ROUNDUP Los Angeles Pierce College
www.theroundupnews.com
Woodland Hills, California
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Protest Volume 128 - Issue 12
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Column
Brahma Queer Collective organizes sit in at The Great Hall to voice concerns over campus issues
Randi Love / Roundup
Vice President of Student Services Earic Dixon-Peters sits with the protestors after hearing their concerns in front of the Great Hall at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May, 10, 2018.
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even students marched down the Mall carrying white signs, shouting their discontent through a megaphone, then proceeded to sit on the ground in front of the Great Hall and voice their concerns and demands to improve community and academic conditions for Pierce College students. The Queer Brahma Collective spoke against college administration during a sit-in protest at the Great Hall on May 10. Protesters said administration is ignoring student needs by devaluing clubs and events and prioritizing faculty and staff. Gabriella Castleberry-Gordon, the president of the Queer Brahma Collective, said the protest was organized to inform and create change. “Our main goal was to raise awareness to the faculty, staff, and administration about some of the issues students face just trying to go to school here,” Castleberry-Gordon said. Nate Mendoza, a member of the Queer Brahma Collective, said administration was “all talk” and no action. Mendoza
said their demonstration was necessary and successful. “I actually feel very empowered by the fact that the Queer Brahma Collective were able to pull this off and get together,” Mendoza said. “It took a lot of bravery, organization and resistance. We’re really proud of what we’ve accomplished.” ASO President Efren Lopez said he was surprised that the flier circulated by the Queer Brahma Collective about the planned demonstration listed ASO as a contributor to the overall problems at Pierce College. “I was confused because ASO has had all these talks about the administration and the district too,” Lopez said. “And we funded them for their first Pierce Pride event, but I think it’s a good thing that they did this right away.” ASO senator Gisela Tarifa asked to speak during the protest. She said she’s had trouble promoting events on campus that she thought should have occurred. Tarifa said that sometimes she didn’t receive answers and she felt as though she was overlooked. She said that she understood how that could happen, although it was infuriating to her. “Doing a lot of things on campus this entire year has been really tough, really hard to get a lot of help and a lot of
faculty and administrative support,” Tarifa said. “Sometimes I didn’t get my emails responded to, sometimes I wasn’t even informed, sometimes it was as if they didn’t even exist when I had it months and months planned.” Mario Macias, the co-adviser of the Queer Brahma Collective, said he supports student clubs and understands the concerns they might have. “I’m aware of some of the bureaucracy, and I can understand the frustration with the pace of the system,” Macias said. “But sometimes, it’s a systemic problem rather than a one-person or one-department problem.” Dean of Student Engagement Juan Carlos Astorga was a witness to the demonstration. He said it is important that administration know the student perspective to solve college concerns. “It’s upon us to take a step back and be able to listen, hear critically what they want us to know, and be able to work on those things and give them an update on what we’re currently doing, what we’re trying to do and bring back some of the feedback,” Astorga said. [see PROTEST on pg. 9]
“Our main goal was to raise awareness to the faculty, staff and administration about some of the issues students face just trying to go to school here.” -Gabriella Castleberry-Gordon President of the Queer Brahma Collective
Shae Hammond / Roundup
Gabie Castleberry-Gordon speaks as part of a protest with the Queer Brahma Collective in front of the Great Hall at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on May 10, 2018
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Baseball season review pg 11
Sit down for what?
Can too many messages drown out a protest? JOSHUA MANES Spotlight Editor @TheManesEvent
Protests on college campuses are a long-standing tradition. It is an act often portrayed as a rite of passage and a means of shaping a maturing identity. Demonstrations, walk-outs and marches have grown in coverage and frequency in recent years. The Women’s March and #Enough were national movements. While the protest held Thursday was on a lesser scale, the voices of those involved and the concerns they share are no less important. They spoke from the heart, uncensored, and were heard by administration and ASO. Many of the concerns that were expressed are real issues that much of the student body, faculty and administration might agree with. However, their message may have been lost by bringing up every problem at once. If there is no clear message, is there one at all? For an on-looker, it may be difficult to connect with a protest if they don’t have a clear idea of what is being protested. How can they get behind it, if they only agree with half of the message and disagree with the rest? Administration issues, ASO funding decisions, Wi-Fi, campus materials and prices on campus were just some of the things brought up that covered the campus as a whole. This is not a problem that is unique to Thursday’s protest. During the protest held on campus following the Presidential election, a plethora of concerns were raised, and some took the opportunity to express their feelings regarding issues that were indirectly linked to the election, like feminism. While those feelings are real, and no less deserving to be expressed, it took away from the overall message. Thursday, the overall message was that, to put it bluntly and oversimplified, things suck. But there is no one entity to blame. Issues with the district, the campus, administration and ASO can’t all be solved by one group. However, Thursday’s protest may be the beginning of getting these seen by the eyes that can make a change. jmanes.roundupnews@gmail.com
BRIEF:
Gender inclusive restrooms now in the Village JOSHUA MANES Spotlight Editor @TheManesEvent
Last week, two existing bathrooms in the Village were converted to gender inclusive bathrooms. These two join the staff bathroom in the Center for the Sciences as the only three inclusive bathrooms currently on campus. jmanes.roundupnews@gmail.com
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