Volume 117 Issue 8

The Los Angeles Community College District has placed receptacles for recyclables around Pierce College in an effort to make the community college an environment-friendly campus, but what happens when outside civilians poke through the these bins to take out recyclables?

Students and faculty have noticed people who come onto campus with trash bags, and leave with them filled with various recyclable goods, which have been taken without permission from administration or plant facilities.

One of the issues that Pierce faces with this trend is that the

college loses money from the people who take these items from the separate bins labeled specifically for recycling.

Although many students do cooperate with the cause to separate trash from plastic bottles, cans and paper, many students place trash into the recycling bins.

This has also affected the revenue Pierce College generates from recyclables.

Associate Vice President Bruce Rosky said the college does not encourage random civilians to take away these recyclables.

“Director of Facilities is required to achieve a certain amount of recyclables,” Rosky said when asked about the revenue the college makes from paper and plastics.

“People who take away the college’s recyclables make it difficult for Plant Facilities to reach its goal of a certain amount of paper, bottles and cans that should be given to recycling centers from the campus.”

Director of Plant Facilities Paul Nieman said the school is also losing money from students putting garbage in the recycling bins.

“We aren’t getting revenue because people put trash in the containers,” Nieman said. “They charge us because they have to separate that.”

Faculty at Pierce are also concerned with the health of the people that go through the campus’s trash.

“I think we should encourage people to not go through the cans

from a health stand point,” Rosky said.

Associative Vice President, Larry Kraus, is a staff member who does not encourage this recent trend.

“Its tolerated, but it isn’t acceptable,” said Kraus.

Several employees feel that people should stop going through the campus’ trash and that students should make an effort to actually use the recycling bins correctly rather than just throw trash in the wrong receptacles.

“What can we do to stop them?” Nieman said. “There is no way to really stop it”.

Students are encouraged to avoid taking trash out of the bins due to various health risks.

P I E R C E W E A T H E R R E P O R TRUONLINE?

Woodland Hills, California Volume 117 - Issue 8 November 14, 2012 One copy free, each additional copy $1.00

Mon.– Nov. 19High: 68°Low: 50°

Scattered T-Storms

Wed.– Nov. 14High: 81°Low: 50°

Mostly Cloudy

Wed.– Nov. 21High: 72°Low:58°

Mostly Cloudy

The Pierce College Weather Station has provided meteorological data to

national agencies since 1949.

Information for this week’s report comes from meteorology student Kevin

Gabriel, who volunteers at the station.

Thur.– Nov. 15High: 76°Low: 51°

Mostly Cloudy

Fri.– Nov. 16High: 69°Low: 49°

Partly Cloudy

Sat.– Nov. 17High: 70°Low: 48°

Sunny

Sun.– Nov. 18High: 70°Low: 49°

Partly Cloudy

Tues.– Nov. 20High: 69°Low: 50°

Partly Cloudy

A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION

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Class mourns student death

Digging for recyclable treasure

It had been four years since Pierce student Asieh Moradi Kashkouli had seen her parents who lived in Iran, and friends

say that she had a count-down, eagerly awaiting their arrival.

However that day never came.Kashkouli died one day before

her parents arrival.Kashkouli, 25, was found dead–

along with Bahram Varahram, 29– in a residence on the 7100 block of Canoga Park’s Farralone Avenue on Nov. 2, according to a Daily News article.

The Daily News spoke with Officer Rosario Herrera of the Los Angeles Police Department and Lieutenant Fred Corral of the coroner’s office.

“When officers arrived and entered the residence they found two victims with gunshot wounds,” Herrera said.

Varahram shot Kashkouli and then turned the gun on himself, Corral said.

Early investigations by the Topanga Area Homicide Detectives appears that the two were dating, according to the Los Angeles Police Department Media Release.

Craig Kramer a Professor of English, had Kashkouli in his English 84 class.

He sat in his office remembering how he found out about the death of one of his students.

“I came in and it was obvious by the look on some students faces that something terrible had happened, and I basically found out through my students,” Kramer said.

Family and friends gathered on Thursday, Nov.8 at the Forest Lawn Memorial- Mortuaries, Hollywood Hills to remember Kashkouli.

There were about 30-40 people, and most of the ceremony was in Farsi, according to Kramer, who attended the memorial.

“Her parents were there, her mother and father– they were actually coming out to visit her and she was really looking forward to that,” Kramer said. “The day before

she was murdered, in class she wrote an essay about her father, and how her father was her best friend.”

Kashlouli’s essay was given to a family friend by Kramer the day of the memorial and in turn it was given to her father the day of the funeral, according to Kramer.

He now faces the task of having to continue teaching the rest of the semester without Kashlouli.

“Everything is going to seem so trivial in comparison, talking about noun clauses, and writing paragraphs and such it just seems so unimportant at this point, but I know I have to move us forward,” Kramer said.

His English 84 class was canceled on Thursday, Nov. 8 for the memorial.

Beth Benne, Director of the

Health Center, spoke to his class about grief on Tuesday, the first class meeting after the memorial.

Benne arranged for there to be group and individual grief counseling with clinical phycologist PSY.D Niaz Khani starting at 5:30p.m. in the Student Health Center.

