PCC Courier, April 06, 1989

VOL. 68, NO. 7 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA April 6, 1989 First Drug Awareness Day ‘Hugs Not Drugs’ Theme Encourages People To Rely on People By Margie Goodhart Editor-in-Chief The term drug addict may conjure images of dirty bathrooms, Hollywood backstreets — humanity crawling through life’s lowest levels. Or then again, it may conjure images of South American beaches beneath azure skies, rum drinks sipped through straws and pink flake cocaine — humanity soaring down life’s fun and fast lane. But how often does it make a student look at the person sitting at the next desk or giving the lecture in a classroom on an average suburban campus? For the first time in PCC history, students, staff, faculty, and administra¬ tors can check those images against cold, hard data during Drug Awareness Day, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in the quad. The day program was organized through the joint efforts of Dr. Kent Yamauchi, practicing psychologist from Psychological Services, Janice Roman, college nurse, Chuck Ward, in¬ tern from Student Activities, and Dina Chase, career technician from the Career Center. “Hugs Not Drugs!” is the theme for the event, and the slogan has been im¬ printed on buttons that have two PCC bears hugging each other. “We wanted to find a positive way to suggest there are alternatives to drug use,” said Yamauchi. “People may become involved with drugs because they have difficulty relating to others. The idea is to encourage people to rely on other people rather than on chemi¬ cals.” While Yamauchi feels alcohol is a widely abused chemical, this event will focus on drugs other than alcohol. “We separated it out because alcohol is the most widely abused drug and the one that affects a larger number of stu¬ dents and faculty. We do recognize that other drugs are being abused and are affecting students and faculty. While the numbers may be less, the effects are equally as great for the users and their loved ones.” he said. The event will provide information on treatment, recovery and on the effects of the drugs themselves from a number of community sources. Self- help groups such as Cocaine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Marijuana Smokers Anonymous will have representatives present to answer questions. Inpatient and/or treatment facilities such as St. Luke’s Medical Center’s SHARE Unit, Methodist Hospital’s Life Plus Op¬ tions, Matrix Center and Impact House will have representatives present. AIDS education information will also be available through the American Red Cross. The organizers of this event have in¬ cluded tobacco as an addictive subs¬ tance. Information on smoking and kicking the habit will be provided by the American Cancer Society and the “Breathe Free Stop Smoking Pro¬ gram” offered through the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Other participants include the Pasadena Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency, Pasadena Police Department, First Step Book Source and the California Study Center. Yamauchi is encouraging a high level of involvement for faculty to motivate students to make use of the available information. “We’ve encouraged faculty to do a number of things with the program,” he said. “The first is for all faculty in all areas to announce the event in classes. Second, if they feel it’s relevant to course material they’re teaching, to offer extra credit for attending. Third, to use the event as a spring board for discussions on drugs and alcohol; for instance, in a sociology class, a discus¬ sion of drug addiction as a part of family development. In a business course, perhaps how drugs affect staff development. In engineering and technology, safety issues could be discussed. And fourth, we would like the professors to use this as an oppor¬ tunity for students to write a report. Every course has a potential for drug education,” said Yamauchi. Yamauchi feels that colleges are in a unique position to influence students in a positive way in the area of drug abuse: they’re in the business of educa¬ tion. “As a program, we’re trying to in¬ crease people’s awareness of the effects of drug addiction and provide informa¬ tion on what can be done to help.” Drug Awareness Day received spe¬ cial funds awarded through a PCC Foundation mini-grant and the Associ¬ ated Students. A program for evening students was presented Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. in the D building. Governor’s Proposed ’88 Budget Excludes Prop 98 Funds for Community Colleges By Tim Frank Associate News Editor Gov. George Deukmejian proposed not to give the community colleges any of the $116 million reserved for educa¬ tion by Proposition 98 during the cur¬ rent fiscal year. The governor’s pro¬ posed budget for 1989-90 would give the the community colleges $10 million of the $402 million set aside for K-12 and the community colleges. When the voters passed Proposition 98, they were promised that the funds would be used for both the community colleges and K-12, said Scott. “That bill would not have passed without community college support.” At their March 23 meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution urging the governor and the state legislature to give a more reasonable amount of funds generated by Proposition 98 to the community colleges. Arnold Bray, legislative advocate for the Association of California Com¬ munity College