RUONLINE? /theroundupnews @roundupnews @roundupnews @roundupnews
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Pesticides removed Woodland Hills, California Volume 130 - Issue 4
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Rodenticides are replaced with peppermint oil SHALEAH GREEN NATALIE MIRANDA Reporter & Editor-In-Chief @sheleahgreen21 @natalierosemir
P
ierce College has initiated the use of peppermint oil and barn owl boxes to help rid the campus of rodent infestation without harming the wildlife. Last semester, faculty members had expressed concerns about the rabbits and squirrels that became victims of animal poison, which was housed in fake rocks around campus. It is no longer in use. Interim President Larry Buckley said the poison, known as rodenticide, provides a painful death to its hosts. “So a rat eats the blood thinner – it’s so powerful,” Buckley said. “The anticoagulant essentially collapses their cardiovascular system and they bleed to death internally. [It’s] cruel, but they die a pretty awful death as compared to a snap trap, which just breaks their neck–it's done.” Shannon DeVaney, the chair of the Life Science Department, took on an active role in finding ecofriendly alternatives to resolve the pest problem. “Some of the other faculty on the campus were closer to where the poison was put out, and noticed the decline in wildlife,” DeVaney said. “They were noticing the decline first and were really sad about it. That‘s when I came in. I was able to say this is a problem and this is how it affects things. I
Christopher Torres/ Roundup
A rabbit sits up on a rock in the Botanical Garden at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Mar. 12, 2019.
was able to suggest we stop using the pesticide housing units.” DeVaney has been working with Buckley to find eco-friendly ways to stop the rat infestation. “I had first met with Mr. Buckley to give him my biological perspective on the rodenticide and how it is a problem,” DeVaney
said. “We spoke about what other natural solutions we can do instead. He was very receptive. He agreed that we don’t want to keep using the pesticide on campus.” Buckley acknowledges that rats were not the only rodents being harmed by the pesticides. “The problem with rodenticides
that are put into these kind of boxes is that other animals can get into them,” Buckley said. “So we know squirrels, rabbits, other small things such as gophers can all get in there.” According to Cara Gillis, the professor of Environmental Ethics and chair of the Ethics Committee,
said a holistic approach is the best solution to maintain the wildlife on campus. “Peppermint oil and anything with capsasis, can be a deterrent for many animals,” Gillis said. “So putting those around trash cans will help with rodents and even ants, too.” At the beginning of this spring semester, natural repellents like peppermint oil were placed around the perimeter of buildings that are known hotspots for rodent infestation. The oil will also be placed outside of trash cans to help with any insect overpopulation. DeVaney said along with peppermint oil, barn owl boxes will be placed in the trees during the early spring to encourage barn owls to nest on campus. “The greatest thing about barn owls is they are great with people and they dont mind being around them,” DeVaney said. “Also, a rat is the biggest prey it can take so you wont need to worry about small dogs becoming prey from neighboring communities.” Gillis disagrees with the use of deadly poisons because she believes it in inhumane. “There is a conflict that we have to weigh,” Gillis said. “If we can do it in a less invasive way and still satisfy everybody's interest, that will be the best way.” Gillis encourages the students and faculty to keep looking for eco-friendly solutions to help the campus wildlife thrive. sgreen.roundupnews@gmail.com nmiranda.roundupnews@gmail.com.
Retired professor of speech and debate dies at 81 Pierce mourns loss of American Sign Language Interpreter Training Program founder CAMERON KERN Managing Editor @ckernroundup James “Jim” Lagerstrom, known for establishing the program and leading the cultivation of the Pierce College American Sign Language Interpreter Training Program, which is still in use today, died Sunday, Mar. 3, due to complications with bone cancer. He was 81. He was a speech and debate professor at Pierce College from 1966 to 1997, and he spent time during that period traveling the world in search of better accommodations for disabled students in Special Services. Lagerstrom attended Oakland High School and then the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication. He earned a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, and he taught there for two years before receiving a scholarship to attend the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1961, where he earned a Master of Arts in
Philosophy. His wife of 44 years, Patricia "Pat" Lagerstrom, said that Pierce College has a special place in the hearts of the Lagerstrom family because it is where the couple met. Pat was a student trying to attain a teaching degree. Her first husband died in 1970, and Jim was recently divorced and had just began his career as a professor. Pat needed a speech class to fulfill her transfer requirements, which prompted a meeting between Jim and Pat where there was an instant connection between them. “He asked me for my phone number, which I thought was very strange because he had access to my files and I’m thinking, ‘oh, there’s something here.’ On the 4th of July that year, he called. I wasn't home and my daughter took the message. I got home and she said that some Jim Lagerstrom, called while I was gone. And boy, my heart went a flutter,” Pat said. Jim married Pat in 1974. Pat said her husband was a selfless and generous man with a can-do attitude that inspired students.
