Roundup Los Angeles Pierce College
www.theroundupnews.com
Woodland Hills, California Volume 127 - Issue 4
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
For Student March go to page 7
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
At the forefront Construction scheduled for 2020 to expand agricultural program and relieve community concerns of campus safety
Admin sows the seeds for farm plans
Pierce is taking measures to enhance security
RANDI LOVE Photo Editor @Randi_Love29
Mohammad Djauhari / Roundup
The Farm land has remained vacant since the McBrooms last leased it for the Farm Center in 2015. Pierce College plans to use the land for educational purposes.
VANESSA ARREDONDO News Editor & RANDI LOVE Photo Editor
P
ierce College is moving forward with plans to use the property on De Soto Avenue and Victory Boulevard for educational purposes serving the Agricultural Program after the closure of the Farm Center left the area vacant for two years. Vice President of Academic Affairs Sheri Berger assured the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization (WHHO) during last Wednesday’s meeting that there will be no commercial or
residential development on the Pierce College farm. “We are a farm in the city, and that is very unique. I don't know another big farm sitting in an urban area. We need to preserve that,” Berger said. “That's what makes Pierce College so unique. We are serving students who grew up in the city, who may have never seen a cow, who don't know where their food comes from.” According to Berger, an agricultural education center is set to be built in 2020. The building will be 8,000 square feet and will act as anchor to the Agricultural Program, filling the area left by the Farm Center. Two greenhouses, each 1,000 square feet, will also be built in a way that allows future expansions
when funds become available. The Farm Center’s five-year lease ended in 2010, and owner and director Robert McBroom was given a year to vacate the property, the Daily News reported. After refusing to leave the property, the district and McBroom came to a settlement, which stipulated that the center would close indefinitely to the public the day after Christmas 2014, and the area would be vacated by April 15 the following year. According to Berger, the college didn't renew the lease because the primary goal is to educate students, and using that land and bringing it into the Pierce agricultural instructional program would provide more benefits and help complete that mission.
Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher added that the Farm Center was great for the community and provided K-12 educational services, but conflicted with the institution’s focus to provide optimal postsecondary education. “Until we changed what we were doing, we would never get the educational programs to move forward fast enough to give students what they need,” Schleicher said. “Across the state, there was a need for education in agricultural and plant sciences; there was a high demand for students, and our program was not fulfilling that demand. So, we made an assessment and decided to go in this direction.” The Farm Center was gone by
the end of 2015, and with it left the Halloween and Christmas festivals. The area remained vacant for about two years, and Woodland Hills residents became concerned that Pierce would get rid of the farm completely. John Walker, executive vice president of WHHO, said that for decades, there have been movements of people trying to acquire pieces of the land for commercial use. “The developers that drive past there everyday, their mouths water, and they just can’t believe that property doesn’t have something on it. That it doesn’t have 15-story buildings, ” Walker said.
[see farm on pg. 8]
The Brahmas take a knee
President Trump's NFL comment fires up political movement ARIELLE ZOLEZZI Reporter @ArielleZolezzi President Donald Trump’s attack on NFL players who took the knee didn’t stop them from protesting. Nor did it stop the Brahmas during their Sept. 30 home game against San Diego Costa Mesa College. Trump said Friday that NFL owners who see players “disrespecting the flag” should say “get that SOB off the field right now, he’s fired.” The president also took to twitter and said, “If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”
RUONLINE?
Many NFL players have taken after Colin Kaepernick, former 49ers quarterback, who started the movement back in August 2016. Since then, athletes from most of the NFL teams as well as high school athletes, college athletes and athletes of other professional sports have joined in on the protest by kneeling during the national anthem. The movement has also made its way to Pierce. The football team had a group of players kneel during the national anthem during their home game. Wide receiver Keith Marshall was one of the players who took a knee during Saturday’s game. “I don’xat really like Trump’s comments. If you want to take a knee during the national anthem, then you should be able to do that,” Marshall said. “I took a knee today, not necessarily because of the tweet, but because I
don’t think the world is in the best place right now, and it shouldn’t be a big deal if we want to show that it matters.” This subject has been a touchy topic. Some have taken the stance that the protest is disrespectful to the men and women who have served and died for this country. On the other hand, supporters of the cause say the protest is not about disrespecting the flag, but bring up the cause.
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Shae Hammond / Roundup Six Pierce College football players take a knee during the National Anthem prior to the game against San Diego Mesa College, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. For the game story go to page 9.
Interim ead coach James Sims said he is on both sides of the coin because he is a disabled veteran. He said that the president’s comments are disrespectful. “These are some terrible comments,” Sims said. “I fought for our country, but I was defending the constitution, and that goes along with freedom of speech and protest. I’m personally not going to kneel, but I don’t have a problem with people kneeling.
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It isn’t about the song or the flag, it’s about the constitution.” Many veterans have taken to social media to support the protest with pictures of them in uniforms and kneeling. Some family members of veterans who died in battled kneeled with their folded flags. [For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]
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In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting on Sunday morning, administration is reinforcing current safety guidelines and precautions. Pierce College Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher and Associate Vice President of Administrative Services Larry Kraus said the campus already has measures in place to help with pre and postincident situations. Kraus and Schleicher are among the 43 administrators and support people who have been trained for active shooter and other emergency situations. Staging areas and more than 18 100-person emergency supply depots exist around campus. “We have a lot of mutual aid arrangements in place,” Kraus said. “But to deal with an environment that is happening so quickly, what we also need to do is get a camera system in so that you can see where the issues are, and to what extent, and know what you’re walking into.” Schleicher said that the school has dedicated more than $150,000 to equipment for emergency response. Kraus said the teams constantly meet for training sessions and to make sure all equipment is up to date. There are three types of communication in place; mass text, the phone system and 2-way radios. According to the annual security report for 2017, in the event of a campus emergency, where it is necessary to notify students and staff of impending danger or critical information, Pierce has established a communication protocol to engage as many students and staff as possible, in the shortest amount of time. It is important that all current technology and communication modes be used to widely distribute the information as quickly as possible, but prior to that, Schleicher said, we have to look for things on campus that may be suspicious. “So the first thing is to try to get information, like if we hear anything that happened in a classroom or if we hear anything on the campus, is it related to a student or someone from the public,” Schleicher said. Kraus said it’s an ongoing process where the safety teams meet and keep up with things going on both on and off campus and also make sure equipment is working properly and not dated. “We have training sessions with the team, and they’re constantly getting new equipment and supplies. They’re testing their backpacks and the f lashlights,” Kraus said. “So, all the time, we’re always checking and rechecking to make sure we have the most up-to-date first aid and survival quick kits to help students and staff.” [see campus safety on pg. 7]
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