Receptacles around campus searched in hopes of � nding reusable items

Campus reacts to upcoming changes

Danny Duarte/ RoundupThe Board of Trustees of Los Angeles Community College District sign the approval of Agreement Between the LACCD and the AFT College Staff Guild Local 1521A during the LACCD board meeting at Pierce College on Wednesday, Nov. 7.

Monica Velasquez/[email protected]

Violet Canelo/[email protected]

Answers sought after Prop. 30 approved

Proposition 30 passed last Tuesday in the general election, which led some on the Pierce College campus to express joy, while others expressed disappointment.

Dr. Denise Robb, assistant professor of Political Science, was optimistic about the outcome of the vote.

“It’s not going to make things amazing, it just means we’re not going to have more cuts,” Robb said.

Proposition 30 passed with the final results being 53.6 to 46.4 percent of voters in favor of the ballot measure.

“It looks like the voters finally said that they’re willing to pay for education, which astounded me,” Robb said. “And it’s because young people voted.”

Robb attributed this increase in youth voters to the new ability to register online, rather than the previous process of filling out the paper and mailing it in.

18 million voters were registered in California, up from the previous record of 17.3 million according to Robb.

“This is historic,” Robb said.But not everyone was pleased

with the outcome, such as student John Lubran, who said the proposition will not solve the

“crisis with education.”Lubran said that Proposition 30

will only be a minor, temporary fix that people will find ways to get around.

“[People] will buy less and spending will slow down, and therefore the income received by taxes will decrease, overall decreasing the amount of funding given to schools,” Lubran said. “Instead of an increase in funding there will be a decrease in funding and schools will hurt even more.”

Lubran also said that he expected another bill to be needed in the future to remedy the results he said would be seen as a result of proposition 30.

“I’m guessing the answer is going to be the same as last time, which will be even more taxes,” Lubran said.

Somewhere in between the two was Irvin Rojas, a Mechanical Engineering major.

Rojas voted for it because he said it would directly benefit him, but still found issues with the ballot measure.

“More of that money has to go through our state government, and for a while now they haven’t been doing such an awesome job,” Rojas said. “So, are we going to trust them with more money to do what they say they’re going to do?”

With the new policies to be applied from Proposition 30, Pierce can only wait to see which camp is correct.

Nick McNamara/[email protected]

Fariba Molavi/RoundupJoe Tubbs cuts one of the calves from the herd. Pierce College Equestrian Science program is hosting its second annual Ranch Sorting and Team Penning weekend, November 10-11, 2012, a weekend of western riding open to participants and spectators. This community event is the second fundraiser for the Equine Science program this year at Pierce College,Calif.on Sunday, Nov.11. For the full story visit the www.theroundupnews.com.

Roping in the rodeo

Asieh Kahkouli killed in apparent murder-suicide, police say

Photo courtesy: Maryam BaharanchPierce College student, Asieh Kashkouli, was killed in apparent murder-suicide Friday, Nov. 2 in Canoga Park, police said.

[See DEATH, pg. 3]

ROUNDUP: November 14, 2012Opinion 2

Letters to the Editor

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Roundup Editor in chief ....................... UDManaging editor ...................... Jose RomeroOpinion editor ....................... Calvin AlagotNews editor .................... Monica VelasquezFeatures editor ................ Monica VelasquezA&E editor ............................ Natalee AyalaSports editor .......................... Charlie KnappPhoto editor .......................... Jasson BautistaOnline editor ............................ Jose RomeroCartoonist ................................. Austin Faber

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Letters and guest columns for or against any position are invited. Letters should be kept as brief as possible (300 words or less) and are subject to non-substantive editing.

Letters must be signed and include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms or initials will not be used, but names may be withheld upon request and approval of the Editorial Board.

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Writers are given the opportunity to revise unacceptable letters.

The Pierce College Roundup will not publish, as letters, literary endeavors, publicity releases, poetry or other such materials as the Editorial Board deems not to be a letter.

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Cartoons and photos, unless run under the editorial masthead, and columns are the opinions of the creators and not necessarily that of the Roundup.

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published as a learning experience under the college journalism instructional program. The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff.

Under appropriate state and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by the virtue of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the L.A. Community College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof.

Editorial

Superstorm Sandy has been an eye opening event for many Americans. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis pose an ominous threat to our lives every day. And it makes many reconsider their daily routines in an attempt to be more environmentally friendly. But let’s face it, life is expensive. Sometimes going green can actually be costly. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about reducing the cost of living. Gas prices are skyrocketing, food is getting pricier, and let’s not forget tuition costs are increasing at an alarming rate. These items may be non-negotiable, but there are a few simple and easy tricks to save money, and go green all on a student’s budget.

Five ways to save money and go green:

Hop on a two-wheeler.The Los Angeles Times reported this week

that gas prices have finally dipped down to under four bucks since August. I don’t know about you, but that’s still way over my dream price. So why not bike it? It’s not only a great way to lessen gas emissions and save money, but also a fun way to get in shape. That’s a three-for-one deal, pretty swell to me. Still, I know what you’re thinking, “I can’t get everywhere on a bike”. But you can with the help of a bus. Riding the bus reduces traffic, hence automatically reducing emissions and it is much, much cheaper than paying for a tank of gas.

