www.theroundupnews.com
INSIDE
ROUND OUNDUP
Editorial: Mandatory orientation Pg. 2 News: Village assault update Pg. 3 Photo Essay: Round the farm Pg. 4 A&E: ENCORE Pg. 5 Sports: Danetta Boykin Pg. 6
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Woodland Hills, California
Volume 118- Issue 3
March 13, 2013
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Policy on fundraising revised District policy affects clubs Erika Correa/Roundup
ecorrea.roundupnews@gmail.com
Carlos Carpio/ Roundup
KICK: Members of the Martial Arts Club Michelle Allen and President Bernard Hanamichi demonstrate their training during Club Rush on Tue. Mar.12 at the Pierce College
Club Rush hits the Mall Roundup Staff /Roundup
newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com Pierce College’s Club Rush swung into its second day Tuesday, filling the school’s Mall walkway with students beneath open canopies competing for passers-by attention. The four days of Club Rush, an event hosted every semester by the Academic Senate Organization, Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., provide student clubs a platform to publicize themselves and attract new members. Club Rush offers a bevy of associations that suit almost any lifestyle, from the International Student Club to the Gay-
Straight Alliance. John LuBran, Business Economy Student Association (BESA) President, welcomed all comers to join his club. “We just want our club members to have a better understanding of economy,” LuBran said. “All of our events are free to attend.” Christian Pilipina, a representative of the Pierce Sampuso, a Filipino club, gave some insight as to what his club has to offer. “We have a fun environment for all young people, not just Filipinos” Pilipina said. “We often host donations with Pizzasaurus Rex and take trips to different concerts. Marieve Elliott, a pre-vet major in her first semester at
Pierce “I bounced around “We’re here to help encourage people in the pre-veterinary program to get to vet school, to help them any way we can.’ Eliott said her fellow club members and she help an LAbased outreached program, Catnippers, that rescues feral cats. “Some of us volunteer to work with Catnippers down in Downtown LA,” “We spay and neuter them.” Eliot also mentioned that the volunteers go out of their way to help wounded cats heal. “We also give them vaccinations, deworming, clean them up,” Elliott said. “Just to give them the best live that we can.
A revised policy on fundraising is raising concern among members of the student government and chartered clubs at Pierce College. The policy requires applications for fundraising events on campus to be submitted at least 45 days prior to the event, as opposed to 30. The deadline was also lengthened from 45 to 60 days in advance for off-campus fundraising, according to Associated Students Organization Club Council President Or-el Vaknin. Because of this policy, ASO clubs can’t fundraise as much as they can, Vaknin said. For instance, ASO wanted to raise funds for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, but the newly-pushed deadline prevented them from doing so, according to Vaknin. Additionally, raising money to aid those affected by natural disasters could also become an issue, as these events are often unforeseen. “If this policy was in place when Hurricane Sandy hit, it would have delayed [the fundraiser the ASO set up last semester],” Vaknin said. Rolf Schleicher, vice president of Administrative Services, says he had informed ASO of plans to revise the policy three months ago. However, there still seems to be misunderstanding between the students and the administration. “The problem is that most of the dialogue should have happened before,” Schleicher said. “I figured [discussions between ASO and clubs] were already happening. I’m going to sit down with representatives once accreditation is over.” The Roundup was unable to reach ASO’s president and faculty adviser for a response to the previous comment. [See FUNDRAISING, pg. 3]
Accreditation committee evaluates Pierce College
Pierce, Mission and Valley colleges are under inspection by 11-person team through Thursday Roundup Staff / Roundup
newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com
Jasson Bautista / Roundup
OPEN FORUM: Laurie Lema, Peter Garcia, Pedro Avila, and Sandra Stefani Comerford hold an open forum for the students and faculty of Pierce college in there accreditation of school.
RUONLINE? /theroundup @roundupnews /roundupnewsroom /roundupnews
Two years of planning for Pierce College’s accreditation culminates this week a team of 11 educators, a team from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, visits the campus to evaluate classes and facilities. The visit, which began Monday and will end Thursday, will determine whether Pierce meets standards that reaffirm the school’s accreditation. “Accreditation is important to students because it enforces good health and validation to the school,” said Mia Wood, faculty accreditation coordinator. “Courses that are accredited in this institution give students the chance to transfer to a four-year institution.” Full accreditation also enables the college to be federally funded, Wood said. The team members will have full access to the school and will be able to walk into classrooms and meetings at anytime, according to Wood. Back in Jan., the Pierce Accreditation Steering
P I E R C E The Pierce College Weather Station has provided meteorological data to national agencies since 1949. The information in this graph was gathered from weather.com
Committee—co-chaired by Wood—sent their selfevaluation to the ACCJC. “We respond to statements to show how the college does or does not show up to standards by providing evidence,” said Lyn Clark, chair of the Pierce College Council. The standards provided by ACCJC go over the technology the school provides, where the funding for the school goes, how the school is guided by their leader, and the plan or mission for the school’s and its students’ futures. “[The team comes] to this campus to confirm what they read in the document is what we do,” Wood said. After the four days of evaluating, the team will put together a written assessment that determines if the school’s standards are up to code and then meet with the ACCJC and discuss their findings. The commission will not make the final decision on Pierce’s accreditation until June. On the last day of the team’s stay, it will provide an exit report of the accreditation team chair’s summary of commendation and additional information, according to Jeanie Dewhurst, accreditation team assistant.
W E A T H E R
Wednesday March 13 High: 85° Low: 55°
Thursday March 14 High: 85° Low: 56°
Friday March 15 High: 80° Low: 58°
Saturday March 16 High: 87° Low: 55°
Sunday March 17 High: 80° Low: 46°
Sunny
Partly Cloudy
A M Clouds
Partly Cloudy
Sunny
Even though two of three colleges that were accredited last year were put on probation, Wood is confident that Pierce’s evaluation will not have a similar result. “Everything that the standards asked us to address has been addressed,” Wood said. “It’s all but impossible that we would lose our accreditation.” College President Kathleen Burke-Kelly said that, ultimately, what the team writes in its evaluation isn’t up to the school. “We don’t know what the outcome will be in July,” Burke-Kelly said. Wood said that the team is comprised of peers of the faculty and staff peers. “We are fortunate in that the people who serve on these visiting teams are our colleagues,” Wood said. “And they are donating their time.” There will be one more open forum, the last of three, for the faculty, and staff to address the team Wednesday at 10 a.m. before its exit report is presented Thursday at noon in the Great Hall. Though the team will be available for comments and questions, “They’re not hanging out,” Wood said.
R E P O R T Monday March 18 High: 74° Low: 46°
Tuesday Wednesday March 19 March 20 High: 72° High: 69° Low: 47° Low: 46° Partly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy