6 minute read
Bring back cart-pooling
Pierce and other colleges in the district will be subject to golf cart restrictions due to a new policy that came from the Los Angeles Community Colleges District Risk Management Department.
David Serrano, the Risk manager of Human Resources of the district sent the policy to the Rolf Schleicher, Vice President of administration. It prohibits unauthorized passengers from riding in the golf cart. The passengers include students and coworkers who come and go to their vehicles. The carts can’t be used for escorting people anymore.
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The issuance of the memo was based on an accommodation request sent under the Americans with Disability Act by a faculty member at a different college. However, the Los Angeles Community Colleges Board of Trustees can only issue the policy. Colleges can have a golf cart that is designed for emergency transport purposes only. The athletic trainers for example, can use the golf carts as they use them to transport injured or ill athletes.
However, if it’s not an athlete that needs assistance they cannot get the cart service that an athlete would receive. The injured person is usually helped by third party ambulatory services. It would be a disservice due to the amount of students that end up in hospital beds for minor injuries instead of being transported to the Student Health Center. Why would they want to be in a hospital bed if they could have treatment at the center?
The health center over the years has relied on the sheriffs to be the first responders to transport students for treatment. With this new policy the students are greatly impacted. The center is understaffed and the workers can’t leave patients to retrieve someone else from a different location on campus.
The golf carts can be used for regular work duties. All drivers must have a license, an acceptable driving record and also undergo a training for these vehicles.
The district participates in the California Department of Motor Vehicles Pull Notice system where each driver submits a form to Risk Management. This authorizes the district to be notified about actions taken by the DMV on any registered license. It provides electronic communication to the district in regards to validation of a driver’s license. If no forms have been submitted then the driver will not be allowed to drive.
In addition to, the driver must go through a safe driving and defensive driver training through the District’s Environmental Health and Safety Specialist which is also known as the Train the Trainer Program. The carts also can’t be used to transport students who are under the ADA. There is a shuttle bus that provides transportation however all operators will have to go through ADA Service Training.
Furthermore, the carts should be made available at anytime in case an emergency happens. So, why don’t we give the same benefits not only to athletes, but to any student who might need it?
It should be required for faculty to attend training so they can get informed on how to use the golf carts properly. The repercussion of the new policy will affect students and faculty. Why not allow advisors who are certified to use the golf carts and allow passengers to be escorted safely.
Pierce should frequently have fundraisers because they can be a luxury to the campus. By having fundraisers on a monthly basis, whether on or off campus, will be beneficial. Plus, let’s be real, if you look around or walk into a classroom it’s no secret that the campus could benefit from some extra money to fix or add certain appliances to classes.
Fundraisers can be the key component to saving a club and providing a science department with enough utensils to conduct experiments such as dissections. The finances collected from a fundraiser would not only be limited to classes, but could also help with various other purposes, such as providing new uniforms to the sports teams or plastic gloves and goggles to the Chemistry departments.
For the time that I’ve been a student here, I have rarely seen fundraisers take place. Yes, there has been the occasional one but that’s usually once a semester. Fundraising may seem like a terrifying idea to make happen. As children, it was a struggle having to solicit the local neighbor or classmate to purchase a chocolate bar or that watermelon smelly pencil. However, times have changed and it seems that college students are more likely to donate with a few dollars in order to help their department or campus become more competitive.
The fun part of helping with a fundraiser is that the students have a chance to inform the passerbyers the reason why they decided to
Photographers:
Ezzat Bekheet fundraise. It’s always good to inform unaware individuals that one of the departments is in need of materials or that the campus would like to have better Wi-Fi reception. Sometimes the causes for fundraisers not captivating the students are for similar reasons. There are different fundraising ideas that a club or department could do. Activities such as having food trucks down the Mall, doing a hopscotch challenge, an egg catch or even a gift wrapping fundraiser during Christmas are fun options. As a result all these ideas could be done outside of campus and it would help that it provides more space to conduct the activities.
Fundraising doesn’t have to be difficult. As students mature they are more likely to be daring and have fun. They are also aware of why they’re donating money and if it comes with some good food and fun, they are sold.
It’s understandable that some college students that host said fundraisers cringe at the thought of having to do so, especially with the circumstances that they must deal with people who can be uncooperative and insolent. As a result, fundraising can be a challenging process but it can also have its enjoyable side. Fundraising is an amazing experience. Fundraisers are an opportunity to socialize with and meet new people. If Pierce were to have more fundraisers it would surely help out the campus more than anything would.
Ahmadreza Rastegarrazi
Abdolreza Rastegarrazi
Dane Igharas Taylor Arthur Travis Wesley and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by the virtue of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the L.A. Community College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof. that all of the set designers are students.
Part of the experience of attending a higher education institution is discovering a career path to pursue. For some students, the decision is quick, while others take time and explore different options by taking courses.
Some departments on campus lack funds or don’t even have the money to hire the necessary staff needed to run classes. Fundraisers are one way of garnering revenue to support deprived departments or new additions, but it won’t be effective.
Different fundraisers would begin to compete against one another. Fundraisers are used when major events need to be funded. A field trip, money needed to replace band equipment or funding a new department, but when there are multiple departments in need then how do we decide which to fund?
It’s not fair to fund a specific department over another because it’s deemed more important or more popular. Fundraisers cannot be set up often because there is not enough money to go around.
During these fundraisers, students, families and other generous people will be giving money but there is a limit to how much can be given. Students have to pay for books and other supplies, so even if they wanted to give as much as they could, they have other expenses to deal with first. It’s the same deal with families and other people helping.
It takes time to establish a fundraiser plus the hassle of coordinating it with administration. There is a process and there’s no easy way around it. There’s also the need for volunteers. Frequent fundraisers would slowly yield less and less results.
Fundraisers could be set up on or off campus which is allows for diversity of events. There could be yogurt events or skateland events for off campus. On campus fundraisers would have their themes but eventually ideas will become worn out and overused. To make money you need money. It’s the same thing for fundraisers. There is a need for a small amount of money or more to go into setting up fundraisers or for advertising the event. Spoken word can only go so far. A good way to draw attention is with pictures, video, or with another form of visual content as it gives a sense of what to expect. With frequent fundraisers there would have to be frequent amounts of money going into advertising. It would become a cycle of garnering money to replenish the amount spent and the money needed for the cause. If it were very few departments in need of funding, there wouldn’t be much of a problem fundraising. However, there are problems that each department faces and the amount of money needed to solve them is not something mere fundraisers can do.
