Cheers to the class of 2025
Cerritos College didn’t let the cold gloomy weather mess with its first GradaPalooza, a vibrant and heartfelt celebration honoring the achievements of its graduating class on April 25 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For many students, this wasn’t just a recognition of academic accomplishments it was a longawaited moment to truly feel seen, celebrated and connected.
“I think it’s an amazing
thing. They’re making a grand celebration for all students who worked hard,” said Kevin Salas, a 23-year-old business administration major.
He continued, “It’s great to see everyone having fun and eating while celebrating their achievements.”
For Zulema Lopez, a 23-yearold communications major, GradaPalooza was especially meaningful, “I graduated high school in 2020, so I never got to experience anything like this before. It’s very nice knowing the
Polynesian dance celebration
college cares about its students.”
Lopez highlighted that the Culinary Arts Department served appetizers, which she described as “pretty bomb,” and everything from ticket pickup to receiving caps, gowns, sashes, and honor cords was smoothly organized.
GradaPalooza offered a range of engaging and sentimental activities. “They had a cap decorating station it was really cute. Everyone was there with their parents or kids decorating,” Lopez shared.
Cerritos College held its second annual Lotus Laureate Celebration on April 30 transforming the Conference Center into a vibrant tribute to Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) heritage, resilience, and academic achievement.
There were also professional
grad photos, a photo booth set up, and vendors like Jostens offering class rings.
EOPS (Extended Opportunity Programs and Services) hosted a special ceremony where students received a frame, certificates, a sash and had the opportunity to take photos with their classmates at the Student Center.
Behind the scenes, dedicated staff worked for months to ensure the celebration was unforgettable.
Lisa Blod, a CalWorks counseling faculty member, reflected on the planning process, “We’ve been
The event honored graduates while showcasing Polynesian dance, cultural pride, and community solidarity.
Held in the college’s Conference Center, the ceremony blended academic recognition with cultural performances, headlined by Glory of Paradise – Polynesian Entertainment.
Dancers adorned in traditional attire captivated attendees with dynamic storytelling, which symbolized unity and ancestral pride.
It was such a great performance by Glory of Paradise, it was powerful, fun and emotional as well and the group was family-focused and excited to showcase their heritage.
preparing for quite a while, the whole year,”\
“We track which students are graduating, invite them, and organize everything to give them a meaningful celebration,” Blod said.
Blod emphasized the purpose of GradaPalooza, “Our goal is to honor our students’ achievements and create an amazing experience, especially for students in our special programs. I’m so proud of them. We want this to be a memory they cherish for a lifetime.”
Ranielle Gomez, a graduating student, reflected, “The Polynesian dance was very touching. It called back to people’s culture and brought the whole ceremony together, It’s something I’ll remember.”
For students, you can say that the event marked a rare opportunity to celebrate their identities at Cerritos College.
Liza Mangapit, a graduating student shared, “I’ve seen cultural events at universities, but never at a community college. This was very nice.”
The celebration was spearheaded by APIDA Task Force, a dedicated group working to amplify cultural awareness across campus.
Angie Campos Staff Writer
Karina Soriano Staff Writer
Couple prepares to take grad photos with their cap and growns to celerbrate their achievements during Gradpalooza on April 25th, 2025.
ANGIE CAMPOS
Ceramics students shine big at CCACA conference exhibition
was a major achievement.
Cerritos College’s ceramics program recently participated in the prestigious California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art (CCACA), an event that provided students with an exceptional opportunity to showcase their work, learn from renowned artists, and gain a deeper understanding of the ceramics world.
The conference was held in Davis, California, the 38th annual conference brought together ceramicists and art enthusiasts for a weekend of demonstrations, lectures, and exhibitions.
For Cerritos College, being invited to exhibit at the conference
The college was one of just 40 institutions selected to display student work.
“This is the first time Cerritos College has participated in the conference, and it’s a huge deal for our students. They got to see their work displayed alongside professional artists, and it was a truly rewarding experience for them,” Donna Robinson, a faculty member in the Fine Arts Department at Cerritos College stated.