Put a lid on it. Instead of going to the vending machine

every time you need to quench your thirst, bring your own water bottle or mug. Most drinks cost anywhere from $1 to $3. Say you buy two drinks a day, you’re paying about $30 a week to keep that tongue from drying out. A durable, long-lasting drink container shouldn’t be more than 10 bucks. If you have a water bottle or mug, you can refill as much as you want without all that pricey overhead. Plus, you’re helping out by reducing plastic build-up. At the end of the month, you could have $120 extra in the bank.

Pack a sack. Going along with the theme of bringing

your own containers, you should also consider bringing your own lunch. Eating out is now somewhat of a luxury. Food prices are skyrocketing, and restaurants have upped their prices to cover their expenses. Packing a sack lunch can also curb your sugar tooth and keep you eating healthy if you carry fruits and salads. Maybe with the those extra $120 you’re saving by carrying a water bottle, you can splurge on a couple fun, nights out treating yourself to a fancy meal.

Bag it up. Girls, this trick is going to be a breeze,

especially since most of us carry luggage-sized purses with us anyway. But consider purchasing reusable bags and bringing them along when shopping for groceries, school supplies, and even a few, new wardrobe items. Pierce College’s Bookstore has already begun implementing this. Now you can shop for class items and carry it in cool, heavy-duty bags.

Going paperless with Apps. Now that we’ve all crossed over to the

digital age, most of us carry handy-dandy smartphones that do most of our thinking. Why not let them think for us while we’re in class? There’s a million and one apps available for free that record and let you take notes directly on your smartphones and tablets, thus eliminating the use of paper and saving some trees.

Even though prices are going up, there are still student friendly ways to save money and help out the planet. There’s no excuse for not helping out, every little effort counts.

How you can save green by going green

5 easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment

Oh, boy. If you are one of those walking around smiling about Prop 30, you need to stop that.

Our biggest problem lies ahead: $400 billion total in unfunded liabilities for retiring teachers and other employees.

Prop 30 is not a solution to our problems. Prop 30 does not end tax or fee hikes. It‘s just the beginning! Expect more fees!

Don’t believe me? Next Tuesday - just days after Prop 30‘s passage - the CSU trustees will meet to explore new fees for students who take too long to finish their classes. In an effort to invent new and more painful ways to generate revenues for the massive mountain of retiree costs, trustees will consider a brand new Graduation Incentive fee, a Course Repeat fee and a new Third-Tier Tuition fee (Sac Bee, 11/9/12).

Many will say Pam, you are just anti-taxes. False! There is one state tax I would endorse: A tax increase exclusively imposed on incomes of all public employees. That way, they would be REQUIRED to contribute the funds to pay for their own, woefully under-funded retirement plans rather than quietly and greedily passing these costs along to their students, their own children, and millions of citizens struggling hard to save money for their own post-employment years.

Ironically and sadly, the opposite will happen. AFT (Pierce teachers union) and other rapacious public unions are lobbying Sacramento’s supermajority - right now, as you read this - to exclude themselves from the very tax increase which would make sense, be economically fair, demonstrate personal responsibility. Still, the opposite should happen. We should pay more to fund our longer retirement years and relieve our students of these costs so they can plan their own futures confidently and without fear of the burdens with which they re about to get slammed.

Pam Brown,Economics Professor

Letter to the editorProfessor says “Prop. 30 doesn’t fix problems ahead”

Corrections Volume 117 - Issue 7

Front Page -Paul Nieman’s name was mispelled in the ‘Are we prepared?’ story.

As we all know, Pierce College and the rest of California’s education system is going through some serious, heavy-

loaded budget cuts. In light of that, there have been many

efforts to steer Pierce toward being a more environmentally-friendly campus to not only save us some green, but to also help reduce our carbon footprint.

In hopes of reducing waste, Pierce has gone paperless.

Teachers have stopped handing out syllabi and other previously printed documents.

Agendas and minutes for faculty meetings are being posted online.

Classes require material fees to be paid by students, ranging from $5 to $25, to help alleviate the supply shortage.

So it seems like the entire campus is virtually paperless now, right?

Wrong.Pierce has yet to get rid of paper

towels in its restrooms and considering the financial state of public education in California, they should be removed.

Also, these nasty clumps of used and dirty paper towels are muddying our restrooms.

With the trash bins right next to the exits, walking into a restroom feels like walking into a cloud of cotton. Nasty, grimy, disgusting, discolored cotton.

There are 25 restroom locations throughout campus, with an average of two paper towel dispensers in each.

That’s a lot of used paper clouding up our bathrooms.

Replacing these 50 towel dispensers with 50 hand dryers would save a ton of money and waste.

The hand dryers would ultimately pay for themselves because it would be a

one time investment that would save the college money every day.

Anything that the college can reuse rather than throw away would be greatly beneficial.

For example, a popular line of hand dryers, from Excel Dryer Inc., known as the XLERATOR would be a one time cost of $26,250 for 50 hand dryers according to their website.

This would elimate the need for paper towels in our restrooms entirely.

Pierce should really consider installing these eco-friendly hand dryers. It will not only help save some trees, but it’ll also keep are restrooms clean.

