The Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915
Volume 95, Issue 6
i
Pasadena City
College
it
The Truth About The Draft
Meghann Baker
Contributing Writer
Rumors of an impending draft are starting to permeate the
news. The grumblings began deep in the belly of Congress,
rose to a gurgle on the internet,, and now threaten to burst past
NPR’s lips and into the mouth of the Media Machine. Not
knowing how real the possibility of a draft is can handicap a
citizenry that is endowed with the right to have a say in its
country’s decisions.
One official source of draft information is The Selective Ser¬
vice System’s website (sss.gov). This site is full of quick facts
easy to navigate. It has a section titled, “What Happens in a
Draft,” which lists a sequence of events if the draft were to be
reinstated: Congress f- The Lottery - Activation - Evaluation
" Appeals - Notification - Induction.
Since Congress is no longer Republican, it may be more dif¬
ficult than ever for the Bush Administration to reinstate the
draft. However, just because the draft is a polarizing issue does
not mean it has no support in a Democratic Congress.
One of these supporters is Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY).
Rangel has been calling for a reinstatement of the draft since
2003. Since Rangel is a known anti-war activist, it is widely
believed that his bill, The Universal National Service Act (HR
393) is his way of speaking out against the Bush Administra¬
tion’s war policies in Iraq. But while Rep. Rangel makes it
clear that he is against the war in Iraq, he has said that he sup¬
ports the reinstatement of the draft if the war in Iraq doe's not
end.
Rangel has introduced HR 393 every year since 2003. While
it has been continuously voted down, the bill still offers a door¬
way to the draft should Congress decide that Americans must,
as Rep. Rangel puts it, “shoulder the burden of war equally.”
The power to reinstate the draft lies in the hands of both Con¬
gress and thd President. The President can call for a draft at
any time, but Congress holds the purse strings for the war.
Before Vietnam, all registered men between the ages of 18 to
26 were eligible for the draft, and did not have a way of know¬
ing if or when they would have to go to war. Now, instead of
having to wait through years of uncertainty, the lottery makes
it very clear who should be expecting imminent deployment,
and who still has time to wait.
According to the Selective Service System, the current lot¬
tery is carried out by the plucking of cards out of two massive
drums. One drum contains numbers 1 to 365 (366 in a leap
year). The other drum holds birthdays - one card for every pos-
sible birthday in the current year. The numbers and dates have
been printed in a random order dictated by a computer. The
drums have been sealed and labeled with certificates that say
the cards and drums have been prepared “according to estab¬
lished procedure”.
Once the powers that be flip the switch, the Selective Service
System would immediately rise from its sleep. The drums
would be unsealed, and one card from each drum would be
paired up until every birthday of that year had a number
assigned to it. Then the men turning 20 that year would be
See ‘Draft’ - Page 3
VP Forced
To Resign
Former AS VP of Academic Affairs Leaves
Position Up For Grabs
Stacey Wang
Managing Editor
With the presidency and vice presidency of the
college vacant, another leadership position has
become available. The A.S. Board has a leadership
position to fill with the recent removal of the vice
president of academic affairs.
Jessica Chiarizio, who has been serving in that
position since last fall, has been asked to step down
from office after being unable to fulfill her A.S. con¬
tract responsibilities.
As a member of the A.S., Chiarizio was required
to be a full-time student, enrolled in at least 12 units
per semester, in order to maintain her position.
Due to personal problems, Chiarizio could not
attend her spring classes, which forced her to drop
her classes and thus making her ineligible to hold
student office.
“From what I gather, her personal problems just
snowballed, so she had to take time off,” said A.S.
President Natalie Courtney. Although Chiarizio did
not attend any of the A.S. executive board meetings
for the spring semester, Courtney gave her the ben¬
efit of the doubt, hoping that she would return as
soon as her hardships were resolved.
“Jessica did a really good job of being available to
the students when she was here. She was active,
eager and she was a really good academic affairs
VP,” said Courtney, who was disappointed to see
Chiarizio leave office.
Two weeks ago, Courtney checked Chiarizio’s
class schedule and realized that she had been
dropped from all her courses. She then notified
Chiarizio that she had to step down from her vice
presidency.
While Chiarizio was unavailable, her duties as
the student voice at faculty senate meetings
Daniel
В
elis/C miner
Former AS VP of academic affairs Jessi¬
ca Chiarizio stepped down,
remained silent. However, once Chiarizio’s position
was officially opened, several A.S. members decid¬
ed to act as an interim until the position is filled.
With the position newly opened, AS is now
accepting applications until Friday, April 13. The
interview process will be held on Tuesday, April
24 and Thursday, April 16 from noon to 2:30 p.m.
and the new VP will be appointed on Wednesday,
May 2.
Although the new member will take office in the
middle of the semester, Courtney wanted to reas¬
sure applicants that AS members will assist the
newcomer as much as possible. “We’re going to
help and support whoever takes Jessica’s place,”
she said.
Watch Out
For The Next Issue...
Rafael Delg ado/C ourier
Forward Thinker: Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking-
explained why cosmologists should be "Running History Back¬
wards," in a lecture April 3 at Caltech's Beckman Auditorium.
Hawking visits Pasadena every spring, but this time Caltech
physicist Kip Thorne said he "brings disappointment" for those
hoping that the structure of our universe could be explained
from first principles.
On Stands
Tuesda
April
To