Robinson shared the significance of this event, “The conference, organized by John Natsoulas, is a cornerstone for ceramic artists, and it focuses on inviting nationally renowned artists, mostly based in sculptural
work, to present their work and techniques.”
She continued, “It was an exciting opportunity for our students to not only attend the conference but also exhibit their work in a shared gallery space.”
A total of 10 Cerritos College students attended the conference and a total of 14 students participated in the student exhibition, representing a mix of experience levels, from introductory students to those in advanced ceramics courses.
Sarah Hinton, a returning student, described her experience of presenting her work at the conference. “I wanted to create something that represented a modern vessel,” Hinton explained “For me, reusable bags,
especially Trader Joe’s bags, are part of everyday life, so I used one as my model. I measured, sketched, and then created it with guidance from my professors. Being able to see my piece in an exhibition at the conference was amazing.”
Whitney Bartlett, a relatively new student to ceramics, also found the experience transformative. “This was my first ceramics class, and to have my work featured in an exhibition like this was so validating.
“I never thought I’d be showing my work alongside professional artists, and seeing the response from visitors was amazing,” Bartlett shared, “The whole experience was a bit nervewracking, but it was such a great learning opportunity.”
As Robinson mentioned, “The most significant part of the conference was having our students meet and learn from these professional ceramic artists. They were able to hear firsthand from artists who have been practicing for over 60 years, something they could never get from a textbook or museum visit.”
The conference’s schedule included presentations by leading artists, as well as a panel discussion and hands-on demonstrations, which allowed students to witness the creative process in real time.
The opportunity to interact with these artists was something students like Bartlett and Hinton found inspiring, “It was so interesting to see these ceramic artists talk about their work and their history. I learned a lot about their creative processes, and it inspired me to think about my work in new ways,” said Hinton.
For the students, the conference was more than just a chance to display their work; it was an opportunity to build connections.
Falcons Nest host soaring into finals
Angie Campos Staff Writer
With finals season creeping up, the Falcon’s Nest launched Soar Into Finals in collaboration with Student Health Services and CalFresh to help students manage stress and build confidence as they approach the end of the semester on April 23.
The campus became a welcoming hub of support, wellness, and encouragement, with various departments and programs tabling to connect students with resources and a sense of calm during a typically overwhelming time.
The event offered everything from fresh snacks and calming activities to prayer booths and mental health resources, creating a soothing approach to helping students tackle finals with confidence.
“We’re here to help students destress and develop coping strategies,” said Angie Beck from the Child Development Department.
She continued, “Whether it’s
The Falcons Nest hands out flowers to suppport students during Soar into Finals held on April 23, 2025.
drawing, doodling, or using a worry stone, we want to help them relax and step out of the academic mindset, even for a little while.”
The Teacher TRAC program had a strong presence, with staff and students sharing personal experiences and advice.
“As a current student with ADHD, I’ve found that coloring helps me calm down,” said Jazmine Ornelas. “It’s also comforting to know the staff supports us it makes a huge difference.”
Angie Oliva, another Teacher TRAC representative, emphasized
Get involved in upcoming events on campus
the importance of rest, “It’s okay not to think about class 24/7. Come in before you need help, so when things get tough, you already know where to turn.”
“Having snacks available before finals helps with energy and focus,” said Patricia Cardiff, a physical therapist assistant major in her second year.
“It’s one less thing to worry about, so I can focus on studying,” Cardiff stated.
Bernadette Ferrel, a licensed therapist from Student Health Services, explained their goal, “We’re teaching students techniques to manage stress.
“We offer therapy, case management, and workshops— and students can access the You App for free mental health tools tailored just for them.”
She also advised students for finals, “Breathe. Make a plan. Break your tasks into the smallest steps you can. You’ve got this.” Soar Into Finals wasn’t just an event—it was a reminder that students at Cerritos College are never alone.