“He felt so fulfilled meeting with the students and being able to help them and guide them on their trail to a degree,” she said. Jim spent the majority of his teaching career at Pierce College, where he worked with Barbara Anderson, a communications professor. “It really just inspires me to think that what he did. There is still kind of a ripple effect through the campus, and that makes me as a professor want to make sure that I’m doing whatever I can to make a difference in the lives of students and in the programs that we have on campus,” Anderson said. After Jim retired from Pierce, he went back to school to become a lay pastor. In 2005, he began serving Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, where he worked for five years ministering people in need. Solana Beach Care Ministries Coordinator Karen La-Haise worked closely with Jim. She said he was a strong support for people. “He was able to speak life into their lives using the living word,” La-Haise said. “He had a wonderful sense of his identity in the Lord and,
therefore, brought confidence to those who were being ministered by him.” La-Haise said the Lagerstroms were a “power couple” in the church and that they were inseparable. Pat thinks this is due to Jim’s influence in the church. “I always went with him to the different occasions that were going on over there,” she said. “We were very visible in the church. I could feel eyes on us when we walked in on Sundays. It was amazing.” According to Pat, the pair enjoyed sailing and traveling, which included 51 adventures at sea, landing on all the continents and major cities of the world. Their journey to South Africa is noted as one of Pat’s favorites. “It was just marvelous,” she said. “The people there were wonderful. They were just nice and smiling and the drives we took on the highways were unforgettable. It was a really wonderful adventure.” Along with Pat, Jim is survived by sister Joanne, children Doug, Laura, Linda, Lori, Ron and Vikki, and nine grandchildren. Services were held Saturday,
The Weather Roundup The Pierce College Weather Station has provided meteorogical data to national agencies since 1949 Find out more at piercecollegeweather.com
Wed. Mar 13 High: 70 Low: 49 Sunny
Thur. Mar 14 High: 70 Low: 51 Sunny
Fri. Mar 15 High: 73 Low: 50 Cloudy
Sat. Mar 16 High: 75 Low: 52 Sunny
Sun. Mar 17 High: 80 Low: 54 Sunny
Mon. Mar 18 High: 79 Low: 54 Sunny
Tues. Mar 19 High: 73 Low: 55 Cloudy
Wed. Mar 20 High: 66 Low: 49 Cloudy
/roundupnews
Mar. 9, at 11 a.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2304 Antonio Ave., Camarillo. Pat requested any donations go to Solana Beach Presbyterian Church. Contact 805-484-0530. ckern.roundupnews@gmail.com
September 26, 1937- March 3, 2019 Photo Courtesy of Patricia Lagerstrom
Assembly Bill concerns senate NYSHEKA HERRING Reporter @HerringNysheka Allowing homeless students to sleep in their cars may solve one problem, but it introduces another. Theses issues were brought up at Academic Senate on Monday when AB 302 was discussed by Interim President Larry Buckley. If this assembly bill passes, this would allow homeless community college students to park their cars on campus to sleep overnight. These individuals would need to be enrolled in courses, have paid their enrollment fees and be in good standing with the college. The problem this introduces is a financial one. The captain of the Sheriff Station stated more security would cost an additional $1,000 per day, per campus, Buckley said. This means a total of $365,000 would need to go to each of the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District. Increased security would ensure only registered students would park their cars overnight. “We don’t know exactly how many students are homeless here, so without a specific number we can only go by an estimated amount,” Buckley said. The president said that with the added cost around this new procedure the cost could reach $1 million a year. Buckley said he doesn’t know if this is the most effective process to help homeless students, but if the legislation does pass, the school will find a way to meet the law. “They are hearing our voices right now about our reservations, and while I embrace the concept of doing things to address homelessness and food insecurity for our student are very, very real,” Buckley said. Regardless of the outcome, Buckley said that simply allowing homeless students to sleep in cars is not enough. “Is it okay for us to say, ‘Okay homeless students, thank you for being here today. I’m going home tonight and you can sleep in the parking lot and I’ll see you in the morning,’ and that solves the problem. It does not,” Buckley said. Financially though, implementing AB 302 may be difficult considering the school’s financial situation. Senate Treasurer Angela Belden reported that budget difficulties are continuing. She said this year’s budget is more than 3 million and 6 million for the following year. “We are falling on some hard times, and it is estimated that we will end the year with a $3.2 million. We have zero dollars in reserves locally. And wait, it gets better. Next year, we are projecting a $6 million deficit. So assume the crash positions, everybody,” Belden joked. nherring.roundupnews@gmail.com
Opinions .................2 News..........................3 Features.......................4 Campus Life...................5 Photo Essay ....................6 Sports................................7 Sports..................................8