A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Woodland Hills, California
Volume 136 - Issue 6
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Active shooter exercise on campus
BY MICHAEL MORENO Photographer
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he Los Angeles Sheriff's County Depa r t ment (LASD) hosted an active shooter training at Pierce College early Thursday morning, after a two-year hiatus. The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that followed prevented the Sheriff’s department from hosting such exercises. The event consisted of electronic simulations, where the participants were placed into a real-life scenario of hostile situations and an enactment of an active shooter, where deputies and the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team entered the Library’s premises through police vehicles and a helicopter. CEO and Founder of Secure Measures Dave Weiner, who was in control in one of the simulators, shared that with active shooter situations, analyzing the situation to deescalate is key. “Obviously, if you’re going to an active shooter, you’re not going to pull out your pepper spray,” Weiner said. “It’s about making sure that you’re using the appropriate tools for the appropriate situation. Different tools for different types of scenarios.” Weiner later added that his company has worked with grade schools and other universities to identify abnormal behavior such as unusual or direct threats on social media. Deputy Sheriff Mike Sampson, who also helped conduct the simulations with
Photo by Michael Moreno
Deputies search for potential hazards on the Mall at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 7, 2022.
Weiner, shared how wellprepared LASD is for situations like an active shooter. “The preparation that we’re showing and showcasing here today for LACCD is something that we do on a weekly basis,” Sampson said. “Additionally, my partners and I go through Multiple Interactive Learning Objectives simulator training (MILO) and
we do a lot of situational training as deputy sheriffs.” Deputy Sampson mentioned that despite rising cases of mass shootings in the past two years, it hasn’t made him feel uneasy. “Uneasy isn’t a word I would really use because that’s what we’re trained to do,”Sampson said. “We’re trained to respond to these scenarios.”
challenges,” Gabriel said. “It is so nice to be able to bring everybody back together in person to make a difference. I think it proves our point that this is a community of generous and eager people who are eager to give back.” Gabriel said that his legislative priorities have been aimed toward addressing social issues such as homelessness, fighting climate change, strengthening public education, standing up for and supporting frontline workers, and protecting the environment. Pierce had been where Gabriel chose to pursue a career involving law and government, and recognized it as an environment that helped get to where he is now. “I actually got my start here at Pierce,” Gabriel said. “I took my first constitutional law class here. It’s where I decided that I wanted to become an attorney.” Interim President Ara Aguiar said the outreach for the event had been followed through using social media, high schools and other programs, and the Pierce faculty and staff.
“It turned out to be way above our expectations and above the expectations of the assembly member’s team,” Aguiar said. “It’s an opportunity for all of us to network. Having those resources and those connections just really makes it a seamless process for our students that may be in need of those services.” Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board member Nick Melvoin said he was amazed with the turnout of the event and enjoyed the inperson event. “Last year, I was in Encino Elementary and there was a little kindergartner who had only seen her teacher on Zoom,” Melvoin said. “She said ‘Wow, you’re so much bigger than I thought’ and I assure you the teacher was Photo by Anastasiya Orel normal size. It’s very nice to see California State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel speaks during the Day of Service event at Pierce College in you out of our Zoom boxes.” The event was held from 9 a.m. Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 3, 2022. to noon with a variety of groups and clubs. Aguiar said she had community building outside of evaluation group. the whole thing and packages it even spoken to a Pierce alumni. Pierce and it really connects us “I am very interested in in a way where people who are “I just had a conversation as a community.” climate studies and curriculum interested can then come to our with a 1968 alum,” Aguiar Aguiar said Pierce has been development,” Aguiar said. campus and vice versa.” said. “She wants to come back trying to provide more green “Knowing individuals in the to help and do something for perspectives and curriculum, community that are doing the aorel.roundupnews@gmail.com Pierce. It’s so great to see a lot of incorporating a sustainability same thing, it just embraces
Excited for the return of training, Deputy Sheriff Miguel Meza weighed in the importance of training like the one held at Pierce College. “This is a great training not only for deputy personnel, but for civilian staff and everyone here who was present at this training,” Sheriff Meza shared. “It's great training because it
provides us with the things that we think we do need in case something were to happen.” Deputy Meza also shared that the LASD would like the public to be aware of their surroundings, alert, and ready because anything can happen at any given time. The training comes after a mass shooting in downtown
Sacramento that left six people dead and 12 others injured last week. There have been a reported 122 mass shootings in this year alone, and 689 last year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The active shooter training was closed off to the public. mmoreno.roundupnews@gmail.com
Assemblymember hosts Day of Service
ANASTASIYA OREL Managing Editor
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he Pierce College Mall overflowed with students, faculty and staff, and volunteers in celebration and participation of Valley Day of Service on Sunday, April 3. Volunteers at the event took on a variety of projects, including cleaning neighborhoods, donating blood, assembling essential item kits for domestic violence survivors and outreach kits for people experiencing homelessness. California State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel organized the event and encouraged numerous organizations, including LA Family Housing and Students Run LA to come together and dedicate a day for aiding and cleaning the neighborhood. Gabriel said the event had been an effort to kickstart normality on campus and to address community issues. “It has been a complicated and difficult two years. There's been a lot of loss and a lot of
Jazz musician takes the stage [see CAMPUS LIFE on pg. 5]
Opinions..............................2 News.....................................3 Photo Essay..........................4 Campus Life........................5 Sports...................................6