Collegian
LACC
WEATHER FORECAST
MONDAY 90/72
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
82/69
79/68
THURSDAY 82/69
FRIDAY 86/68
NEWS BRIEFS
COMPILED BY SORINA SZAKACS
‘#Blacklivesmatter’ Exhibit
Comes to Campus
Artist Isabelle Lutterodt’s
Erasure/Agitation #Blacklives-
matter art exhibition will be on
display inside the Da Vinci Gal-
lery at Da Vinci Hall until Sept.
30. Anyone interested in signed
art pieces and interacting with
the artist can attend a discus-
sion Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 5:30
p.m. in the Da Vinci Gallery.
Elephant’s Graveyard to
Kickstart Theatre Academy
Fall Opening
Elephant’s Graveyard, by
George Brant, will launch the
fall season for LACC’s Theatre
Academy. The play highlights
revenge, spectacle, lynching and
legends, when a circus enters
a small struggling Midwest
town. Show dates are Oct. 2, 3,
8, 9 and Oct. 10 at the Camino
Theatre. Check the Theatre
Academy Box Office for show
times.
Deadlines Arrive Soon for
Class, Schedule Changes
Students who want to take
a class on a Pass/No Pass basis
must file by Friday, Oct. 2. The
last day to drop a class with a
“W,” which means you with-
drew from the class and are
ineligible for a letter grade is
Sunday, Nov. 22.
UC Representatives Visit
Campus to Assist Students
Students who apply for UC
Transfer Admission Guaran-
tee can attend the UC TAG
Workshop today from 4-5 p.m.
Students will learn the require-
ments and application process.
The TAG deadline is Sept. 30.
Students may also attend work-
shops on Sept. 24 from noon to
1 p.m., and Sept. 30 from 1-2
p.m. Workshops are in Room
203 of the Administration
Building.
CSUN Welcomes Future
Transfer Students
CSUN admissions repre-
sentatives will be at L.A. City
College on Wednesday Sept. 22,
from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. To sched-
ule an appointment, visit the
Transfer Center in the Admin-
istration Building, Room 109.
40 Universities Coming to
Transfer Fair
LACC’s Transfer Day is
Tuesday Sept. 22, from 10
a.m.-1 p.m. in the Quad. Forty
universities from across the na-
tion will attend the first transfer
fair of the semester. Students
can contact the Transfer Center
for more information on the
participating universities.
Astronomy Club Invites
Students to Lunar Eclipse
The LACC Astronomy Club
welcomes students to observe
a total lunar eclipse on Sunday,
Sept. 27. Viewing will be on the
third floor observation deck of
the Sci-tech Building from 6:30
p.m. until 9:30 p.m.
INDEX
Opinion 2 ra, the Theater Department chair.
Features 3,4
News 5 LACC strengthens the legacy and
Scholarships 6 tradition that has been established
Los Angeles
Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Volume 175 Number 1
Multimillion Dollar Grant Promises
Internships for District Students
M
BY SORINA SZAKACS
ore than 6,000
students have
15 million rea-
sons to be hap-
py, thanks to
funds available from the California
Career Pathway Trust Grant. The
California Department of Educa-
tion awarded a $15 million grant
to the Los Angeles Community
College District that offers 4,000 in-
ternships in five career areas.
The LACCD received $15 million
in the form of a one-time compet-
itive grant for a program aimed at
Shirley without Laverne Shares Memoirs
BY MAE BRADLEY
Actress Cindy Williams spoke
about her struggle and zeal while
presenting her first memoir, “Shir-
ley, I Jest: A Storied Life,” at the
Camino Theatre on Sept. 12.
Williams told the crowd of her
life’s journey finding solace through
the arts. After 45 years of hard
work, her career in Hollywood still
continues. She says she lived a life
focused on making people laugh,
having fun and staying positive.
Although famous for her role as
Shirley in the sitcom “Laverne &
Shirley” and the film “American
Graffiti,” Williams says she strug-
gled with academics due to dyslex-
ia. She says her ability to read, write,
spell and speak properly was often
misunderstood during her era.
“You had to be enthusiastic,”
Williams said. “Have a lot of hope,
and be like Pollyanna every day of
your life to say, ‘maybe tomorrow
something wonderful will happen.’
I found a great beauty in that.”
Many of the audience members
had comments about the event,
including Jonathan Elias, the head
of Los Angeles City College’s pro-
gramming board, and Leslie Ferrei-
Ferreira says that Williams’ visit to
in the program since 1929.
merging traditional academics and
technical training. The program will
connect employers with schools and
train students for jobs in high-de-
mand fields such as advanced man-
ufacturing, information technology
and healthcare.
District officials and business
partners gathered for the grant
award ceremony on Thursday, June
4, in front of the Metro Headquar-
ters Building at L.A.’s Union Station.
Among the 115 people there were
Phil Washington, CEO of Metro-
politan Transportation Authority,
Frank Spaeth, CEO of NIC Technol-
ogy Partners and Tracy Rafter, CEO
“The way she looks at life is in-
spiring, day to day as something
new,” Elias said.
First semester LACC student,
James Datu says Williams inspired
him. He believes the Theater De-
partment lead to some of her suc-
cess.
“Seeing alumni that are success-
ful … fills me with pride for being
in this program,” Datu said.
Al Rossi, a retired theatre faculty
member, and Alumni Director for
the LACC Foundation, Leigh Sten-
berg coordinated with Williams’
publisher for the speaking engage-
The Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929
COURTESY OF THE LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
of BizFed.
