ROUND OUNDUP UP therounduponline.net
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A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Volume 114 - Issue 3
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March 16, 2011
Lot 1 goes green With further construction comes car port solar panels Melody Soto/ Roundup
Jose Romero / Roundup
CHARGE: David Bromberg, ASO senator, firing up more than 300 students, faculty and staff at the “Enough is Enoughʼ rally Monday.
Pushing students to the limit Students rally together in fear of losing access to higher education Travis Vail/ Roundup “Enough is enough, stop the budget cuts” was the chant heard throughout Victory Boulevard Monday as students took to the streets to protest budget cuts and unit fee hikes in the Los Angeles Community College District. The protest, which was titled after the first half of the aforementioned chant, was organized by the Associated Student Organization (ASO) and attracted hundreds of students to its cause. The event began at 10:30 a.m. with a sit-in around the Brahma Bull statue, and continued an hour later with a march across the Mall and out to the intersection of Winnetka Avenue and Victory Boulevard. Members of the ASO were present for the duration of the protest, with about twenty members working alongside police officers to keep the crowd under control. “Legislators need to understand that [students] are watching them, and we’re going to hold them accountable for anything they do,” said ASO President Daniel Axelrod. Professor James McKeever was present at the event, using a megaphone to encourage students to continue fighting for their education. The protest was made possible by a special event permit acquired from the LAPD by ASO Senator Jonathan Fackler, which made him liable for any altercations that might have taken place during the protest. “I understand the legal consequences, but this is important to me because I’m fighting for something bigger than myself,” said Fackler. Students attending the event to protest held posters with messages ranging from “You’ve gotta fight for
your right to study,” to less playful sentiments like, “It’s easier to buy a gun than an education,” for passing cars to see. One unique example of student activism present at the event came from Emily Jackman, who is a linguistics major and covered her mouth with tape displaying the message: Don’t muzzle my future. In spite of the mixed messages presented in their signs and attire, most students involved in the protest expressed unity by wearing green armbands. “I felt as if, during the event, there were at least 500 people present,” said David Bromberg, who is an ASO senator and chairman of its scholarship committee. “We gave out 400 armbands, and there were still many without bands at the event.” According to Sgt. Thomas Mason of the LAPD, there were approximately 200 protestors present when the demonstration moved across Victory Boulevard to Mason Avenue. Though the event was aimed at addressing student needs, some students had differing views on the event. “It’s a good way to get out there and spread awareness, but do I think it’ll do anything? No. It’s not going to fix the budget cuts,” said Andrew Kitchen, a 20-year-old history major who claims he was unaware of the event before arriving on campus Monday. Just as with students, many faculty members on campus disagreed with the execution of the demonstration. “I don’t know if [publicly protesting] is the right or wrong way, but I think it’s an effective way,” said Fernando Oleas, who is chair
of the modern language department and claims his classes were cut in half by the protest. “If the students are silent, no one will listen to their needs; silence doesn’t carry a good message overall.” Richard Skidmore, who is an instructor of business administration, questioned the methods of the protest. “There are different ways of protesting; one is the community meeting with the legislature responsible for fees and the Crystal Endless/ Roundup quagmire that LISTEN: Emily Jackman, linguistic major, demonCalifornia is in,” strates the power of silence in a crowd. said Skidmore. Most of the promotion for the event took place an ASO senator and chairman of via Facebook; however, Dean of its scholarship committee. “We’re Student Services Marco De La going to come back bigger, louder Garza sent a school-wide email to and angrier if those fee increases go inform students of potential traffic through.” difficulties stemming from the In addition to Monday’s protest event that also spread awareness of and a candle light vigil for the death the event. of education that took place later The turnout for the event never that day, the ASO will send delexceeded the 500 students estimated egates to speak with legislators in in the special event permit, but Sacramento on March 21. members of the ASO were satisfied Additional reporting done by with its results. Mayra Bocanegra and Rodrigo “I think the most important Carbonel. thing is that it sets a precedent for tvail.roundupnews@gmail.com the future,” said David Bromberg,