Keeping those high traffic restrooms clean should be a health code priority, especially since janitorial services on campus have slowly dwindled.

So let’s get it together Pierce. Put in some wind, and save some green.

Natalee [email protected]

OpinionA&E Editor

A frustrating thumbs down for the vending machines managed by First Class Vending Inc. for eating our money and stealing our food.

We want our snacks

Pierce should go paperlessIllustration by: UD

By Austin Faber

For more comics v isit:

w w w.theroundupnews.com

Thumbs up & Thumbs downWater polo wins championship

A huge thumbs up to the water polo team for winning their first conference championship during their first year as a sport on campus. Cheers!

VS.

Hand dryers would save the college money

ROUNDUP: November 14, 2012 News 3

Incident Report for November

The Sheriff’s Department on campus reports no incidents in the month of November. The Roundup will continue to check with the station to keep both faculty and students informed.

ROUNDUPCampus reacts to the passing of Proposition 30Students and professors give mixed reviews as debate on Gov. Jerry Brown’s ballot measure continues

While Californians still sat uncertain of the outcome of Proposition 30 until early Wednesday morning after Election Day, Los Angeles Community College Chancellor Daniel LaVista, had prepared three different PowerPoint presentations to deliver to the Los Angeles Community College District meeting in the Great Hall at Pierce College on Nov. 7.

“One speech I had was if it passed, if it didn’t pass and the other was just what if,” said LaVista while at the podium about to give his presentation.

With Proposition 30 as the main topic of the meeting, LaVista went into detail of the benefits of the passing how it will help community colleges for the future.

“Schools in the district will receive $6.8 to 9 million annually within the next four to seven years which will help approximately 2000 students,” said LaVista.

While the ratification of Proposition 30 has delivered a round of rejoice and hope for California students and faculty alike, the approval last Wednesday left skeptics appear ludicrous when criticizing the plan.

If this proposition had not passed, state lawmakers had in place a strategy that would have put California community college districts and other universities at risk for escalated budget cuts, according to Pierce College President Kathleen Burke-Kelly.

“The passing of Prop 30 is fantastic; it’s going to prevent us

from making even deeper cuts,” Burke-Kelly said.

Transfer Center Director and counselor Sunday Salter expressed her initial concern that the school could not handle any more cutbacks, explaining that classes would have to be dropped, along with staff members and student services.

“It’s a big sense of relief that we don’t have to think about cutting more right now. The thought of growing or increasing our services and our courses is a lovely idea, and I certainly hope it does come to pass sooner rather than later, but I don’t know what has to happen to make that pass,” Salter said.

For the time being, Salter explained that while Proposition 30 does not give the counseling department any money, it allows Pierce College to “stay as we are.”

“We’re running on bare bones right now,” Salter said. “Even though it already feels uncomfortable, we’re still functioning. People are still able to get some classes—they may not be all the classes they may need, but we’re able to sustain the college.”

Secretary of the Math Department Jonathan Gallay also celebrated the approval of the proposition, hoping it would positively impact the math department’s class schedule.

”I’m glad it passed; we’ll have more money,” Gallay said. “I’m hoping we’ll have a Summer Session—there was some rumor that we won’t. Now that we have the money, perhaps we will and there’ll be less cutbacks on materials since we definitely need that. “

Women’s Volleyball Coach Nabil Mardini said that he was simply glad to see his athletics program continue to run the way it has been, without having to fear his team or his job being cut.

“It’s obviously a sense of relieve

to not just the faculty or coaches, but to all of the faculty in the community colleges since the last thing you want to see is them cutting classes and having a professor lose his or her job,” Mardini stated. “Our athletic budget has been slashed already, and just the mere thought that Proposition 30 might not pass was a big red flag in terms of cutting athletics.”

Senior Joel Stone, who wants to major in recreational tourism and management, felt relieved that there would not have to be even more cutbacks in the public school system and that he had read well into the proposal.

“Having classes cut sucks. Being a student, it’s impossible to get classes already, so having more classes cut would have been ridiculous,” Stone said. “I definitely read it and I was ready to vote; I knew how much this would mean to our school system.”

Nevertheless, not all students felt the same; one hesitant view came from 4th year Business Major Kevin Huynh who was still unsure where he stood on the passing of the proposition.

“I feel 50/50 on Prop 30 passing,” Huynh said. “All I know is that I hope it helps us students to finally get better teachers or get more classes, so we don’t have to cram so much all in one classroom. That’s all I’m hoping for.”

However, there were faculty members who were openly displeased with the authorization of Proposition 30, like Textbook Buyer and Campus Violence Response Team Leader Holly Hagan, who felt that although students deserve a good education, Prop 30 is a poorly written law that does not serve the students for one.

“I am so against it,” Hagan said. “Our government is so mismanaged

that I feel like we’re giving them more money just to mismanage things. I would love to see our students have everything they deserve as far as education, but I don’t think Prop 30 is going to do it for us.“

Hagan explained that she felt that voters needed to come up with a proposition that tells our government how to precisely manage the money that taxpayers fund.

