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A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Volume 119 - Issue 4

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Bobak Radbin

INSIDE

Pierce defeats West L.A. 41- 16 . . . . . . Page 8

One copy free, each additional copy $1.00

Senate addresses accreditation issues

New accreditation coordinator Tracy Wright News Editor Caleb Johnson Roundup Reporter

Mohammad Djauhari / Roundup

DEFENSIVE LINE: Coach Kort Huettinger holds back West L.A. football players after they discovered their valuables were stolen.

Theft at Shepard Stadium West LA football team’s locker room gets raided at last game Kashish Nizami Roundup Reporter

“I think their whole coaching staff and their whole team could’ve handled it better, and we could have handled it in a beter way too.” -Bobby Sojka Pierce Safety

West LA’s football team realized they lost more than just a game on Saturday night at approximately 10 p.m. when they returned to find their valuables missing from the visitor’s locker room at Pierce’s John Shepard Stadium. Sometime during the second half of the football game between the two schools, the locker room was broken into and an undetermined amount of property was stolen, according to Campus Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Gary Novelich, though some players claimed to have lost large sums of cash, iPads, iPods, cell phones, and car keys. One player on the team said he lost $2000. “At the conclusion of the game, once people from West LA College

determined that their property was stolen, a [verbal altercation] occurred,” Novelich said. “I started heading up this way a couple minutes after 10 [to respond to the confrontation].” There were 10 to 15 squad cars and a helicopter in response to the altercation and not in response to the theft, Lofrano said. Sheriffs lined up in a barricade with batons in an effort to keep the two teams away from each other, however, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Al Guerrero additional assistance was necessary from the LAPD, Lost Hills, the Transit Services Bureau, and the College Bureau after the crowd overflowed to the parking lot. Out of frustration, the players also damaged mats and air vents, broke windows and a fence, and wrote on walls, according to Pierce wide receiver’s coach and Assistant

equipment manager Torry Hughes, Athletics Director Bob Lofrano, and Pierce head coach Efrain Martinez. At one point a player from West LA College, defensive lineman Michael Addison, picked up a long metal rod and headed toward the crowd before a coach physically stopped him and tore it from his hands. The opposing team’s coaches shouted and cursed at authorities and reporters on the scene, and families of the players varied in levels of shock and anger. “That’s bull,” West LA’s head coach Marguet Miller yelled at police before turning to another coach. “They don’t want to hear nothing; let’s go.” “Don’t talk to me ever!” he shouted at officers before grabbing another screaming coach to re-enter the locker room. [See THEFT, pg. 3]

In the Academic Senate meeting on Monday, Oct. 7, members discussed a resolution acknowledging potential wrongdoings of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges’ (ACCJC) decision to close San Francisco City College and revoke their accreditation. The decision was made in July, affecting roughly 90,000 students and faculty, according to Senate member Kathy Holland. The ACCJC is one of seven regional accrediting commissions and accredits community colleges and other associate degree-granting institutions in the western region of the U.S., according to their website. “The CFT (California Federation of Teachers) has taken a leadership role in fighting against the ACCJC for their somewhat brutal tactics that they’ve leveled against some of the campuses,” Holland said. “Fortunately for us, here at Pierce we’ve been doing such a good job that we have not been at the receiving end of some of the harsh treatment that they’ve given to other campuses.” Pierce College is newly reaccredited by the ACCJC after over a year of working to meet the ACCJC’s strict compliance codes of accreditation. According to Accreditation Chair Greg Gilberston, the ACCJC will be back in March to make sure Pierce has followed through with their requirements of adjusting Pierce’s integrated planning, authentic assessment of student learning outcomes, and internal control (grants, and financial aspects). The lack of control over the ACCJC and their practices seems to be the biggest problem the Academic Senate and other community colleges are finding. “Well that’s the issue, nobody seems to be watching the ACCJC,” Holland said. “That’s why we’re having this resolution. We’re trying to get the DOE to actively look into and investigate the practices of the ACCJC.”

