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Inside: Waiting for Godot
Roundup A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Woodland Hills, California Volume 124 - Issue 4
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
No border on studies
Media Arts building in limbo
Group calls for more Chicano Studies classes on campus
Budget problem dissolves plans TIFFANY BERWAGER & GABY SORIANO tberwager.roundupnews@ gmail.com gsoriano.roundjpnews@ gmail.com
MAX SULLIVAN & KELLAN BRADLEY msullivan.roundupnews@ gmail.com kbradley.roundupnews@ gmail.com Latino students constitute 44 percent of the students at Pierce College but Chicano Studies students are often forced to drive to other campuses to take courses due to only three sections being offered this semester, according to Chicano Studies Professor Angelita Rovero. Only one of the three Chicano Studies sections is taught on campus. Political Science professor, Tony Fernandez, teaches one class online and another that meets at Monroe High School. Students from the group Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan, started a petition to demand more Chicano Studies classes and spoke out at accreditation meetings held in the Great Hall last week. Death Studies major Melissa Robles said Pierce is a Spanish serving institution and given Latinos are the majority demographic on campus it is disheartening to not have the classes they want to take. “The fact that it [Chicano Studies] isn’t available to us is stunting our growth and our minds,” Robles said. “That is where our fire stands. That’s what we want to learn and it is not being offered.” Pierce College is a feeder school to CSUN, which has one of the largest Chicano Studies programs in the country, according to Rovero. The curriculum is already available at other schools in the district including East Los Angeles College, where Rovero also teaches. ELAC has 59 sections in 19 Chicano Studies courses listed in their spring 2016 schedule. [See Chicano Studies, pg. 3]
Shift in CSUN program Pierce to counsel students for Kinesiology program
GABY SORIANO Staff gsoriano.roundupnews@ gmail.com Kinesiology is an impacted major at California State University Northridge, which sparked the Pierce College Counseling Office
a physical day, inquiring about playing for the team. “He brings a lot of spirit,” Dao said. “He’s always the one who wants to practice. He’s always the one who wants to stay longer. He’s the one who wants to play and that’s the kind of thing I want to see is that my guys play beyond practice and get better.” A few weeks after joining the team Avakian told Dao about his accident and how he has limited function. Even then, Avakian works hard and is a persistent player, never backing down from a challenge. “He has a disability but I like how he is always very positive all the time and he wants to try harder and harder,” teammate Daniel Barrega said. “He’s always trying to encourage us. It’s very motivating to see someone like him on the team. I like his spirit.” As a result of his dedication to swim, Avakian had obtained a full ride from University of Southern California and opportunities from
The future location of the proposed Digital Arts and Media building continues to be up in the air after updates on the project last week discussed alternative options. The scenarios presented to the user group are to renovate the current library building, renovate the village 8200 just for Media Arts, or reduce the size of the proposed building. The ongoing discussion about the Digital Arts and Media building plan leaves the former library empty as it becomes more evident that limited space on campus is a common issue among all departments. Assistant professor of photography, Sean McDonald, voiced his discontent with the current housing for media arts, at Tuesday’s meeting. The department has been constantly in trailers and moved about the campus since its beginning. “I’m in a trailer that could fall apart in the next three to five years,” McDonald said. Project Manager Ed Cadena said the project is $5 million over budget at the Pierce College Council meeting on Feb. 25. Members of the Facilities Advisory Committee, discussed potential campus repairs and upcoming construction projects at a meeting on Tuesday March 15, 2016. Following Tuesday’s meeting, Rolf Schleicher, vice president of Administrative Services, told the committee that the budget has to be talked about due to lack of funding. Funds need to be allocated, and the priority list for construction needs to be discussed. Some projects may be deselected and defunded in order for higher priority projects to be completed, according to Schleicher.