“I read into it, I work for the government, and I watch how government workers work—or not work, per se,” Hagan said. “It really breaks my heart to see that we, as taxpayers, pay for these people who sit here and literally do nothing. It has nothing to do with me not wanting our students to have a future— I live for that. I really don’t

feel like it’s going to go toward you guys in the long run. I feel like it’s just another way for the government to take your money, my money—our money—from us, and spend it the way they feel like spending it, and it’s not going to be towards us.”

Hagan was not alone in her distress, as Pam Brown was upset over the passage of Prop 30, stating that the money would be used to fund teachers’ pensions and calling it “the Bailout of 2012” for this reason.

“This Proposition 30 is not guaranteeing that any of the new tax money will go to classrooms,” Brown said. “So when the students are out there rallying for the teachers’ unions saying things like, ‘Yay, we passed Prop 30,’ I’m like, “You guys have no idea what the

true hidden cost behind your tuition is.”

Brown was insistent that Prop 30 was the opposite of what most people thought it was, and she said that she only foresaw future increase in taxes.

“The union is rapacious for more and more private sector money,” Brown said. “We’re now the highest taxed state in the country… I think I’m going to go tomorrow to trade in my stocks for gold.”

However, with the passage, it avoids a $31.3 million loss in state funding to the LACCD’s portion and a complete suspension of summer and winter sessions.

Referring to the too close to call results on Tuesday evening, “all you can do is plan for the worst but hope for the best.” said LaVista.

Kashish Nizami/[email protected]

Danny Duarte/ RoundupPLEASED: President Kathleen Burke-Kelly speaks at LACCD Meeting

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Stress balls in the shape of hearts, and grief pamphlets were handed out to students as well as an open invitation for anyone that wanted to share and was unable to make it to the grief session.

“We can help you guys get through this,” Benne said.

Different students wiped away tears as Benne spoke, unable to hid their emotion.

It was then that students started to share different memories of Kashkouli.

Maryan Bahranchi, one of Kashkouli’s classmates remembers her for the love she had for her father.

She was excited about seeing her father, so she could show him how much her English had improved, according to Bahranchi.

One day that stands out to Bahranchi is the day that Kashkouli brought her boyfriend to class, the same man that is accused of killing her.

“I didn’t like him at first sight, “ Bahranchi said. “He was always upset and so serious.”

Wright Tahmasuan, sat close to her and remembers how she had everything planned out.

“She wanted to learn English first, and then take basic classes to

become a dentist,” Tahmasuan said.Kashkouli had a signature look,

according to Tahmasuan.“She was pretty girl, who always

wore a baseball cap, and had a signature perfume,” Tahmasuan said.

Kashlouli showed no signs of harm in the past, according to Kramer.

“You would think from her demeanor that she was one of the happiest people in the world, you wouldn’t suspect something like that going on because she was always in a good mood, always really positive,” Kramer said.

“She liked everybody and everyone liked her, she was very noticeable in class with her participation,” Kramer said.

Iris Rodriguez agreed with Kramer.

She sat behind Kashkouli in class.

“You noticed when she walked in, because she said hello to everyone,” Rodriguez said.

Shiva Sadeghi remembered how much KashKouli enjoyed eating bananas.

Kashlouli’s sister was at the funeral and wondered why no one had done anything for her sister to get her away from her boyfriend,

according to Kramer.One of Kashkouli’s classmates,

Iran Kahn, could not hold back the tears as her emotions got the better of her while she described their last interaction.

“She was so positive, and she said nothing was wrong,” Kahn said. “I believed her.”

Many students in Kramer’s class echoed Kahn’s perception of a young, independent woman fully involved in a healthy relationship.

“You would think from her demeanor, that she was just one of the happiest people in the world, always in a good mood, always smiling,” Kramer said.

However, no one saw any indication of violence until it was too late.

“She is the age of my daughter,” Kahn said. “It’s just not fair.”

For Kramer, his main focus is on the students in his class, many of whom have taken multiple classes together.

As his class reflected on life without their friend and classmate, Kramer offered some sound advice.

“We just need to keep our eyes open not only on the people in our own life, but we need to try to look out for our friends as well,” Kramer said.

David Schub/[email protected]

Grieving classmates remember deceased student continued from front

ROUNDUP: November 14, 2012 Photo Essay4

One day pass in the Ceramic Class

Photos: Fariba Molavi

Top: Professor Brian Peshek teaches to make pottery to art students in the Ceramic Class at Pierce College in Woodlnad Hills, Calif. on Oct. 17

Top left: The hands create a bowl on the pottery wheel in the Ceramic Class.

Top right: Professor Brian Peshek makes a plate in the Ceramic Class.

Bottom left : Ashly Schwartz, 21, Engineering major, makes a potterry in the Ceramic Class.

Bottom right: A student paints a plate that she made it in the ceramic class.

The sound of the pottery wheel and hands smeared with clay can persuade anyone to sit behind the wheel and mold with this indescribable feeling of

comfort and tranquility.

Professor Brian Peshek has been a teacher at Pierce College for over a dec-ade and teaches ceramics. He believes in a balanced approach of teaching art where students can develop pertinent studio skills along with critical thinking abilities.