While Pierce College has currently met the ACCJC’s strict requirements, the Academic Senate fears any new repercussions affecting the campus and students in the future. “We’re asking the dept. of education to step forward and take a leadership position in looking at and investigating ACCJC in terms of ethical violations, bad practices and so on,” Holland said in the meeting. In other Senate news, the vote for the upcoming accreditation coordinator lead to two ties before the president had to decide in favor of one of the candidates during Monday’s meeting. The tie was between Constance Moffatt and Margarita Pillado, first 17 - 17. When other viable voters arrived, a revote ended 19 - 19. Pierce’s President Kathleen Burke tipped the scales in favor of Margarita Pillado, and broke the second tie. Pillado’s activity and experience made her stick out slightly above Constance Moffatt in Burke’s eyes, though she affirms all the candidates were equally skilled and capable. Margarita Pillado, a professor of Spanish in the modern language department, was voted by the senate as the suggested upcoming accreditation coordinator, and will be shadowing under the current coordinator so she can be eased into the work-filled position. “It’s a way to serve the institution in ways that go above and beyond serving in the community level,” Pillado said. “I hope to serve the institution very well.” The position handles the followup reports for the recommendations given by the ACCJC. To do so, various committees, organizations, and stakeholders must be brought together to get a detailed look at the school and its operations. Greg Gilbertson, the current accreditation coordinator for this year, will teach Pillado how the job works and what must be done. Gilbertson just recently came back into the position, having occupied the position from 2004 to 2007 previously. “I think the candidates were all excellent choices,” Gilbertson said. “I think the college will be in good hands.”

Pierce publishes annual campus crime report Meet Your Major // Online Kat Wilson Roundup Reporter The Jeanne Cleary Report reflects crime statistics about Pierce over a three-year period and is posted and updated annually by the sheriff’s department, according to Associate Vice President of Administrative Services Larry Kraus. The report gives the students and the public information about how safe the campus is in regards to specific areas of issues including rape, assaults, and robberies, Kraus said. Along with the Cleary Report, the Security Report - a report that is attached to the Cleary Act - is

RUONLINE?

produced and posted on the Pierce College website, Kraus said. Both reports benefit all students and anybody who has an invested interest in the college and its safety and security, Kraus said. “It’s extremely important to us,” Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher said. “It’s important to make sure that we have a safe environment for not only our students, but faculty and staff as well.” Crimes on campus effect Pierce’s reputation, so this report is issued to let the school know what areas need to be improved, Schleicher said. “Our goal is not just to serve [the student body] daily,” Schleicher said. “But to also make sure that we have a college that’s being

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recognized in the industry, too.” In regard to reputation, a lot of students get jobs based on where they have gone to college and the reputation the college has, Schleicher said. “We’ve had so many incidents on the campus in the last six months,” Schleicher said. Crime seems to be escalating slightly, and it might be because of economic times that are making going to school difficult for students, Schleicher said. The report will help the Sheriff’s Department and the Administrative Services prepare better, Kraus said. “I think the Act will help because we look at the trends,” Schleicher said. “We look at what’s going on.” Recently, 10 cadets have been

The Pierce College Weather Station has provided meteorological data to national agencies since 1949.

brought back into the Sheriff’s Department. The Administrative Department said that the budget was difficult to deal with, and that having the cadets on campus provided a physical constraint where money was concerned, but they are an important element to the campus. “They make sure people are secure and safe here,” Schleicher said. “Especially since we have 20,000 students, some here at night. Some areas are really dark.” Therefore, the cadets were returned to the campus to learn and gather experience through handson work at the campus. “They’re the eyes and ears of the department,” Schleicher said. [See REPORT, pg. 3]

Mohammad Djauhari / Roundup

MAJOR: Anndy Ardon, 23, talks to Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Sociology James McKeever in the Great Hall.

W E A T H E R

R E P O R T

Wednesday Oct. 9 High: 66° Low: 51°

Thursday Oct. 10

Friday Oct. 11

Saturday Oct. 12

Sunday Oct. 13

Monday Oct. 14

Tuesday Oct. 15

Wednesday Oct. 16

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High: 79° Low: 53°

High: 83° Low: 56°

High:82° Low: 55°

High: 82° Low: 56°

High: 83° Low: 55°

High: 79° Low: 53°

Showers

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