ROUNDUP Los Angeles Pierce College
www.theroundupnews.com
Woodland Hills, California
Volume 129 - Issue 1
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Interim president Larry Buckley brings a new air to Pierce
Natalie Miranda / Roundup
Pierce College's Interim President Larry Buckley sits in front of a wall of photos while wearing a lei in his office on Sept. 10, 2018, in Woodland Hills, Calif. Buckley was presented with the lei at convocation and said he put up the collage because the images inspire him.
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ife in Hawaii often is portrayed as more relaxed and care-free than on the mainland. Newly appointed Interim President Larry Buckley, a Hawaiian native, exudes that island vibe. While his tan complexion may be common in Los Angeles, his friendly demeanor, smile and approachable nature is a breath of fresh island air. With a collage of pictures on the wall next to his desk of those that
inspire him, Buckley has already settled into his position at Pierce. A position that, by definition, is temporary. However, if you ask Buckley about that now, he may want to stay a little longer. “If you'd asked me that question three weeks ago I would say I've taken this role understanding that mine is an interim role,” Buckley said. “But if you asked me that today, I've just fallen in love with this college. I didn't expect that.” While he doesn’t know what that means for his future, he does know what it means for the person who is appointed President. “I haven't really thought about
what that means to me, but whoever is going to be the permanent president of this college is a very very lucky man or woman, because this is a great place.” In Buckley’s opinion, it is not what a school has that makes it, but who it has. “College is a collection of people. A really great facility can have really bad people,” Buckley said. “And a median facility can have great people. That facility can have great people and turn a experience for students into the greatest thing imaginable.” Buckley looks at a historic teaching example as proof that a
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minimalist approach can certainly work. “I believe it was Socrates who spent most of his time teaching students, he sat on one end of the log and the students sat on the other end of the log. And it was the greatest teaching environment in the history of the world,” Buckley said. “That's what I've seen here. I've seen students and faculty who were engaged in teaching and learning at the highest levels and that's been very very impressive to me. The faculty are having conversations about teaching.”
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Pell grants unclaimed
40% of eligible students don't apply DANIELLE PADILLA News Editor @dcxpadilla Imagine up to $6,000 being handed to students to cover their school expenses. This happens every semester in the form of the Pell Grant, but thousands of dollars go unclaimed by students who do not apply for it. The Pell Grant is funded by the government and is available to any eligible student who applies through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Once one receives their awarded amount, they are free to spend the grant on any school related expense. “Such a large percentage of our students are now eligible for the California Promise, The old board of governors waiver,” Interim President Larry Buckley said. “So, many students are thinking I already have the financial assistance I need. Why do this with a Pell Grant?” Despite FAFSA being a free application, some students do not utilize this resource to pay for tuition, school supplies and other school related finances. One’s eligibility for the Pell Grant varies from year to year based on a variety of components. Some of these factors are the income and assets of the student, number of people in one’s household and the number of people attending college in the household. For students who are filed as a dependent on FAFSA, they will need to provide their parents information as well. In addition to completing FAFSA, some students may be required to complete a verification process from the Department of Education. “Students will be required, if selected, to submit tax information and that’s when we then need to verify the income information on
the tax information versus their FAFSA,” said Anafe Robinson, director of financial aid. While that is all that is needed to be eligible for the Pell Grant, there are still some students who do not claim their financial aid because of some common misconceptions surrounding eligibility and how disbursement work. Robinson said the reason she hears the most for students not completing FAFSA is that they believe they need to be enrolled as a full time student to apply for any type of financial aid. “We recommend students to be full time so they can achieve their educational goal faster,” Robinson said. “The student could be less than full time and still apply. Their eligibility will then depend on the enrollment status, so the Pell Grant amount will be prorated based on enrollment.” Although there are students who are potentially eligible for the Pell Grant, they are discouraged to apply based on the misinformation they hear about the guidelines to receive financial aid. Students also do not use their Pell Grant because they believe they can collect the sum of their grant later in their college career. Financial aid assistant Susan Navaro said students believe they can save their Pell Grant for when they transfer to a separate university. However, the grant becomes inaccessible when students receive a bachelor’s degree or reach the allotted 600 percent of funding. Every student is encouraged to apply on FAFSA for all types of financial aid that will cover their school expenses depending on their eligibility. FAFSA for the 2019-2020 school year will open on Oct. 1.
Deficit looming Football heads out west
Funding model and other issues leave district in the red JESSICA VAUGHAN Managing Editor @JVaughanRoundup At Monday’s academic senate meeting, Instructor of Psychology and Academic Senate Treasurer Angela Belden said that the budget committee is projecting a $4.8 million deficit. Belden said that the district takes all of the money that it’s colleges earn and redistributes a portion of it mostly to cover salaries. However, Belden said that the real problem lies with the funding model and Rolf Schleicher should be working at the district level to improve the funding model. Instructor of Psychology and Chair of the College Outcomes Committee Jennifer Moses said that Pierce’s spending model was good until the district decided to lower the budget, ultimately leading Pierce to a deficit. Moses said that Pierce is not spending money frivolously “My labor alone cost more than the money im being allocated to
the college by almost $800,000,” said Schleicher, Vice President of Administrative Services. “We need to get our expenditures under control, because the budget committee has done a very good job of having a threshold where we said we also want to keep some kind of reserve. We blew through that reserve in the last 2 years because we haven't been mindful of our budget.” According to Schleicher, Pierce will have to make adjustments quickly to keep some of the freedom the school has to make decisions. “I’m looking at a 4 to 5 million dollar reduction we have to make this year so we can just balance our budget because as soon as we are a deficit college, which is what we are projecting, certain district measures take hold and that means the district is going to dictate a lot more of our direction of how we handle our finances,” Schleicher said. A new funding form will be put into use. [see DEFECIT on pg. 3]
[see BUCKLEY on pg. 3]
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Brahmas secure first win of new season at West LA College, draw even at 1-1 JOSHUA MANES Editor-in-Chief @TheManesEvent
3+2=1 It may not be standard math, but that was the equation for the Brahmas Saturday when they traveled to face the West LA College Wildcats. Three interceptions for the defense, plus two touchdowns from quarterback Jonathon Saavedra equaled win number one under head coach Carlos Woods. The Brahmas got out to an early lead aided by great field position to start. A squib kick and an unsportsmanlike penalty on the opening kickoff gave Pierce the ball across midfield on the Wildcats 45. Pierce drove down to the West LA 1-yard line, but went no further. The Brahmas lined up to go for it on fourth and one, but a false start penalty forced the kicking unit out on the field. Williams Peña knocked in the 23-yard field goal to give the Brahmas a 3-0 lead. Near the end of the first quarter, Wildcats quarterback Markell White gave West LA the lead on a one-yard touchdown run.
West LA added a field goal with less than two minutes to play in the first half to go up 10-3. Saavedra led the Brahmas back down the field in less than one
minute, scoring on a 15-yard run where he dove for the pylon. “I felt the rush from the inside, tried to roll out, I almost fell to be honest,” Saavedra said. “I just saw the
pylon and did whatever I could to get in the endzone.”
[see FOOTBALL on pg. 8]
Joshua Manes / Roundup
Doma Morris (28) tries to fight off the West LA College defender on Sept. 8, 2018, in Culver City, Calif.
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Add slips tossed out
Farmer's Market finds a new home at Pierce
Microbiologist Aron Kamajaya
Soccer season so far