The program will help over 6,000
students by offering 4,000 intern-
ships, which will be available over
the next four years. With more than
100 partners, this program is one of
the largest collaborative models in
the history of California, and focus-
es on high-demand industry sectors
that are projected to grow and offer
job opportunities into the future.
“This grant is a win-win-win for
the students, the employers and
our colleges because we know that
when we work together to create ca-
reer pathways, the economy grows,
and the whole community bene-
PHOTO BY TOMAS RODRIGUEZ/COLLEGIAN
ment and book signing. Although
admission was free for students, the
general public paid $15. All ticket
and book sale proceeds will help
send LACC theatre academy stu-
dents to the 2016 Kennedy Center
Honors for Performing Arts Awards
in Hawaii.
“I love when alumni come back…
and want to give to their alma ma-
ter,” Stenberg said.
Williams revealed that there is
another book in the works titled,
“The Rest of the Jest.” In this book,
she says she continues her life story
where “Shirley, I Jest” leaves off.
fits,” said LACCD Trustee Mike Eng
who chaired the Board committees
overseeing the District’s application
process. “This is just the beginning
of a real ride for the students.”
The California Career Path-
way Trust Grant will be available
to 6,298 applicants. Seventy-two
percent of the applications will be
designated for students who face
economic academic challenges. The
remaining 28 percent are reserved
for students who major in one of
the five fields.
SEE ENROLLMENT GRANT PAGE 5
STUDY ABROAD CAPTIVATES STUDENT,
ENCOURAGES HER TO STAY IN SCHOOL
BY TOMAS RODRIGUEZ
Brenda Guzman sat and ate crepes
with her classmates while enjoying
the scene. In Paris, at that moment,
she realized her potential as a His-
panic woman, a single mother and a
community college student.
Study abroad programs allow
students to travel overseas. They
spend one month in Spain and have
a three-day conclusion in France. In
Spain, the students stay in the dorms
at Colegio Mayor Mara, the local
university that is minutes away from
the city center. Attendees also have
the opportunity to tour many histor-
ic landmarks and museums.
Guzman made it out of Los Ange-
les. She traveled across the Atlantic
Ocean to Madrid and Barcelona,
Spain. Then she spent three-days in
France. She started to envision trav-
eling with her daughter. Together,
they could sit under the stars of the
Eiffel Tower.
“My dorm was comfortable,” Guz-
man said. “I posted pictures of my
daughter so it would remind me of
home.”
Guzman says she thanks the For-
eign Language and Humanities De-
partment at Los Angeles City Col-
lege for being able to see Spain, and
take a course in Spanish while expe-
riencing the culture in Spain.
MEET N’ SWAP:
SOAK UP DEALS,
LOCAL COLOR
SEE PAGE 4
ACCREDITATION
REVIEW LOOMS
BY AMBAR QUINTILLA
A review set for March 2016 has
the staff, faculty and administra-
tion inundated with processes and
paperwork to ensure the campus
clears the accreditation hurdle.
Accredited institutions of high-
er education guarantee graduates
certified degrees. The Western As-
sociation of Schools and Colleges
(WASC) certify all California edu-
cational institutions that offer stu-
dents an accredited degree.
A WASC accreditation legitimiz-
es the credits a student obtains upon
the completion of an appropriate
course. In order to offer students a
WASC accredited degree, an institu-
tion must uphold the principles in
the associations mission statement–
thus, being re-accredited as an ac-
ceptable institution at least every 10
years. LACC must be re-accredited.
Dr. Dan Walden, vice president of
Academic Affairs says students will
suffer tremendously if the accred-
ited stamp of approval is removed.
Walden is also the accreditation liai-
son officer, and he is confident that
LACC should not fear the loss of ac-
creditation.
“To lose accreditation would
mean that you were ignoring the
commission and were not following
through to fix what needs to be fixed
… that you have substantially devi-
ated from the standards,” Walden
said.
Accreditation also plays an im-
portant role in determining whether
a school gets any federal assistance.
In California, if an institution is not
WASC accredited it will not receive,
nor be able to offer federal financial
aid to qualified students.
Although the seal of accreditation
is from WASC, the agency respon-
sible for reaffirming LACC’s accred-
itation is the Accrediting Commis-
sion for Community and Junior
Colleges.
“Many dedicated faculty, staff
and administrators are working
on [LACC’s] formal report to the
ACCJC,” said to Dr. Dan Wanner,
the LACC Accreditation Co-Chair.
“[Faculty, staff and administrators]
are reviewing how well [LACC’s]
SEE WASC PAGE 5
She says in the mornings when
she woke up and looked out her win-
dow from the fourth floor, she saw
many students just like herself. They
were from all over the nation and
possessed the desire to travel.
While abroad, Brenda had class
for three hours most days. In her
free time she would take public
transportation to the Plaza De Sol,
a tourist attraction in the center of
Madrid.
During her trip, historic archi-
tecture surrounded her. She says
it reminds her of Hollywood but
without the calamity celebrities and
noise. She took the opportunity to
see the Palacio Real de Madrid – the
Royal Palace of Madrid.
“I entered the place in awe,” Guz-
man said. “First, I noticed the enor-
mous paintings high above, [on the
ceiling] of the palace. I felt like I
was in a fairy tale.”
Brenda went to Paris for the last
few days of her trip. She arrived in
her hotel, unloaded her stuff in a
hurry and went straight to the Eiffel
Tower.
During the day, the tower capti-
vated her, but at night it sparkled
and created the illusion of a million
stars in the dark starless sky.
SEE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PAGE 5