In the studio students learn hands-on and visual understanding of the raw ma-terials, techniques and concepts. In lectures art is presented through a variety of social, cultural and historical contexts. He hopes to expose students to in-tellectual and historical models and build their understanding of the past and present as they develop a direction in their own work.

ROUNDUP: November 14, 2012 Features/Arts & Entertainment 5

Julliard alum raises music appreciation

Vegan by moral imperativePhilosophy, ecology and bioethics are a championship mix for national cyclist

Enclosed in an art-covered office with an open window and poised on a large, silver fitness ball, Pierce College philosophy professor Cara Gillis wore no green.

But in vibrant red jeans and a deep purple long-sleeve, the vegan cyclist embodied a green lifestyle as she discussed animal ethics, the environment and a paperless Pierce College.

Completing four degrees in philosophy, Gillis’ education has immersed her in modern applications of ethics- bioethics, environmental ethics and animal ethics- allowing her to explore the moral and practical sides of going green.

“I try to reduce my carbon footprint,” Gillis said.

Originally a rower, Gillis fell into cycling as a form of physical therapy after a back injury.

Her success and fascination with the strategy of team cycling propelled her into six years of racing on professional teams, including the Canadian Cycling Association National Team.

“There’s a very cerebral element to cycling that I like very much. It’s kind of like a rolling chess game,” Gillis said, explaining how a team of cyclists protect their leader from exhaustion and harm to secure the win. “It’s like protecting your king.”

Though Gillis and her 54-year-old partner made for an unusual team during last summer’s Race Across America cycling challenge, a 3,000-mile national race, they still beat out younger, all-male teams by 15 hours, setting a new course record for the two-person mixed division.

To prepare for the race, Gillis cycled up to 10 hours a day, peddling for nearly eight hours on weekend rides.

“I slept 12 hours in seven days. It was brutal,” Gillis said of the race last summer.

Next summer, Gillis plans to complete the race alone, blogging the challenges of finding vegan food at any spot across the country as she races.

Aside from cycling on the national front, Gillis bikes to reduce her carbon footprint.

“We don’t buy new cars,” Gillis said of her and her husband’s practice of letting cars run until they die.

Whenever she can avoid a ride in the dark, Gillis rides her bike from her home in Silver Lake to Pierce College- about a 25-mile ride.

“I can avoid all the traffic,” Gillis said. “It’s great.”

Once in the classroom, Gillis stays environmentally conscious by refusing to print her syllabus and printing tests on small half-sheets of paper.

“It bugs me how so many professors have printed out their syllabi for years,” Gillis said.

Pairing environmental practice with philosophy at Pierce, Gillis developed a new class on environmental ethics last year.

Along with theory on morality and rights, Gillis introduces animal ethics as well as the national and global implications of agribusiness.

And she walks the walk.“I’m mostly vegan for animal

suffering reasons,” Gillis said. “My parents were always really upfront with me about where things come from. I didn’t want to be responsible for the suffering that these animals go through.”

Though Gillis covers euthanasia in her bioethics course, she expressed the striking reality of the topic when confronted by her sick animals.

“It’s easy to talk about it in a classroom…” Gillis said as she trailed off.

It can be difficult to maintain, but each day at Pierce College and at home, Gillis continues to marry theory and practice as she walks the path toward a green lifestyle.

Steve Palma/ RoundupGREEN: Canadian National Team cyclist and Pierce College philosophy instructor Cara Gillis shows off the tools and trophies of her trade on Thursday, Nov. 1, outside the Freudian Sip.

Ma� Go� esman/Roundupmgo� [email protected]

On the Pierce College campus, music is crackling through the blown-out speakers at the Freudian Sip, shaking the license plate frames of subwoofer-armed cars, and inspiring break dancers to show their stuff on the Mall.

But in the James Bergman’s classroom, it’s being appreciated.

Bergman teaches Music Appreciation at Pierce, and aspires to convey more than just dates and genres to his students.

“I adjust their antennas a little bit so they get better reception,” Bergman said. “It’s a fast-paced world. I just want to say, ‘Slow down a minute. Check this out.”

Bergman has excitement about music that he shares with his students and colleagues whenever the opportunity presents itself.

His students are required to attend the free Thursday concerts that he hosts at Pierce as part of the course requirments for his class.

“What makes this class unique is that it’s in conjunction with the concerts,” Berman said. “This class gets a heavy-duty dose of live music.”

“I teach the same class at SMC,” Bergman said, where his students go to three concerts per semester.

“Here at Pierce, this semester we’ll be hearing 11 concerts,” Bergman said.

He requires his students to go to at least one off-campus concert “to hear a big orchestra: the full-blown, prof e s s ion a l - a s -y ou - c a n - a f f ord show.”

As a professor, Bergman wants to get his students more comfortable with musical terminology so they can communicate their thoughts concerning music more clearly.

“When I begin the semester, I usually spend a few weeks talking about the musical language,” Bergman said. “Everybody likes music, but not everybody knows what’s going on.”

Outside of his life in academia, the Juilliard School of Music alum can be found playing bass for the Santa Barbara Symphony, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Riverside Philharmonic.

“I play at night, get up and blab about music and tell them why I had such a good time last night,” Bergman said.