[See Avakian, pg. 7]
[See Media Arts, pg. 3]
to offer a workshop in the Transfer internships they can participate in to Center. be a noticeably contender. There are seven impacted majors “We wanted to do this workshop at CSUN, meaning they have more to educate students interested in qualified applicants than there kinesiology and what they need to is space. Norine Fine, academic do to really help themselves to be counselor, helped to organize the a more competitive applicant for Kinesiology workshop. CSUN and other campuses as well,” “This is the first time we’ve done Fine said. a kinesiology workshop and one of Fine said in the past she would the reasons we decided to do this occasionally have a student be is because the kinesiology major at interested in Kinesiology, but it has CSUN is now impacted,” Fine said. become more popular. Since it will be the first time “Most of the campuses do have that CSUN’s Kinesiology major is impaction in their kinesiology impacted, Pierce College counselors programs and it has really become a do not know what type of effect this very popular program,” Fine said. “I change will bring to the students think it’s partly because Kinesiology, applications or what CSUN will be as opposed to the biology major, has looking at for the program upcoming a lot of attraction to somebody that fall. is not interested in doing all the preCounselors said that when a med type of coursework.” major is impacted the selection Elvin Garcia, Kinesiology criteria becomes more rigorous. major, attended the workshop and Selection criteria includes GPA and was satisfied with the information the completion of the student’s major provided about the types of careers preparation courses, according to he could pursue. Laura Chen / Roundup Fine. “The slides gave a lot of The purpose of the workshop Pierce College Counselor David Turcotte inform students about descriptive information of each field was to better inform students on Kinesiology classes and resources availble on campus. and that was helpful,” Garcia said. what core classes they must take and Alejandra Morales considered
kinesiology two years ago but was surprised there weren’t many workshops available. Morales found the workshop helpful and thinks it could benefit students with organizing their classes, especially for kinesiology because it’s like a science major having to take chemistry, biology and physiology. “I think it helps people with organizing their classes and which classes you have to take each semester and for time managing too,” Morales said. “These workshops help students be more prepared and I do think attending can benefit them,” Fine said.
Mohammad Djauhari / Roundup
Anthony Avakian was an accomplished swimmer in high school before a car accident left him in a coma. He now plays tennis for Pierce.
Advantage, Avakian
Tennis player in search of another serve at life after accident JOSE HERRERA Staff jherrera.roundupnews@ gmail.com
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tudents passing by the tennis courts on a game day for the tennis team would not suspect that player Anthony Avakian, who serves two handed, had suffered a head injury that left him in a coma for several months. On March 23, 2013, then 18-yearold, Avakian was driving from his grandparent’s home in Las Vegas to his mother’s home in Los Angeles at 2 a.m. with his 14-year-old brother when a semi truck hitch had come undone hitting his car and causing him to veer off the road. Avakian’s car flipped several times before coming to a halt. He was unconscious with a severe head injury, a shattered shoulder, several broken facial bones and cervical vertebrae. Hours after the accident both brothers were transported to Loma Linda Hospital where they
were treated for their respective injuries. “It just shows that life is a struggle and that you have to work hard to get it,” Avakian said. “Each thing is a test in life. That tested my faith in god, my belief in who I am and what I want to do with my life.” Doctors had to remove the right part of Avakian’s skull to reduce swelling that occurred. He was in the ICU for approximately three months before he became responsive. Then doctors put him into an induced state to help him recover and all the while his family were by his side. “It was very serious and because of my grandfather, I’m capable of doing it,” Avakian said. “He stood by me every single day motivating me that I could do it and I will do it because he’s there. My family is inspirational because they’ve been beside me but also my brother who saved my life the moment of the accident to after.” To help Avakian recuperate from the accident he underwent six cranial plastic surgeries. After two
years of on and off hospitalization Avakian has regained most of his motor abilities he lost with some assistance from physical therapy as well as recovering his cognitive abilities. “For probably six months I wasn’t walking,” Avakian said. “I was in a wheelchair. After another six months I started slowly progressing to my walker to without a walker and walking by myself.” Before the accident, Avakian was a wrestler and swimmer. He attended the junior olympics for the Sandpipers swim club back in Southern Nevada in 2013. He had gone to the 2012 state championships for swim, participating in the freestyle 15 meter and also qualified for the butterfly, placing 4th. Now, 21-year-old Avakian swings his tennis racket for the Brahmas. He tried to go back to swim but the left side of his body still struggles to function as it used to. In January, Avakian approached head coach Long Dao during
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