Guest ticekts for commencement are available at the student affairs office until May 16.
Tickets are available to be picked up by graduates during office hours and a photo ID is required.
Red The theater department is hosting the musical in the performing arts center’s black box theatre.
and times, scan here:
Enjoy cute puppies, coffee, cookies and ways to cope with finals week. May 13 10:30 a.m - 12:30 p.m
Plant Sancturary Open house and ceramics sale hosted by the ceremaics department. Food, gardening workshop, children’s activities and more. All are welcome.
ANGIE CAMPOS
Angie Campos Staff Writer
Cerritos College ceramic students posing with their finished exhibition.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CERAMICS DEPARTMENT
Journey with Endometriosis: Kimberly Cuthbert
Isaac Cordon Editor in Chief
“I recall going to see Chris Angel in Las Vegas and I was excited the following day I was at the airport and I said ‘2018 is going to be the very best year of my life,’ Boy, was I wrong,” Kimberly Cuthbert who has been diagnosed with endometriosis said.
Cuthbert is a student at Cerritos College majoring in administration of justice was diagnosed with the disease in 2018 and continues to live with it to this day.
According to the World Health Organization, Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant.
Cuthbert started having symptoms of endometriosis in January 2018 and was unaware of the disease before having it.
“I went to the doctor and they told me that they felt tenderness on my right lower side. I decided to go on Google and I read all the symptoms and saw it could’ve have something to do with my ovaries or with my fallopian tubes,” she said.
Her primary care physician told her to take her issues to a gynecologist which didn’t help.
“I was seen by a nurse practitioner that I didn’t like…I told her, about the symptoms and she said that it was completely normal,” Cuthbert said.
However, the pain was not normal as Cuthbert went to a hospital and got two CT scans with one showing she had a ruptured ovarian cyst and was told to go back to the gynecologist.
“When I went to the gynecologist, he said that I wasn’t feeling pain, and that it was normal.
“Even though I was telling
him, I had so much pain and asked for surgery to find out what’s going on. And he said, ‘I’m not going to do a surgery.’
“So I contact my insurance, filed a grievance and I asked for a second opinion,” Cuthbert stated.
She met with two other gynecologists who also didn’t provide her care and told her she was faking her pain.
“I go to my car, I start crying and I’m like, ‘why is this happening to me?’ I went back home and I asked God for like a little bit of a sign that I wasn’t going nuts.
“I felt like I was going crazy
Vietnamese community remembers Saigon
and I felt like, oh my God, what if these gynecologists are right? What if the pain is actually in my head? What if I don’t feel anything? Until I start limping. So I know that it’s not in my head,” Cuthbert shared.
It was then that found out about endometriosis on social media.
“I started looking at these Facebook posts and I started I saw this post that said ‘what people see, what people don’t see,’ And all of them said the same thing endometriosis,” she said.
Cuthbert seeing these posts made her change her primary care
Duran Ventura Community Editor
Orange County commemorated the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon in April with floral wreaths and stories of perseverance at the Vietnam War Memorial in Westminster.
Wreaths from all cities across Southern California were sent to pay respect to those who were lost during the war.
In the county of Vietnam, they celebrate the anniversary as Liberation Day while in the U.S. it is known as Black April. After the fall of Saigon, the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
Korean American Justin Yun who’s a local photographer in Westminster came to the memorial.
“This is a big part of not only Westminster but also Southern California culture. I mean, we have one of the biggest Vietnamese communities outside of Vietnam, and I think this is a big deal because our country is intrinsically tied with Vietnam
The day of the surgery came and she reflected on how she felt when she got to the hospital, “I was like, ‘Oh God, this is it. This is finally like the moment of truth.’
“They took me in and I was already under the anesthesia because I was starting a feel dizzy and the anesthesiologist was talking to me and we started talking about Chris Angel and then I just knocked out.
