall has fueled the undocumented community's anxiety.

The Pierce College Diversity Committee is working with faculty, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) to quell some fears brought on by recent presidential executive orders.

Dean of Student Engagement Juan Carlos Astorga has been a part of the ongoing dialogue. He and other faculty members and professors of Pierce College met with the sheriff and sergeant of the LASD to inquire if police procedure regarding immigrant students would be any different.

“We have to create a place where all students, regardless of documentation, feel safe enough to report crimes,” Astorga said. “If the students start to feel as though the sheriff’s office is going to play a role in deportation, that really creates an uncomfortable environment for students.”

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed executive order the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that would offer a two-year renewable reprieve of deportation to immigrants who qualified. Due to recent affairs, the future of DACA remains uncertain.

“There is a very significant intent to dismantle some of the policies that really created an opportunity for disenfranchised members,” Astorga said.

As a result, childhood arrivals are being advised to not sign up for DACA if they have not already. According to Fernando Oleas, chapter president of the American Federation of Teachers, signing up for the program now would expose them and make them vulnerable.

“They put their information thinking the government would protect them, but with the change of presidency… And I think it's really unfair,” Oleas said. “They came out of the shadows, believing in the system, and the system has betrayed them. Now we have to do something about it.”

According to Astorga, Pierce faculty members have kept an open dialogue since it became a possibility that the Republican candidate would be elected. Their main concern was the well-being of Pierce’s immigrant community.

“It does something to our psyche. Of course we are going to be afraid,” Oleas said. “Of course we are going to doubt the system. Of course we are going to see a cop and think, ’He's going to arrest me.’

Jose Salazar/ Roundup

We have to work through those fears.”

Volleyball wins big against El Camino pg.8 see Sanctuary pg. 3

The LASD assured them that they would not, and legally could not, detain or question an individual based on their immigration status. Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said in a statement that individuals should not be swayed by fear-based tactics used by opponents and the media that undermine decades worth of trust-building between law enforcement and citizens.

“This is our promise. It is also our department policy. Most important, it is the law,” McDonnell said in the statement. “We, as local law enforcement, do not have the constitutional authority, much less the extraordinary number of personnel required, to participate in mass deportations.”

Metro U-Pass rolled out

Pass provides cheaper transportation for students

SAMANTHA BRAVO

Managing Editor

@sammybravo93

Imagine not worrying about refilling your TAP card weekly or even daily. The U-Pass program will give students unlimited Metro transportation throughout Los Angeles County for $140.42.

The Pierce College bookstore will be implementing the U-Pass program and students will be able to purchase the U-Pass for at the bookstore starting March 13.

The Universal College Student Transit Pass (Pierce College U-Pass) lets students ride all metro local and rail systems for the duration of the semester.

Metro representatives are scheduled to be at the bookstore, March 13 to 16 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to help students fill out the Metro forms and answer questions.

According to Christine Valada, assistant administrative analyst at Pierce College, the program was going to launch during winter break, but they realized that many students don't take six hours of classes during intersession. The unit requirements was lowered to six units instead of eight.

“If you live where public transportation is convenient to take, $10 a week is how much it takes to take seven trips, but you can take this as many times as you want. It’s cheaper than two-day passes,” Valada said.

To qualify, students must be enrolled in at least six units and have a Pierce ID, which will be upgraded to a Metro pass.

According to Valada, students using the U-Pass gives Metro permission to track the data of how much transportation the student has been utilizing.

“In Pierce’s case, we are running out of parking space,” Valada said. “It saves the aggravation to park.”

According to the Pierce College website, the student can fill out the question survey in advance and bring proof of survey completion, payment and student ID to the employee transportation coordinator office building 1800, room 306 to pick up new student U-Pass sticker to place on their student ID.

The U-Pass works as a TAP Card, the student would tap their student ID on the farebox or validator to ride and allows the student to ride 23 other transit systems in Los Angeles County that accepts TAP Cards.

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For the first time, the annual student survey will be offered online. The district encourages students to check their student emails now through March 28.

Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Sanitations, and Environmental Compliance Inspectors have cleaned up the homeless encampment on the corner of Victory Boulevard and De Soto Avenue on Thursday, March 2.