Administrators, and David Mertis, the Chancellor of the state community colleges, have been lobbying legislators to propose a more equitable amount for community col¬ leges, said Scott. “ТЪе governor’s budget is substan¬ tially what Bill Honig has also pro¬ posed,” said Scott. Honig, as the State Superintendant of schools, represents just the K-12. Mertis has been negotiating with Honig and may reach an agreement to share the funds. Bray said that if the K-12 and the community colleges reach an agreement, the legelature is likely to follow that agreement when allocating funds. Two bills in the state Assembly and one in the Senate support the com¬ munity college position. Assembly bill AB 98 sponsored by assembleywoman Terresa Hughes, chair of the education committee, will probably allocate to the community colleges $84 million in 1989-90 and $70 million in 1990-91. Assemblyman John Vasconcellos, author of AB 1725 and a member of the ways and means committee, introduced AB 1341, which will allocate $70 million for the community colleges each of the next two years, coinciden¬ tally just what the community colleges need to impliment AB 1725. State Sen. Gary Hart, not the presi¬ dential candidate, authored SB 98, a bill that would begin to allocate prop 98 funds to the community colleges in the current fiscal year. If any of these bills passes without substantial revision, the community colleges will benefit, said Bray. The board’s resolution was sent to the governor and to key legislators. Scott also asked the faculty and staff to do what they could to make their legislators aware of the needs of com¬ munity colleges. But the largest group of registered voters on campus is com¬ prised of students. If students who are registered voters will write to their assemblyman, state senator and gover¬ nor they would do a tremendous ser¬ vice for the school, said Scott. Students don’t need to write a long letter, said Bray. All the legislators need to know is that students want more of the funds from Proposition 98 to go to the community colleges and that the students are following the legislative process and would appreci¬ ate the legislator’s support for AB 98, AB 1341, and SB 98. A few hand writ¬ ten sentences would be addequate. Transportation Day Features Alternatives By David Sands Special Correspondent PCC is currently exploring new in¬ centives for an effective solution to the campus parking dilemma. Dr. Jack Scott, president- superintendent, has recognized com¬ fortable alternatives to driving to PCC that would inevitably clean up the air, reduce the number of cars parked on campus, and save students and faculty money. “We want to encourage car¬ pooling, bus travel and bike travel to reduce air pollution and settle the park¬ ing problem on campus,” said Scott. PCC recently joined the RTD’s Cor¬ porate Pass Program, which was devised to assist large institutions in implementing bus transit options for employees. The plan, if followed, could relieve traffic congestion and reduce air pollution. PCC has sub¬ sidized the cost of the standard RTD bus pass. The regular $42 monthly pass has been reduced to $20 for college employees. The student pass, normally $25, has been brought down to $20. Transportation Day was held in the quad on April 3 and 4, to expose stu¬ dents to the available alternatives. Scott and RTD board president Gordana Swanson traveled to the college on bus lines #264 and #401 from Scott’s home early Monday morning. Scott feels that Southern Califor¬ nians should use public transportation. As part of Transportation Day, local businesses held a raffle where prizes were awarded. The bookstore raffled off discount coupons on any product in the store. Commuter-Computer distributed information on how to van- pool and carpool successfully. “The purpose of Transportation Day was to heighten the awareness of alternative modes of transportation,” said Phil Mullendore, chief of campus police. A new RTD bus was parked in the quad for the event. According to RTD’s Marketing and Communications Represenative Edward J. Langer, the bus was displayed to alleviate the in¬ timidation and misconceptions a stu¬ dent may have about using public transportation. “We want to show people that a bus can be exremely comfortable to ride in,” said Langer. “We have had a favorable response to our display of literature and to the bus itself here at PCC. Many of the students who reside in Pasadena have found out that they could get to campus on one bus, and that it would be economical compared to driving to school.” An extensive survey conducted by the PCC parking committee has revealed exactly where students live and where they come from. There are approximately 4,648 students that reside in Pasadena and attend PCC. In Los Angeles, there are 2,049 students arriving on campus daily. The numbers cited do not include the thousands com¬ ing from the San Gabriel Valley. One solution to the campus parking problem being reviewed by PCC offi¬ cials is shuttle transportation for stu¬ dents. Information on how to carpool successfully will be distributed by mail to all registered students, including lo¬ cal bus schedules that outline direct routes to the college. Gordana Swanson, president of the board of RTD (right), presented Dr. Jack Scott, PCC president-superintendent, with a certificate of enroll¬ ment in the Corporate Pass Program last Monday. Jess Hughston, vice¬ mayor of Pasadena, was on hand to lend his