ROUND OUNDUP theroundupnews.com
Woodland Hills, California
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Volume 115 - Issue 9
Winter 2013 canceled
November 23, 2011
One copy free, each additional copy 50¢
Low state revenue means less funding for community colleges Lior Haykeen lhaykeen.roundupnews@gmail.com
Pierce College’s administration made the decision to cancel the winter session of 2013 due to low revenues and ongoing budget cuts, but they are still planning to have a summer session with reduced classes, the vice president of academic affairs said during an academic senate meeting Monday. The school wants to keep Fall and Spring semesters as full as possible and make cuts from summer and winter to accomplish reductions to the budget, according to Davies. The school’s administration announced the cancellation of the 2012 winter session during October due to a loss of almost $400 million in funding amongst California’s community colleges. Tier 2 cuts will take effect for the year 2012-13, but our district will use colleges reserves to cope with the cut according to Anna Davies, vice president of academic affairs. “I hope we will discuss how will we maintain our efficiency as a college” said Davies. There is no option of providing students with a winter session next year either because the state has declared that the school year of 2012-2013 will bring more budget cuts, according to Vice President of Academic Affairs Anna Davies. “I’m afraid for us,” Davies said during the Academic Senate meeting. “I have never seen so many challenges having to be faced at once.” With no classes offered in the winter, Pierce students wishing to transfer will continue to face challenges in obtaining transfer classes. “It’s bad,” said Pierce College student Eddie Torrescano, 20. “A lot of people are trying to finish their requirements and transfer. This is just going to delay us.” Both Davies and Tom Rosdahl, president of the academic senate, expressed concerns for the future with a growing square footage of classrooms. “We’re looking at a significant amount of size increase; the problem is right now we don’t have the money to increase students” said Rosdahl, after the meeting.
Angela Tafoya
ENGINE: Los Angeles Pierce College automotive students (L to R) Matt Wicksman, Jerry Palermo, Adam Downie (rear) and Kenny Leavitt lower a rebuilt engine into Palermoʼs 1970 Chevy Camaro in the Automotive Department Tuesday, Nov. 15. It took Palermo two semesters to rebuild his engine.
Construction reprioritized
Auto Tech and Horticulture buildings recommended to be built first Shannon Ma
sma.roundupnews@gmail.com
Angela Tafoya
ELECTRIC ENGINE: Automotive Technology Department Instructor Mike Van Dyke shows off the engine of an the 1977 Volkswagen Beetle converted by students from a gas engine to an electric engine .
The completion of campus construction projects was prioritized during a Pierce College Council (PCC) meeting Nov. 17. The decision to alter construction plans was made after new cost projections from the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) showed the reconstruction plans to be over budget. The cost of maintenance may also be higher than expected further jeopardizing construction projects. The PCC prioritized the buildings to be completed in the following order: Automobile Technology, Horticulture, Digital Arts and Media and Green Technology. This recommendation was
then sent to Pierce College President Kathleen Burke-Kelly, who will make the final decision. “Time is money with these projects,” said Joy McCaslin, vice president of Student Services. “It extends the time of how long we will have the management company here and there is a big risk in attempting a redesign.” Phase 1 of the North of Mall project, completed last year, was only half of the reconstruction. Phase 2 of The North of Mall project still needs to be bid on. Final budget figures for construction will be released by Chancellor Daniel LaVista as soon as they are completed PCC members argued that making decisions based on money would be pointless since they have no idea how much smaller the budget may become.
“This is a delicate chess game because we’re dealing with an unknown from the district downtown,” said Ed Cadena, project deputy director of the Swinerton Management Team. During the meeting, each faculty member defended the need to complete their own department’s buildings. The Digital Arts and Media building was meant to solve the campus’s lack of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA requires that all public complexes provide access to all areas for persons with disabilities. The Digital Arts and Media building was designed to include many different departments but would also include ramps and elevators to provide access to the top of the Art hill for disabled persons.
However, it was also argued during the meeting, that these ramps and elevators could be completed independently of the building, thereby costing less money. Tom Rosdahl, instructor of automotive service technology, said that to redesign or postpone the project would be a waist of the nearly $1 million dollars already spent. Meanwhile, advocates for the Green Technology Building argued that “green” tech would bring in the most money in enrollment fees since most new jobs will be green jobs. “We need to stop designing like we are an Ivy League school,” said Director of Facilities Paul Nieman. “We are a community college.” Contributing: Kevin Reynolds
Contribuiting: Sean Dullaghan
Sport teams lose funding
Angela Tafoya
VICTORY: The Pierce College football team celebrates its third consecutive win and claims ownership of the victory bell. Football is one of several teams to lose 50 percent of
Athletic cuts mean fewer away games, slashed travel expenses Alex Smith asmith.roundupnews@gmail.com Pierce College has been forced to remove 50 percent of funding from the athletic department due to the California’s state budget crisis, according to Pierce’s athletic director. The 72 schools in the California Community College
system have had their funding slashed by $400 million. The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has struggled to provide funds for its colleges after having its budget slashed by $28.9 million. Supplies, traveling expenses and money for meals will no longer be provided by the athletic department be-
cause of the funding cuts. Each team has been actively fundraising to attempt to make up for the lost money. “The athletic department always has a big X on its back when it comes to budget cuts,” said Athletic Director Bob Lofrano. “Athletics is a big part of American culture and it is my belief that if a school is going to have a program, it is their responsibility to fund it.
Our goal as a department is to not lose a sport. ” Donations made to the volleyball and soccer teams have been used to fund overnight stays and meals that have been cut out of their budget. R U Online? For the full story visit www.theroundupnews. com
Wed. Nov. 23: Partly cloudy with 20 percent chance of rain after 10 pm; High 70, Low 44
Sat., Nov. 26: Sunny; High 77, Low 45
Inside Sections
Sun., Nov. 27: Sunny; High 77, Low 40
Thu. Nov. 24: Mostly cloudy with 60 percent chance of rain; High 61, Low 41
Mon., Nov. 28: Partly cloudy; High 74, Low 46
Opinion page 2: Freudian Sip overpriced News page 3: Great American Smokeout Features page 4: New ASO Vice President A and E page 5: Noon concert and food reviews Photo Essay page 6: Dance Theater Sports page 7: Undefeated Volleyball trumps Cypress Sports page 8: Football season wrap up
Fri., Nov. 25: Partly cloudy;
Tue., Nov. 29: Sunny; High 70, Low 46
Sports Scores: Volley vs. Citrus: won 3 sets to 0 Soccer vs. Cypress: lost 2 to 0 Women’s Basketball: won 2 games, lost 1 in Barstow Tournament Men’s Basketball: lost 3 games in San Diego Tournament