Bergman lives a music-centric life. “Let’s just say I drink a lot of

coffee,” Bergman said.Professor Cathryn Tortell is a

colleague of Bergman’s at Pierce’s Music Department and teaches choir, voice, and music theory classes.

“Professor Bergman is a dedicated and enthusiastic educator and a highly talented musician,” Tortell said. “He is a real gift to the Music Department here at Pierce.”

Bergman, having been a musician for nearly his entire life, has learned a few lessons from music that are perhaps applicable in other arenas.

“Your inspiration is going to come from anywhere and you don’t always know where that’s going to be,” Bergman said. “My main principle is just keep your ears open.”

Monica Salazar/ RoundupBASSIST: Jim Bergman stands next to his upright bass outside the Music Department on Nov. 9.

Ma� Go� esman/Roundupmgo� [email protected]

“There’s a ver y cerebra l element to

c ycl ing t hat I l i ke ver y much. It ’s k ind

of l i ke a rol l ing chess ga me.”

– Cara Gillis

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ROUNDUP: November 14, 2012Sports6Football

@ Glendale Nov. 10 - (W 26-22)

@ Mt. San Jacinto Nov. 17 - 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball

@ Miramar Tour. Nov. 10 - (W 90-84)

vs. Glendale Nov. 17 - 5 p.m.

Women’s Soccer

@ Canyons Nov. 9 - (D 2-2)

vs. Orange Coast Nov. 17 - 2 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball

vs. West L.A. Nov. 9 - (W 3-0)

vs. Canyons Nov. 14 - 7 p.m.

P I E R C E S P O R T S R E P O R T

Football finishes regular season on a high noteBrahmas defeat Glendale College on the road 26-22, earning spot in Patriotic Bowl

Martin Lester/ Roundup

PAIN: Pierce players Jarius Cook (23) and Leland Smith (80) walk past an injured Glendale College player during Pierce’s 26-22 victory over Glendale on Nov. 10.

Navid Khoi/ [email protected]

Inaugural women’s water polo team ends season in regionalsAfter a conference championship, season ends in defeatMatt Gottesman/ [email protected]

A day after defeating Palomar College 8-7 in triple overtime, Pierce’s women’s water polo team’s premiere season came to close at the Southern California Regionals at Fullerton College on Saturday, losing to Fullerton 14-5.

Pierce was ranked 10th going into the regionals and took Palomar, ranked 7th, by surprise. But Pierce found itself in uncharted waters against Fullerton, who was ranked 2nd in the state.

Head coach Moriah Van Norman said that the long season had been

overkill for her first-year team.“Fullerton’s not nine goals better

than us as a team. My girls are just tired,” Van Norman said.

Van Norman felt that her team’s first season burned out when her players burned out.

“It’s been a long season and I don’t have a lot of subs,” Van Norman said. “In fact, I usually don’t sub at all during a game.”

After sweeping the Western State Conference and stealing the title from four-time defending champs Ventura College earlier this month, freshman center Sam Buliavac said her team accomplished what they set out to do.

“Our goal was to win conference,” Buliavac said. “And then after we won conference, everyone just felt like we did what we needed to do.”

“Fullerton’s not nine goals better than us as a team. My girls are just tired.”

-Moriah Van Norman

Buliavac felt there were some shortcomings the fledgling sports team had to face throughout its opening season.

“Considering that half the girls who are playing have never played before or haven’t really had the experience as some of us, we just

grew,” Buliavac said. “I can’t wait for next season.”

Freshman attacker Maggie Kurzeka echoed Buliavac’s sentiments.

“Our team really gave it what we had left after conference,” Kurzeka said.

The team will be back next season with a WSC title in its back pocket and, Van Norman hopes, a few more sophomores.

“I love being part of a team that’s a first-year program. Coming out, showing what we’ve got, surprising everyone and making it to regionals was a great experience for our whole team,” Kurzeka said.

In their last regular season game, Pierce College defeated Glendale College 26-22

Saturday in Glendale, running the team’s record to 8-2, a vast improvement over last season’s 3-7 record.

Eight wins are the most victories that Pierce has had since head coach Efrain Martinez took over the program in 2007.

Despite the coaching accomplishment, Martinez did not appreciate the way his team went out and played in their last game of the regular season.

“We just didn’t play well the entire game from start to finish,” Martinez said. “As a team, we’re just fortunate to come out with a victory.”

Despite the 8-2 record, Pierce came up short in winning the American Pacific Conference (APC).

An Antelope Valley victory over Santa Monica College on Saturday would’ve created a three-way tie atop the conference standings, but Santa Monica defeated Antelope Valley 24-21 and earned the conference title with a perfect 7-0 conference record.

Assistant head coach Jason Sabolic believes Pierce should have won both of their games that they lost, which would have earned the team the conference title.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really feel complete, because in those other two games we lost, we should have won,” said Sabolic.

Pierce could have clinched the conference with a win last week at Santa Monica, and avoided being on the outside looking in, on what they believe should have been a season to remember in Pierce football history.

“[Not winning the conference] is disappointing, but our players played hard throughout the season, and they truly deserved one more game this year, being the bowl game,” said Sabolic.