Rentable fences guarding construction areas are visible almost everywhere at Pierce. In the next week, more fences are likely to be present on campus with construction now active in Parking Lot 1 since Friday and beginning in Parking Lot 8 very soon. Jim Allison is an employee of Swinerton, a construction company responsible for most of the renovations on campus, and serves as the project manager in charge of both lots. Work on Lot 1 began Friday, leaving the lot physically closed on Monday. “We are installing two rows of photovoltaic arrays like the ones in Parking Lot 6,” Allison said. Although construction on Lot 8 was scheduled to commence Monday, the date has been postponed. Paul Nieman, the vicepresident of Administrative Services and director of plant facilities, said it was likely that construction on Parking Lot 8 would start next week. Maura Salinas, 18, uses Parking Lot 8 frequently and finds its future construction inconvenient. “It sucks; in the mornings when I have class, it’s hard to find a space in Parking Lot 7,” said Salinas. “I park [in Parking Lot 8], because nobody parks here.” Emric Andrade, 20, is already unsatisfied with the way the present construc-
tion layout forces students to circle around campus in order to get to the opposite side, and he thinks that more construction could really impact students. “Students have a greater chance of being late to class because of a lack of parking; this could even affect someone’s grades,” said Andrade. According to Nieman, Pierce College is concerned with trying to maintain safe paths of travel for students while changes continue on campus. He added that maps are available to those who require them and questions regarding present activities are being answered as well. According to Allison, work on both lots is scheduled to go on until mid August. “There will be between 15 to 20 people working on both lots,” Allison said. Gabriela Moctezuma, 17, finds it difficult to study on campus. “It’s noisy everywhere you go,” Moctezuma said. Even though Moctezuma has been affected by the noisy atmosphere on campus, she believes that it is worth going through some disturbances because in the future students will benefit from the new facilities. “There’s going to be new classrooms and buildings that I will get to use,” Moctezuma said.
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Supporting the ASO Interim president reflects on history-breaking student protest Sydney Grossman/ Roundup As students rallied by chanting “enough is enough” on the corner of Winnetka and Victory, Pierce College’s interim president, Joy McCaslin was waiting to share her thoughts on the walkout while in a meeting. Acknowledging the student government’s efforts for hosting the ‘Enough is Enough’ rally, McCaslin was pleased that the Associated Students Organization (ASO) were doing their job. “The student government role is to bring issues to the student body,” McCaslin said. “Anything they can do to bring awareness is a good thing and I support their right to do that.” After an automated mass email was sent Friday, March 11, McCaslin had contacted Kathleen Burke-Kelley, Pierce’s president and Los Angeles Mission College interim president, to inform her on the happenings at campus. After several attempts to reach Burke-Kelley, no response was gathered from her on her thoughts and feedback on the protest. Still, McCaslin continued to show her support of the rally. “We, the admissions, are doing everything we can to protect classes and do as little cutting as possible to classes,” McCaslin said. “We don’t have control over the fees, that is set by the state, but we will do everything we can to protect the schedule.” McCaslin persisted to share her thoughts on duties being upheld on campus. While the staff is fighting to keep the course offerings consistent, it is still important for students to be aware of what can be affecting them. “This is certainly an issue that affects and is important to students,” McCaslin said. “When it has to do with cutting classes and fee increases, I am glad to see leadership there.”
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Whatʼs cooking? Food trucks are now open at both ends of the mall Tracy Hernandez/ Roundup After the departure of Bruce’s Catering from the campus, newcomer T’s Chili Wagon is filling the void with its gourmet chili and a variety of other foods. T’s Chili Wagon is located in front of the Student Services Building in Parking Lot 1, and operates between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Fridays.
The wagon is owned and operated by Tony Thomas, who notes that students have reacted well to it during its three weeks on campus. “I really enjoy the chili on my hot dog; it’s very good, and it tastes freshly made,” said Rebeca Mejia, a 20-year-old Pierce College student. The menu varies from hot dogs to cheeseburgers, as well as tacos and quesadillas. They also carry fries and bags of chips to supplement main courses. To quench your thirst, they carry sodas and lemonade. The operators of T’s Chili Wagon are always open to comments or
suggestions from students. “We are taking suggestions from students as well, in case you don’t see something you want here,” said Thomas. They also have specials, for example, during this week there was a special featuring an Albacore salad wrap with fries and a soda for $6. T’s Chili Wagon has signed a three-year contract to supply food for Pierce College leading up to December 31, 2014.
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