Roundup Los Angeles Pierce College
www.theroundupnews.com
Woodland Hills, California Volume 127 - Issue 1
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Trump's DACA repeal causes uproar Former A s many as 800,000 nationwide will be affected TAYLOR THIBODAUX Reporter
T
@taylorthibbs
he termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by President Donald Trump has forced Pierce College staff and students to come forward about their concerns for the future of the school and the individuals who will be affected. DACA is an immigration policy that gives undocumented minors, who were brought to the United States as children, eligibility to receive a work permit and a two-year reprieve from deportation. Political Science instructor Denise Robb went into detail about the concerns her DACA students have expressed to her via email or in person. “They won’t be able to go to school anymore, and they won’t be able to work anymore, and they are going to be deported. That’s the worst one. They are going to be sent to a country that they haven’t lived in since they were a year old. They don’t know anybody; their family is here,” Robb said. On Sept. 5, LACCD Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez issued an email to the district on the matter. He provided details about the number of recipients who are enrolled. “This morning, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) has been rescinded. He has directed the Department of Homeland Security to "wind-
Coaching shakeup Sabolic and Hughes out after Saturday win vs L ASW JOSHUA MANES Managing Editor @themanesevent
While the days following a win are normally a time for celebration, the mood quickly changed for the Pierce football program Monday when the coaches and players were informed of the terminations of head coach Jason Sabolic and defensive coordinator Torry Hughes. Saturday’s home win against the Los Angeles Southwest College Cougars saw 14 personal fouls between the two teams, a player ejected from each side and a sideline penalty against a Brahmas assistant coach. Animosity between the two teams was obvious, and culminated in the Cougars foregoing the handshake following the game. Athletic Director Moriah Van
RUONLINE?
down" the program, and has signaled to Congress time to address this issue over the next six months. This ruling affects our Dreamer student population, within the approximately 11,000 undocumented students, enrolled in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD),” Rodriguez said in the email. Maria Bates co-chair of the the Diversity Committee expressed concern about what may happen should Congress not come to a proper conclusion in the next six months. “If Congress fails to pass legislation to protect our DACA students, people will suffer, both emotionally and economically, and not be able to legally work. They may be taken advantage of by exploitative employers or may avoid getting the help they need at hospitals or from the police. They will be treated as criminals even though they are innocent,” Bates said. Efren Lopez, the Pierce College ASO president, is a DACA recipient. In a Facebook post, Lopez told the story of when he first arrived to the United States. He said that he is no different from anyone else who is a citizen. “I was brought to the United States when I was 3. I was raised by the same values and morals like any other American child would be. This country raised me, and I like to call it mine. And while just the legality status of my presence in the United States is of difference, I am no different, as a person than a citizen,” Lopez said. He expressed how fortunate he is to be able to experience what he has as a recipient of DACA. “I am grateful for living in such a beautiful country filled with diversity and opportunity. I got to f ly across the nation because of my filmmaking abilities, and I got to f ly across the nation again because of my political affinities,” Lopez said. tthibodaux.roundupnews@gmail.com
staffer dies
Bill Judge, campus plumber, dies in motorcycle crash JOSE HERRERA News Editor @jose_herrera012
Taylor Arthur/ Roundup
A protestor who did not want to be identified holds up a sign as she walks toward Union Station at the Defend DACA March on Sept. 10, 2017 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Norman stated that there had been a change in staff and declined further comment. First-year assistant coach Lucas Melo is unsure of the specifics for the firing. “There’s been some things that happened this year I’m not too sure about,” Melo said. “I guess there’s been some decorum violations, that’s what I keep hearing.” Sabolic was shocked by the decision on his first infraction and receiving no formal writeups or any other disciplinary actions prior to the firing. According to Sabolic, the decision was made based on decorum violations reported at Saturday’s game. “I was never shown the reports, they were all taken at face value,” Sabolic said. According to Sabolic, the only specific violation he was made aware of was profanity, and that a “lack of control” was cited. “We’re all at a loss,” Sabolic said. “But there’s really nothing you can do about it as an at-will employee. To be just dismissed like that after dealing with a lot of change., new athletic director, season coming up, no support. It’s difficult to swallow.” Counselor John Roberson, who works with the school’s athletes, said he was not aware of all the reasons for the move. “I can most definitely say that the decision was made with the