Online Student Survey LAPD removes homeless encampment Film screening Thursday

The Hunting Ground” will be screened on Thursday, March 9 from noon to 3:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. A panel discussion with psychologists, health professionals and college administration will follow.

Bisexual, Pansexual awareness day in Great Hall

The Blatigenous club will present the “Bisexual and Pansexual Awareness Panel” today, Wednesday, March 8, in the Great Hall, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Student-led food pantry open Tuesdays

St.A.S.H. club has opened a free food pantry for hungry students in Iris 910 Tuesdays from 2:05 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. This is the first semester the pantry is open, after the club collected food donations throughout last semester.

California will be to Trump what Texas was to Obama. As such, California politicians are especially stressing the importance of voting, admonishing and warning the public that they can prevent events like these if they become involved.

A Silicon Valley lawmaker is proposing Bill 674 that would make every November election a state holiday. This bill would make it so that people in the workforce have the day off to vote. According to Evan Low, author of the bill, it would especially encourage lowincome individuals, who can’t afford to miss work.

Additionally, a state holiday would mean schools and universities would not be in session on Election Day, allowing the ever-elusive young adult voter an opportunity to cast their ballot.

The most common class sets at Pierce College are Monday/ Wednesday classes and Tuesday/ Thursday classes. Tuesdays are particularly busy class days. Students who are at school all day on a Tuesday don’t have the time to vote. If a student misses a Tuesday class, they might miss turning in assignments or knowing what the assignments of the week are.

President Donald J. Trump has proven time and again that people can be inspired to engage in politics and society.

The women’s march in January was the largest protest in U.S. history. Reports estimate ecause of the results of the 2016 presidential election, California, a traditionally liberal and democratic-voting state, now has to play defense against the federal government.that between 3.2 to 4.2 million people, or one out of every 100 Americans, marched in major cities across the country.

More than 1 million Americans signed a petition demanding that Trump release tax return records.

About 1.85 million Britons signed a petition demanding Trump’s state visit be terminated.

Trump definitely has a knack for uniting the masses. If there’s but one silver lining to this predicament, it’s that it has sparked a newfound interest in politics and civil engagement. No other issue since the Vietnam War, which drew 500,000 to 600,000 protestors to the streets, has united enraged youth as much.

The stereotype of the apathetic millennial slightly diminishes in the wake of physical manifestations alongside whining internet slacktivism.

Because Election Day is not a state holiday, voters cite work as a an excuse to not perform their civil duties. California has strived to remedy this situation by passing laws that would allow an employee to take paid time off to vote. This law makes it so that an employee can be payed for up to two hours. However, this law isn’t very well-known.

Although young people are more aware and vocal about politics, it’s the old people who are actually voting and eliciting change in government.

According to the California Civic Engagement Project, 33.4 percent of young adults registered to vote actually cast a ballot. Voter turnout gaps between youth and registered voters overall decreased from 20 percent to 13 percent in 2016, signifying that perhaps the abundant amount of media, money and attention directed at millenials was worth the effort.

However, CNN reports, voter turnout for the 2016 election overall was at a 20-year low. Of all the voting-age citizens, only about 55 percent voted. FiveThirtyEight reports that the voter turnout rate was 58.6 percent in 2012, showing a consistent decline through the years.

Civic duty is a chore. Every election, candidates take on the daunting task of trying to engage underrepresented and uninterested voting groups. Ethnic minorities and young adults make up a sleeping majority, especially in California, that lawmakers want to target.

Former President Barack Obama and 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders are credited with motivating youth and minority voters, but these are only rare spikes in decades worth of disinterest.

Voting is a drag. Googling the location of the nearest polling place, getting there and waiting in line is more effort distractionespeciallyifyour partnerisaneedyperson.You

Illustration by Beck Shields / Roundup than many want to give. And policymakers know the plight of lazy individuals, and those who actually cannot make time, which is why they have tried to make it more convenient by sending out mail-in ballots, though it would seem that this is still far too inconvenient for some people. By making Election Day a state holiday, citizens won’t have an excuse to not contribute to the policy of their government due unavailability.

“Datingincollegeisa distractionbecauseifyouare inloveitdistractsyoufrom focusingonyourschoolwork. Youmightendupskipping classtobewithyoursignificant other.”

Joana Euora, Undecided, 18

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