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Volume 101, Issue 6
" The Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915.'
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Promoting low-cost public transportation
Despite discount,
few bus passes sold
Danny Reyes/Courier
ЯСС
student and AS Chief Justice Michael Lance speaks at a Metro-related news confer¬
ence with President Lisa Sugimoto, right, and Metro CEO Arthur Leahy on Tuesday.
CATHERINE SUM
Staff Writer
Sales for the discounted transit pass
offered to full-time students has been low,
though much support have been expressed
for the partnership between PCC and the
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit
Authority (Metro).
Of approximately 8,800 passes, about 800
have been sold since the I-Pass went on sale
Feb. 25 to full-time students carrying 12 or
more units, according to Metro figures.
At a news conference held Tuesday morn¬
ing in the quad, officials such as Pasadena
Mayor Bill Bogaard, Metro CEO Art Leahy,
college President Lisa Sugimoto and board
of trustees President Hilary Bradbury-
Huang were on hand to express their admi¬
ration for the program.
Representatives from both groups are
already looking toward the progression of
possible future plans.
Leahy, who himself used to work as a bus
driver along Colorado Boulevard, spoke
about the importance of Metro in partnering
with the Pasadena community.
"We [at Metro] get to ask ourselves, 'What
do we want L.A. to look like?'" he said. "The
network is always expanding. It's incredibly
easy now to go to lunch in Hollywood from
Pasadena."
The spearhead behind the partnership,
Associated Students Chief Justice Michael
Lance, also spoke during the 30-minute
presentation, urging students to take advan¬
tage of the $30 passes.
In addition to offering discounted semes¬
ter-long passes to students, the 1-Pass pro¬
gram comes at a time that allows it to align
with PCC's sustainability objectives, which
include reducing traffic, promoting the use
of public transportation and lessening the
college's carbon footprint.
"The new transit pass meets the needs of
students and the PCC community," said
Bogaard. "And with it, I hope, comes a dra¬
matic shift in thinking [about] the role of the
automobile and mass transit."
With construction on the extension of the
Gold Line to Azusa kicking off in June, the
mayor continued, an opportunity will be
opened for students and the San Gabriel
Valley to further take advantage of the pub¬
lic transportation at hand.
"I am glad to celebrate the possibility for
the strengthening of the economy through
mobility," Bogaard said.
Dovetailing with the partnership,
Sugimoto said the college offers free shuttles
from the main campus to nearby Gold Line
stops.
A big fan of public transportation,
Bradbury-Huang commended college offi¬
cials who worked to bring the partnership
into effect.
Improved services for veterans attending college discussed
Natalie Sehn Weber
Staff Writer
According to Afghanistan and
Iraq war veterans, the issues veter¬
ans confront when registering at
and attending PCC are numerous.
They range from the physical and
financial, to the emotional and
societal.
Veteran and PCC student Jorge
Zamora confronts several issues
on a daily basis, he said. He has a
serious back injury and PTSD.
PCC's classroom chairs are terri¬
ble for him due to his size and
chronic back pain, he said.
Zamora's only income is the G.I.
Bill and Disability, he said. Trying
to pay his bills is a constant issue.
Zamora said he knows several
veterans that sleep in their cars.
"I was lucky. I had to live in my
car for only two weeks," he said,
until a member of the Veterans
Club offered a place for him to
stay.
"It's very important the PCC
community know that we're not
looking for a handout. We're in
class and we strive to be self-suffi¬
cient. We want to be productive
members of society just like any
other student," said Zamora.
He was thankful for the support
he's received from key members of
the Veterans Services and Club.
"Financial issues are a tremen¬
dous burden," said Patty
D'Orange-Martin, associate pro¬
fessor and counselor for
Counseling and Career Sendees.
"There has to be a way to
resolve the wait on financial assis¬
tance," she said. "Benefits don't
kick in for a month."
The delay D'Orange-Martin
refers to is due to a change in the
new Post-9
/11
G.I. Bill, according
to Denise Vidrio, intermediate
account clerk for PCC's Fiscal
Services department.
Previously, veterans would
receive their course fees and hous¬
ing stipend directly from the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs,
she said. "Now veterans have to
pay [their registration fees]
upfront."
Continued on page 2
New Center for the Arts Building designed to reach out to students
The proposed Center for the Arts
Building has taken a new artistic twist. The
new plan is inspired by a design of Jacob
Hanover, a former art student.
"Jacob is a very ambitious and talented
budding illustrator," said Richard Osaka,
Hanover's former instructor.
"He took to this assignment with a lot of
excitement and he wanted to do something
that was befitting of the new art building,
so he concentrated on this theme of having
this tentacle situation where the student is
grabbed into the visual arts building and
not allowed to leave," said Osaka.
Richard van Pelt, vice president of
administrative services thinks the new
building is a step into the new millennium.
"The concept for the Center for the Arts
is forward, and upward looking. The idea
is for people to look up to the future. The
revised design is a change in paradigm.
People have become used to square walls
and the normal PCC architecture, and this
challenges that view," said van Pelt.
Dean of Visual Arts and Media Studies
Alex Kritselis sees the new design as being
a perfect fit for the campus.
"Clearly as an art building it has to stand
out and this design really helps that
cause," said Kritselis.
"I love the idea that each and every one
of the small compartments that make the
tentacles are art studios, so people can
work independently at all hours of the day
and night and be able to slide down the
sides when they want to go to lunch or go
home," he said.
Kritselis is also pleased that the new
building could help alleviate traffic on
campus.
"I love that the tentacles could move and
touch other buildings and make bridges to
other departments," he said.
The new design has also caught the
attention of President Lisa Sugimoto.
"The architectural structure is unique.
We are pleased with the new sense of
design. The tentacles should be moving.
It's art in motion," said Sugimoto.
Sugimoto believes that the new design is
something that will be talked about for
years to come.
"Being at the center of campus will make
it a long lasting legacy for the college and
the community," she said.
Happy April Fool's Day, everyone.
Illustration by Jacob Hanover