“When I woke up the doctor confirmed that I had stage two Endometriosis. So basically my suspicions of 10 months, were right and I was ignored by all of these gynecologists who were telling me, ‘Oh, the pain is in your head, you don’t have anything. It’s normal for you to be feeling this pain.’
“And everything was great, you know, like, for the like after those couple of years, life was great. until it wasn’t,” Cuthbert expressed.
“I started getting the pain again in 2022 and then I get an endobelly which is when a woman looks as if she’s pregnant when she’s not pregnant. Her belly is inflated because of the endo.
“I ended up going to a variety of gynecologists again who once again ignored me even though I showed them the pathology report,” Cuthbert stated.
physician who then confirmed that she had endometriosis based on her symptoms.
“The only way for me to get fully diagnosed is to have laparoscopic surgery. The surgery was set for October 5th and come October 4, I was not doing well,” Cuthbert shared.
“I went to lunch with my mom, but I wasn’t focused because it was the day before my surgery and she told me, ‘You have two options. You can either go through with the surgery and finally confirm what it is or you can just back out of the surgery and keep suffering for the rest of your life.’”
because of the war over there,” Yun said.
In Orange County over 189,000 Vietnamese Americans reside in the cities of Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, and Santa Ana.
Linh Vo who was born in Banh Mi Tho, Vietnam, remembers the day that she and her family had to leave the war-torn country.
Vo’s dad, Canh Van Vo, was a two-star general in the war for the South Vietnamese. He eventually took his family, friends and neighbors to the docks to get on the boats to escape.
“It was late at night when my dad came home from work and that’s when he decided this is it we are not going to win this war we are leaving,” Vo said Vo and her family were on the boat for several days before they made it to Guam.
“We were there for three months before we got sponsored and came to the United States,” Vo said.
She was 13 years old when she and her family came to the U.S., and arrived in Minnesota in 1975
This brings her to 2025 where she still hasn’t been able to get any care for her disease, “I feel like it’s getting worse and I can’t do anything about it because I know that it’s always going to be the same thing,” she said.
Even though Cuthbert struggles to get care she is still trying and continues to spread awareness on Endometriosis.
“To all those women with Endo, you’re not alone. Join on social media groups there is a lot of research out there and keep fighting, don’t give up and keep advocating for yourself and file grievances,” Cuthbert finished.
and then moved to California a year later.
In Garden Grove, the Museum of the Republic of Vietnam honors the Vietnamese who fought in the war.
Anthony Doan, whose grandfather fought in the Vietnam War volunteers at the museum Doan said, “I like to volunteer here because I want to say thank you to all of the people who fought for South Vietnam like my grandfather because they are the reason why I get the opportunity to start a new life in the United States.”
In the museum, rows of display cases showcase the uniforms of officers who fought in the war.
One display case honors Minh Duc Hoai Trinh, a writer and a war correspondent during the war.
The exhibit shows her photo ID’s and the letters she wrote during the war.
Saigon fall to commuist forces to end the war in Vietnam on April 30 1975.
ISAAC CORDON
Kimberly Cuthbert, a administration of justice major sitting at a bench at Cerritos College on March 28, 2025.
DURAN VENTURA
Vietnam War Memorial in Westminster, California on May 2, 2025.
It’s weird to assume it’s for money
Let’s be real it’s weird to assume that sexual assault accusations are for the money and it’s time to call it out.
People on the internet are fucking weird. Users on social media like to have horrible opinions when it comes to celebrities getting accusations of sexual assault and immediately assume the victim is in it for the money.
In today’s world everybody can see everything and have an opinion on it which is fine as that’s exactly what I’m doing but for people to say disgusting things about a serious topic like sexual assault is plain out wrong.
The most recent case of this is the Shannon Sharpe lawsuit and how people online, mainly men, were quick to say the woman suing him was in it for the money.
Sharpe who’s an NFL Hall of Famer was accused of rape in a $50 million civil lawsuit which got him to step way from ESPN for the moment according to CBS news.