support. AQMD Finds PCC in Non-Compliance The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) has found PCC in non-compliance with Regulation XV, the “Commuter .Pro¬ gram,” because 60 percent of the staff and faculty did not complete the transportation form and submit it to the campus police, said Phil Mullendore, director of Police and Safety Services. Penalties include up to $25,000- a-day fine and/or one year in jail to be served by the president of the college. These penalties have been postponed 30 days, pending resubmission of the plan. To be in compliance with Regula¬ tion XV, the carpool ratio for PCC’s 550 employees who arrive on campus between 6 and 10 a.m. daily must equal 1.5 people per car. Regulation XV is geared to reduce air pollution through carpooling which would lessen the number of cars on the road. Mullendore said that due to the lack of response by employees to the transportation survey dated Nov. 3, the campus police will have to manually count the number of vehicles and peo¬ ple in them to determine the average vehicle ridership. This will be done the week of April 16. The plan must be resubmitted by April 25. “The survey showed what people are willing to do,” said Mullendore. “The lack of response shows that the staff isn’t taking this seriously.” For the approximately 40 percent of the employees who did take the ques- tionaire seriously and intend to carpool, there will be 20 spaces of prime park¬ ing in the lot at the east end of the C Building designated for carpool only parking. This will begin sometime in May and will be monitored by a campus police officer. Another possible incentive under consideration for employees who carpool is that their parking fees may be waived. — M. Goodhart John Quintanilla / The Courier The lettered signs, having fulfilled their purpose of directing students during the initial portion of the semester, are being taken down. At present, an artist is at work on permanent Plexiglas signs. Band Festival Held in Sexson By Hugh Armel Staff Writer Fifteen concert bands, including the Lancers, will perform today in Sexson Auditorium an annual festival held by the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association. The bands in attendance today are Pasadena and Muir and others from greater distances like Sage and Parkview middle schools from Lancas¬ ter. The non-competitive festival is free to anyone who wishes to listen. The bands will begin performances at 8 a.m. and finish at 4:30 p.m. “People are welcome to listen as long as they want. They can stay for one number for several, ’’said Jim Amwine, director of the Lancer band. Three respected music educators will evaluate and give their comments to the the bands. If the groups have chosen to be rated, the judges will rate them as unexceptable, fair, good, ex¬ cellent, or superior. The evaluators will be Dr. James Westbrook, director of the band at Cal Poly Pamana, Roger Johnson, music instructor at Long Beach City College, and Jack Mason retired music teacher from Chaffey College. The performers will also be evalu¬ ated on their sight reading skills, which is the ability to play music on sight for the first time. No prizes will be awarded but the groups “work very hard to prepare for it,” added Amwine. The festival, which has taken place here on campus for more than 30 years is “a service we like to provide. We don’t get anything out of it. It’s our contribution to the band com¬ munity, ’’said Amwine. Book Bunch The Brown Bag Book Bunch will meet again April 20 at noon. This time they will discuss Anne Tyler’s “Accidental Tourist.” All faculty and staff are invited to participate. They urge you to read the book ahead of time so you can be an active part of the discussion. For more info on room number call Robert Foreman at 578-7429. Go Out and Vote Today is the last day to vote on the revised AS Constitution. The voting will take place in the quad on the campus center porch. Polls will be open between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and again from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. The new constitution will be ratified upon two-thirds majority approval of those voting. The Courier urges everyone to go out and execise your right to vote. MEChA Anniversary Radio personalities Je’Taime and DJ Л. .in of station K-DAY will be in the quad today at noon. This is part of MEChA’s anniversary celebration. Cheerleader Tryouts To all male and female students who want to try out for Fall ‘89 Cheerleader squad, the tryouts are coming up in May. All those interested can call the campus center at 578-7384 for more information. RTD Price Break RTD bus passes are now only $20 for PCC students, faculty and staff. Students must already have a current bus pass and present a current PCC ID card or print¬ out. Faculty and staff must have a a valid staff ID. Regular price of the bus passes is $42. The special priced passes are on sale now at the Student Bank. Ebony Fashion Fair The Pasadena- Altadena Links are presenting a fashion show on April 12 at 8p.m. The show will be called “Fashions for Literacy”. The show will be at the Pasadena Civic Center. Proceeds from the evening will go to various local literacy, tutoring and scholarship programs. One of the scholarship will go to someone from PCC. Last year’s winner was Maxanna Brooks. Cost of tickets are $20 and $30. Students with a current ID can get tickets for $17. Tickets at the box office only.