thought process that, long-term, it was in the best interest of the student athletes, the institution and adhering to the mission of the school,” Roberson said. According to Hughes, it was actions at Saturday’s game that led to the change. “Apparently at the game Saturday there were witnesses of behavior that wasn’t conducive to a college environment or wasn’t what the college wanted from a football coach,” Hughes said. “I just don’t understand why I was terminated at all. I was on my best behavior Saturday.” The news caught coaches and players off-guard. “I showed up to the facility at around 3 o’clock yesterday thinking we were about to get ready to go over film and all that stuff,” Melo said. “Next think you know, Sabolic comes in and tells us he’s been fired. After that went and told the kids.” Players were noticeably upset upon hearing the news, and Melo and other coaches have been working damage control to keep the program rolling. “There’s a lot of parents calling, a lot of kids concerned about the situation. But we’re going to move on,” Melo said. “These kids are here to get out. At the end of the day the assistant coaches are all here for the kids 100 percent.” Vice-President of Student
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Services Earic Dixon-Peters could not comment on specifics for the decision. “At this point in time we’re working on a transition plan,” Dixon-Peters said. “Our number one priority is to make sure the players are ok and this season continues with the least distractions as possible. We understand this is a huge distraction.” According to Melo, he and assistant coach Dylan Flannery will take over defensive duties
while John Austin will run the offense. “There’s been talk about an interim but we’re not sure who that is yet,” Melo said. “The program moves on, everything keeps going. We have our toughest opponent probably of the year coming up this week against Southwestern, so we just gotta get ready and prepared.” jmanes.roundupnews@gmail.com
Brahmas top Cougars
Shae Hammond/ Roundup
William “Bill” Judge, a Buildings and Trades skilled plumber in the Maintenance and Operations Department, died Tuesday, Aug. 29 in a motorcycle accident on his way to work at Valley College. He was headed southbound on the U.S. Highway 5 when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle crashed, The Daily News reported on Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at 4:40 a.m. Judge began working for LACCD in 2001 at Los Angeles City College. He began working at Pierce College in 2004 before transferring to Valley in April. “On behalf of everyone who worked with Bill at Los Angeles Pierce College, we add our condolences [to] his family and friends,” Pierce College President Kathleen Burke said in an email. Judge is survived by his wife and three adult sons, Valley College President Erika A. Endrijonas said in an email. “He will be missed by everyone who knew him, especially at Valley and Pierce where he worked most recently,” Endrijonas said in the email. “Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts at this difficult time.” The funeral services occurred on Sept. 8. According to Operations Manager Rodney Allen, the funeral was open to family, friends and coworkers. A group of Pierce employees attended the funeral to support the family and say their farewells to Judge. Allen said that when he first heard about Judge’s accident, he was shocked because Judge had been riding motorcycles for a while. “He had a dirt bike that he would ride to work that was street legal,” Allen said. “He would ride to work often. So, I felt that he was a good rider.” Judge reported to General Foreman Dominic Gasperi under general trades, but when Gasperi was off campus due to business, Judge would report to Allen. “Whenever I directed him to do something, he was never a problem,” Allen said. “He was always helpful and helped anybody with everything.” Pierce College Director of Facilities Paul Neiman said Judge was a hard working employee. “He was a good person who always did his best for the campus and for his family,” Neiman said during a phone interview. “He will be missed.” Judge was known for wearing fluorescent shirts so that everybody could see him, Allen said. He joked around a lot and loved to talk about Kansas City football.
Sterling Salguero stiff arms a Los Angeles Southwest defender to avoid a tackle and advance down the line at John Shepard Stadium [For the full story visit at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. theroundupnews.com] The Brahmas defeated the Courgars 55-21. jherrera.roundupnews@gmail.com
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