The moment this news broke people were quick to jump on the fact that Sharpe
was expected to sign a $100 million deal for his podcast, “Club Shay Shay” in April and that’s why the woman is suing. This is the best way this woman can get justice for the alleged assault because most perpetrators won’t go to jail or prison. According to rainn. org (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) out of
1,000 sexual assaults 975 of perpetrators walk away. Sense these social media users are so smart what else is the woman to do? Staying silent doesn’t help at all because a lot of victims of sexual assault already do so.
Only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. That means more than 2 out of 3 go unreported according to
Stop the sexualization of women in sports media
Karina Soriano Staff Writer
In the world of sports media, where you can say that analysis and aesthetics collide, women tend to be celebrated for their sports knowledge and reduced to objects of visual consumption as well.
A recent lawsuit filed by Taylor’s former hairstylist alleges that her entire career is essentially founded on being “arm candy” and utilizing connections rather than talent.
It’s not merely some cheap shot. It indicates a reflection of systemic misogyny that is embedded in the industry.
There is also the claim that Taylor’s hairstyles were “strategic tools” to manipulate executives, which shows the double standard faced by women of color in particular.
ESPN’s Elle Duncan, who endured criticism for her natural hair early in her career, notes: “When we straighten it, we’re ‘assimilating.’ When we embrace our texture, we’re ‘distracting.’”
Taylor’s choice to wear her locs in an updo, a style later dubbed, “The Crown” by fans, became weaponized as “proof” of calculated seduction rather than cultural pride.
The sexualization of women in sports media dates back to the ‘70s when networks began hiring female sideline reporters simply to attract the attention of male viewers.
Phyllis George, the first female co-host of The NFL Today, received a lot of criticism about her appearance rather than her opinions. You could say that not a lot has changed since that time.
It’s great that women are now hosting large
and woman is allowed to say they felt uncomfortable even if they originally consented to a sexual acts.
Pointing out that they were in a relationship doesn’t help their point either as a high percentage of sexual assaults happen in relationships.
According to the National Institution of Health 62% of the forcible rapes that occurred since age 18 were committed by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date.
Users on social media also just ignored the fact that the woman was about 20 years old when she states the rape happened which really should be the issue as Sharpe is more than 30 years older but to social media users it’s not because she’s of age.
rainn.org.
People also use the fact that they were in a consensual relationship to call the woman out stating that it can’t be rape if the relationship was consensual which is completely wrong.
According to rainn.org, a person is allowed to withdraw consent at any point they feel uncomfortable.
She and every other man
shows and operating podcasts, it’s something to be celebrated.
It’s disappointing that the whole objectifying aspect is still hanging on, even worse in today’s era.
A 2024 Knight Foundation study found that 58% of social media discourse about female analysts focuses on attire or physique, compared to 6% for men.
Joy Taylor is backed by her knowledge and resume, you’ll find she has 15 years of sports journalism and that she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast communications in 2009.
Yet the lawsuit reduces her achievements to bedroom politics, mirroring how ESPN’s Maria Taylor (no relation) was accused of “sleeping her way up” during her 2021 contract dispute, despite her segments consistently outperforming male colleagues in ratings.
You can’t exactly say the same for guys like Skip Bayless, though, because nobody gives him grief about marrying someone within the industry; his wife is a producer at Fox Sports.
It’s as though women’s professional relationships are treated as these sexual arrangements, and the male friendships are perceived as clever alliances.
We need to understand that sports media has nothing to do with gender, and a woman certainly deserves to dissect a touchdown pass, not based on her appearance, who she’s dating, or her physique.
The actual game is not with critics or courts, it’s with those viewers who are all about supporting true talent rather than stereotypes.
That’s such a weird take to have because just because she’s of legal age it doesn’t come across their minds that it’s morally questionable and is the law the only thing that’s stopping these people from going after a younger age?
Look if the point isn’t clear already just stop being weird and if you see this type of behavior on social media you should call it out.
couple of semesters,
am realizing there are
MOSES LOPEZ
Rudolfo Pina