While Pierce will not compete in a bowl game as the APC champions, they will still compete in a bowl game; a rematch against Mt. San Jacinto on Nov. 17 in the Patriotic Bowl. Mt. San Jacinto defeated Pierce 44-30 on Sept. 8.

Glendale head coach John Rome believes that Pierce is the best team in the conference.

“From a talent stand point, Pierce is the best team in our conference,” said Rome.

Glendale finished their season with an opposite record of Pierce, as they ended the year with a record of 2-8.

“The team played their hearts out in the last game of the season,” Rome said. “We have a young group of players, that are already hungry to get back at it for next season.”

In a messy second half, where each team only scored six points, Pierce sophomore running back Kenny Boggs iced the game with his running and receiving out of the back field.

“Coach trusted me, and I felt like it was my job to finish off the game when I was in,” said Boggs.

Boggs scored on a 25-yard touchdown catch, the only touchdown of the second half for Pierce, on a screen play two yards past the line of scrimmage.

“Boggs and other players stepped up, but it was tough offensively, we didn’t have all our weapons,” said Martinez.

The key weapon in this Pierce passing attack, according to Sabolic that they missed was their two leading receivers, freshman Jaelen Strong, and sophomore Joe Morris.

Pierce still accumulated over 500 yards of offense, with 400 yards coming through the air.

The referee blew his whistle signifying the beginning of the match.

Sophomore outside hitter Sakurako Fujii wound up and served the ball, which flew across the court, and aced it.

Just under an hour later, the Pierce College women’s volleyball team would finish off the match against West Los Angeles, sweeping three consecutive sets for their 58th straight match victory spanning multiple seasons in the South Gym Friday night.

Pierce played business-as-usual, winning their 25th match this season 25-7, 25-9 and 25-11 and going up 10-0 in the conference against a 2-15 West L.A. team, 0-10 in conference, with only six available players.

Sophomore middle Jessica Burns said the team had to be prepared for anything against a team with such a small bench.

“It could always be more scrappy, and you never know what to expect when you play a team like that,” Burns said.

After another dominating performance, Nabil Mardini, head coach for Pierce, said the team “took care of business.”

“I just wanted to make sure our girls finished the match and took care of the win, and [stayed] safe,” Mardini said. “We don’t want them to be hurt going into the playoffs.”

Burns felt they did a good job with the win, and maintaining their intensity the whole match.

This was demonstrated by Pierce leading or staying tied with West L.A. for the whole match except for one rally in the third set.

Despite this and the opposing team’s low record, sophomore libero Brooke Dawson said she never underestimated the Wildcats.

“I didn’t really know what to expect so I treated them like any other team,” Dawson said.

With the fist round of the playoffs coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 20, a lot of players are already getting excited, including Burns.

“Playoffs are the best because it’s all or nothing.” Burns said. “You leave everything on the court and everyone’s giving it their all and that’s just great to see.”

Only one obstacle stands between Pierce and a perfect regular season

going into the playoffs: College of the Canyons.

“C.O.C. is definitely our rival,” Burns said. “It’s going to be a very competitive and high-energy game.”

Sophomore outside hitter Danetta Boykin has different words to describe how C.O.C. will treat the team after Pierce beat them on the way to their latest championship.

“They’re coming for revenge,” Boykin said. “I mean I’d come for revenge, so why not?”

Pierce plays C.O.C. on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at Pierce in South Gym in their last regular season game for the year.

Regional playoffs will begin on Saturday, Nov. 17 with Pierce’s first round opponent and venue to be announced.

Women’s volleyball extends win streak to 58 consecutive matchesDefeat West L.A. in straight sets, now one win away from undefeated regular seasonNick McNamara/ [email protected]

Steve Palma/ RoundupDEFENSE: Jessica Burns (left) and Sakurako Fujii attempt to block a shot during their game against West L.A. on Friday, Nov. 9.

Sports BriefsMen’s basketball starts season with preseason tournament win

The Pierce College men’s basketball team started the 2012-13 season on a positive note by winning the Don Gehler Memorial Tournament 2012 at San Diego Miramar College on Saturday.

The Brahmas won the tournament after defeating Sierra College 90-84 on Saturday in the final game.

Prior to the final game, Pierce had eliminated Barstow College and Miramar College with final scores of 74-52 and 78-58, respectively.

Pierce freshman point guard J.R. Williams was chosen as the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament, while sophomore power forward Codye Hatcher was awarded a spot on the all-tournament first team.

The Brahmas will play host to Glendale College on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. in South Gym.

Women’s soccer ends season with draw at College of the Canyons

The Pierce women’s soccer team let a 2-0 lead on rivals College of the Canyons (C.O.C.) slip away on Friday, Nov. 9, resulting in a 2-2 draw between the teams.

The Brahmas had a chance to avenge the loss they suffered against C.O.C. earlier this season, a 2-0 loss in The Pit on Oct. 16.

The draw leaves the Brahmas with a regular season record of 12-4-4, good enough for third place in the Western State Conference Southern Division behind C.O.C. who finished with a 16-0-4 record and Citrus College, who finished with a record of 15-2-3.

Pierce will play host to Orange Coast College of Costa Mesa, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. in The Pit.

Orange Coast comes into the game with a 16-3 record.