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Volume 111 - Issue 06
Football victory - Page 7
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October 21, 2009
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Walking through the struggles Pierce’s GSA walks for a cause in Los Angeles Elliot Golan / Roundup
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Louie Heredia / Roundup
WALKING — Bill Davis (left) and John Keiffer, both school teachers in Burbank, hold hands as they walk down La Cienega Boulevard for the AIDS Walk Los Angeles in West Hollywood. Over 30,000 people attended the event and raised $3,146,206 in the walk’s 25th year.
he Pierce College Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) was one of 1,648 teams at the AIDS Walk Los Angeles on Sunday. The 25th anniversary of the walk was attended by more than 30,000 walkers and raised more than $3.1 million, according to James Leahy, team coordinator and fundraising specialist for AIDS Walk Los Angeles. Leahy said the number of teams and walkers has steadily increased over time, with the first walk having 4,500 participants. The Pierce GSA team had 36 members, according to GSA President Chris Murphy. GSA member Liz Komen said the GSA team raised approximately $1,400. By raising more than $1,000, Murphy agreed to complete the walk in a dress. She lived up to her end of the bargain, arriving in a black dress and brown Dr. Martens. “Sometimes I feel more feminine and sometimes I feel more masculine,” said Murphy, who identifies herself as a genderqueer. She had to purchase the dress specifically for the event because she did not own any. Celebrities of all kinds were present at the event, including AIDS czar Jeffrey Crowley and President Barack Obama. “I think there has been some complacency,” Crowley said, stressing the important of college
Louie Heredia / Roundup
SUPPORT — Ken Hansen speaks through a megaphone cheering and supporting walkers for the AIDS Walk Los Angeles as self-proclaimed “bible preachers” protest. students to “re-engage” their efforts. Attending AIDS Walk Los Angeles was stop seven of a 14-destination trip across the country intended to “develop...a national strategy” for AIDS, Crowley said. Former Pierce student and music icon La Toya Jackson was also at the event. Jackson, who said she took a 6 a.m. business law class at Pierce, urges the youth to get more involved. “Youth can spread the word faster with all the texting and blogging and twittering,” Jackson said. The very upbeat and festive mood was momentarily interrupted
as the walk turned onto La Cienega Boulevard and a group of protesters began yelling at the crowd. Don Stewart, 55-year-old construction worker, was one of the self-proclaimed “bible preachers” protesting. “The only way to stop AIDS is to stop the sin that started it,” Stewart said. “I’ve been attending these sodomite parades for over 10 years.” As the protestors yelled into the crowd, a volunteer for the walk, Ken Hansen, cheered the walkers SEE AIDS WALK PAGE 3
Mall construction delayed Improvements on mall postponed until January Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup Interim President Joy McCaslin announced at a faculty luncheon Thursday that the final construction on the mall will be postponed. The Mall was supposed to be completed in September but has been postponed due to “underground complications,” according to David Tsao, project director of Swinerton Management and Consulting. Swinerton is in charge of construction on campus. These complications included the removal and replacement of brittle piping in the area, some of which had been in place for the past 50 years, according to Tsao. Other obstacles in the way of completion, Tsao said, were the relocation of electrical wiring and
farm lines. All of these procedures are costly and time consuming, according to Ed Cadena, deputy project director. According to the California Public Contract Code, the Mall project was given a budget of $3.9 million and an allowance of up to an extra 10 percent for changes. Cadena said the unexpected underground replacements exceeded the $385,900 that was allowed for changes. In order to not violate the code, all remaining work to be completed on the mall project is subject to new bidding and approval by the board members of the Los Angeles Community College District. Tsao said the re-bidding process is what is expected to delay the completion of the Mall until Janu-
ary. A total cost estimate for the new construction is yet to be determined. New features on the mall will include palm trees and a fountain, said Richard Berliner, chief architect for the mall project. “There will be a sundial as well as a big Brahma bull statue,” he said. There will also be structures such as the “Big Bench,” and the “Big Table,” which will serve as a meeting place for students to congregate, according to Berliner. “This is a great project,” McCaslin said. “The Mall is designed for students. It makes the campus a lot more interesting.”
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Blood drive in Great Hall Oct. 29 American Red Cross ditches the van to see more students Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup The American Red Cross will be hosting a Blood Drive in the Great Hall Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. In previous years, the Red Cross had a donation van come to Pierce. Although mobile and easy to set up, it also presented problems; its lack of size forced students to wait in line, often under a blaring sun. “With the donation van, we could only admit two people every 20 minutes,” said Mynor Ar-
royo, an associate for the American Red Cross. “Now that we will be located in the Great Hall, we will be able to up that to four or five donators every 20 minutes.” There will be free pizza provided for students who donate, according to Amr Abushami, chair of ASO’s Public Welfare committee and the student behind the planning of the blood drive. Free T-shirts will also be given away. Large video screens will provide entertainment for students while they are waiting to donate, Abushami said.
Pierce College will be competing against other Los Angeles Community College District community colleges in the in the Red Cross’ new “Campus Challenge.” The school that donates the most units of blood will be crowned the winner and will receive a trophy inscribed with the school’s name, the total units of blood donated and the total number of lives saved. “Each donation saves approximately three lives,” Arroyo said. SEE BLOOD DRIVE PAGE 3
Jared Iorio / Special to the Roundup
A dark future — The house on El Rancho Drive sits abandoned at Pierce College as its demolishing date approaches.
Farmhouses called “uninhabitable” Former president Garber justifies the demolition of the farmhouses on El Rancho Drive Shannon Berry / Roundup Adjunct professor Dr. Lynda Toth questioned Interim President Joy McCaslin’s decision to demolish farmhouses on campus during the American Federation of Teachers meeting Thursday. McCaslin explained the houses, which were used to house the animals caretakers, contained hazardous materials. “Who will be around when a horse dies in the middle of the night?” asked Toth. Toth believes demolishing the houses is a tragedy. “When good people do nothing, evil will persist,” said Toth. The sheriffs will work alongside the agricultural technicians during the day and weekends, according to McCaslin. She also said a video surveillance system will be installed to monitor the animals. After the meeting, former Pierce College President Robert Garber explained why he made the decision
for the farmhouses, located across from Parking Lot 8. “The houses are uninhabitable and they do not need to be maintained any longer,” Garber said. “You wouldn’t want your worst enemy living there.” Garber said one of the houses contained asbestos. “Free rent in exchange for work and somebody living with their family (on campus) is unnecessary,” he said. Garber said the demolition decision had nothing to do with Swinerton and that it was made long before their relocation was decided upon. “The board questioned the first time (Pierce) renewed the contract for the houses,” Garber said. Garber declined to comment any further on keeping the agricultural tradition at Pierce. “I don’t work here anymore. It’s not my problem,” he said.
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