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A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Woodland Hills, California
Volume 131 - Issue 7
Uncharted territory...
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
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One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
One step at a time
Lengthy process to raise the student health fee JACKSON HAYANO News Editor @HayanoJackson ast semester, students voted and approved a measure to increase the student health fee, which hasn’t been increased since 1998. However, the LACCD has yet to implement the measure, which has left some faculty members upset. Director of the Health Center Benne said that the Student Health Center is currently in a deficit, and that raising the student health fee would provide much needed services for students. “We can help these kids, we can do this. But we cant do it without money,” Benne said. “It’s frustrating that this process of raising the fee is so slow.” Vice Chancellor of Educational Programs and Institutional Effectiveness Ryan Cornner said that the district is in favor of raising the student health fee too, but doing so is a lengthy process. “The health fee is a board approved fee,” Cornner said.
“As a board approved fee, what we have to do is go through the consultation process to make sure that the entire district addresses the fee the way it needs to be addressed.” Cornner said that before the fee is brought to the board, it must be discussed by the Student Affairs Committee (SAC). He also mentioned that raising the health fee presents several problems. “One of the problems with the revenue that comes in is that not all the fees are collected,” Cornner said. “There is a significant group of students that don't actually pay their fees.” Corrner said that once the overall analysis of the fee has been completed, and that the next step is to coordinate with the colleges in the district to see what they would use the money for. Cornner said this might take between four-tofive-months. “In anticipation that everything goes well, we’ll likely be bringing a recommendation in early spring and implementation in fall 2020,” Cornner said. ATF Chapter President
Bryan Walsh suggested that the district triage money to help cover the health center in the meantime. Cornner said that an allocation of funds is an issue that has to be taken up with the budget committee.
This is because it’s the only unrestricted pot of money that the college has. Most of the funding is restricted and can only be spent in a certain way. Therefore, subjects that cannot be covered by restricted funds must all compete for that 10% of the college’s tutoring budget. Categorical funds cover English, math, English as a second language and gatekeeper courses, which are courses that have high enrollment and low success rates. All other subjects must come out of that college budget.
Having tutors accessible to the students is important because CAS sees every student as being capable of success with the right kind of support that they may not receive in class or be able to conjure on their own. Parisa Borzouei, one of the tutors at the CAS, says students know students better and this contributes to students being able to digest the content better when another student explains it to them. “Tutors usually know what parts students have troubles with because they have been there,
so they can explain everything in an easier way, rather than the professors version,” Borzouei said. Bruce Rosky, associate vice president, broke down that the budgeting process takes place six months before the annual year begins. Due to the $4.5 million deficit the school is facing, some of the programs had to make cuts.
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Ben Hanson / Roundup Diana Millan looks to pass during a game against Moorpark College at Shepard Stadium in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct. 25, 2019. The Brahmas tied with the Raiders 1-1. There is a possibility that for the first time in program history, the team does not make the postseason.
[see SOCCER on pg. 10]
Not making cents
Money disappears from tutoring budget
ARIELLE ZOLEZZI Sports Editor @ArielleZolezzi Center for Academic Success Director Crystal Kiekel expressed relief after the CAS budget was restored into their account Monday morning, following Kiekel bringing the issue of missing money to the attention of the Pierce College community. In June 2019, Kiekel was told that everyone received a 5% budget cut across the board, and that $40,000 had been restored to the CAS budget. So Kiekel hired the fall of 2019 tutoring
staff in July. However, in early August, when asking to make a routine modification to one of the positions, she was notified the CAS had no budget. “Assuming this was a mistake, we went on with our business,” Kiekel said. “But we kept asking questions of anyone who would listen about what was going on with our budget.” In the beginning of the 201819 budget year, Kiekel looked at the CAS budget and saw it was at $0, so she reported this to the Earic Dixon-Peters and Juan Carlos Astorga, and CAS went on spending, assuming that the “glitch” would be fixed.
“When the year ended, we were told that the CAS had overspent its budget. I again reminded our dean and VP that I told them at the beginning of the fiscal year that our money was somehow glitched away, and I didn’t hear anything about it again,” Kiekel said. When Kiekel realized this wasn’t just a glitch and the CAS wasn’t going to have the funds to pay the tutors for the month of November, she decided that making noise just to administration wasn’t going to be enough and she had to go public. Pierce College provides about 10% of the tutoring budget.
“We can help these kids, we can do this. But we can't do it without money.”
- Beth Benne
Director of the Health Center
“[The budget committee] controls the allocation of funding that goes through the colleges. They have made recommendations in the past for line-item issues,” Cornner said. “Believe me, it's something that can be discussed.” Benne said that the health center intends to use the increased fees to hire a fulltime psychologist and to increase hours of operation. jhayano.roundupnews@gmail.com
[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com] azolezzi.roundupnews@gmail.com
A whole latte conversations President opens doors for coffee and chat ALEJANDRA AGUILERA Reporter @̲ale̲aguilera When newly instated president of Pierce Alexis Montevirgen first took strolls across the campus to introduce himself to faculty and students, most responded by asking where the president’s office was located. In order to familiarize the campus to his office in Alder 1019, Montevirgen began coffee with the president events where any member of the Pierce community could drop by to have a conversation on Oct. 21, Oct. 22 and Oct. 24. “I wanted to provide this environment where it’s more casual and informal where you don’t have to be a member of the senate in order to approach the
president,” Montevirgen said. “I refer to it as there’s plenty of the loud voices but I want to make sure I provide an opportunity for every voice, even the not so loud voice to also have an opportunity to be validated, to be heard, to be acknowledged.” Malina Koani, has been an assistant to three previous Pierce presidents before working for Montevirgen. She’s worked for former president Kathleen Burke, acting president Sheri Berger and interim president Lawrence Buckley. Koani says she hasn’t seen presidents open up their office to the general public during her year and a half as an assistant, except for Montevirgen. “I haven’t seen this type of interaction before in the president’s office where people
can actually come in and sit with the president on a walk in basis,” Koani said. “I think it’s very nice to have that communication and access available to everyone on the campus.” Professors and students who attended were open to bring up whichever topic at the round table in Montevirgen’s green-walled office, like getting more charging stations on campus for electric cars. Ronald Smetzer, part-time professor of industrial technology, only teaches on Saturday but drove 30 miles from his home in Newbury Park to talk to President Montevirgen on Oct. 22.
Kevin Lendio / Roundup Marcelo Mejia, Spanish professor Perez plays Balero, a traditional Mexican toy, during the Spanish/ Hispanic Heritage Month celebration which took place at Rocky Young Park, Sept. 25, 2019, in Woodland Hills, Calif.
[see COFFEE on pg. 7] aaguilera.roundupnews@gmail.com
Katya Castillo/ Roundup Pierce College president Alexis Montevirgen talked to students and staff during Coffee and Conversation with the President in his office in Alder 1021 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct. 22, 2019.
Photo Essay
Campus Life
Sports
Behind the scenes of Hookman and Art classes.
Thursday Concert harmonizes wood wind and acoustic strings.
Football loses on the road in Pasadena.
Pages 4 & 5
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