Thursday, April 6, 2000
Vol. LXXXV, No. 23
Pasadena City College
Я
Lancer Softball
pitcher Laney
McCown threw io
strikeouts in her
perfect game
effort in last
weekend’s
tournament win
in Ventura
County.
КРСС/Л4РЕ
— . —
Will listeners
stay tuned to
‘smart talk?’
MPR's takeover means new format and a
digital academy for radio students.
By Jiqi Lindsay
Courier Staff Writer
The birth of Minnesota Public
Radio, like KPCC, began on a col¬
lege campus.
“The formula has been the
same,” said Tony Bol, MPR’s direc¬
tor of media and public affairs,
“The college is the incubating sta¬
tion, but it is not
the mission of
the college to
flourish public
radio. The suc¬
cess of the sta¬
tion is much
greater than
what colleges
want to sup¬
port.”
Eventually,
college public radio stations reach a
point where their growth seems to
conflict with the academic mission
of the college. The station needs
resources to grow, but the station
seems to demand more time and
money than other departments, like
science for example.
According to Bol, the answer for
these recurring patterns has been
MPR, an entity that is able to bring
financing and expertise to pump up
the station.
KPCC, incubated under the
steam pipes in the basement of the
“C” building, has likewise matured
to the point where it fits the MPR
rescue formula.
In the case of KPCC, MPR has
promised to manage and operate the
station at an increased budget, and
to invest $700,000 per year for the
creation and operation of a National
Digital Technology Training
Academy.
MPR, which went digital in
1996, foresees digital broadcasting
as the technology of the future for
radio broadcasting. The academy at
PCC could become a nationally rec¬
ognized training center for the
industry.
PCC students have been
promised paid internships at the
academy.
Under the
operati ng
agreement
between
PCC and
Southern
California
Public
Radio, the
new entity
created by
MPR to manage and operate KPCC,
there will be internship opportuni¬
ties for six to 12 PCC students per
year.
These internships could expose
students to the cutting edge of radio
broadcasting technology.
Michael Bloebaum, dean of the
communications division, is cur¬
rently leading the effort to develop
the curriculum for the academy.
“It’s totally up to us [PCC] as to
how to develop this academy,” he
said.
Currently, two types of curricula
are envisioned, said Bloebaum. The
first track would be for the two-year
student pursuing an A. A. degree,
and the other would be for people
who are already working in the
industry and whose employer wants
See MPR on page 2
“If I knew then what I
know now, I would
have never started the
station.”
-Don Wilson,
KPCC co-founder
Master Plan 2 0 1 0 < as
Short cuts to
ease hassles
By Gia Scafidi
Courier Staff Writer
The inconvenience of parking in
Lot 1, walking downstairs, through
the alley and around the ramp, just
to get to the Campus Center and the
bookstore could be eliminated if the
proposed campus center building is
approved by the board of trustees,
as part of the master plan 2010.
The plan proposes that the
Campus Center be moved west, to
enable people to park and walk
directly into the center, said Rod
Fleeman, vice president of adminis¬
trative services and member of the
master plan committee.
“The new building would
include the campus center, the bank
and the bookstore.”
Fleeman explained that from
Lot 1 the building would appear to
be only one-story. From the quad,
however, one would clearly see that
it was a two-story building.
The new campus center would
eliminate problems that currently
exist with deliveries and space
needs. In addition to the difficulty
that delivery trucks have getting in
and out of the alley, the current
campus center building does not
have enough student meeting
rooms, said Fleeman.
Though in general, the programs
and facilities presently housed in
the Campus Center will remain
there, the master plan proposes new
loading docks and updated food
service areas, in addition to a new
video arcade and possible copy cen¬
ter.
“This is long overdue,” said
Robert DeOcampo, associated stu-
See PLAN on page 3
Peering into the hole. . .
Richard Fa vela
/
The Courier
Administrators carefully look into a manhole that had blown its cover and caused three buildings to be vacated.
Electrical line short
forces evacuation
By Gia Scafidi
Courier Staff Writer
At the sound of fire alarms,
occupants hurriedly vacated build¬
ings D, E and U after, an under¬
ground electricity feeder line
burned out the Wednesday before
spring break.
The splice, at the point where
the main feeder line forks into two
separate electrical power lines for
buildings D and E, let loose and
shorted out, explained Rod
Fleeman, vice president of admin¬
istrative services. The main elec¬
trical transformer, housed in the U
building, had to be turned off,
causing the loss of power and
evacuation of that building, as
well.
“This girl and I were walking
by when there was a small poof
and the manhole cover popped up.
We saw smoke and it [the man¬
hole] landed with a bang,” said
John Cortez, PCC student and eye-
“We saw smoke and
the manhole landed
with a bang.”
-John Cortez,
PCC student
witness.
The smoke the students saw
came from the burning of under¬
ground cables. “The burnout
caused copper wires running
through the electrical lines to melt.
This set the insulation around the
cables on fire,” explained
Fleeman.
Fortunately, shutting down the
power did not threaten the col¬
lege’s computer systems. “We were
told to save all of our work because
the power would be shut off in 4 to
5 minutes,” said Chuck Havard,
counselor of disabled students,
whose office is in the D building.
“Anytime you don’t have
enough time to shut down proper¬
ly, you could lose some informa¬
tion,” Bob Cody, assistant dean of
computing services, explained.
“There were no real computer
problems, other than the inconve¬
niences that power outages cause.”
See EXPLOSION on pg 3
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^■■wimihiiii» Briefs
Fine arts expo in quad
On Wednesday, April 12, from
io a.m. to l p.m. the quad will
be transformed into an art
major’s haven. Student’s inter¬
ested in dance, fine arts and
music will be able to ask ques¬
tions to representatives from
four-year colleges. There will be
information about admission,
program requirements and
financial aid available to quali¬
fied students.
Getting a job
The 13th annual job fair will be
held on Thursday April 18 from
9 a.m. to noon in the quad.
Sponsored by the Career/Job
Placement Center, the fair
strives to give students oppor¬
tunities to find steady jobs and
careers. Also, on April 6, in
L103, the Center will present
“Schmooooozing,” and will
explain how that relates to
searching for work.
Clean those teeth!
The dental hygiene clinic offers
students teeth cleaning.
Appointments must be made in
advance. For more information
call 626-585-7241. Free dental
x-rays are offered to students as
well in R502 on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays.
(Redeem coupon from Campus
Crier for free x-rays).
Testing Area upgrades
into a modern mecca
The Assessment Center has
been renovated and trans¬
formed. The way students are
tested has changed into a more
individualized method. Many
new 23 IBM 450 Micron com¬
puters are now used for
English and Math placement
tests for ultimate accurecy.
The test questions will be indi¬
vidualized in order to meet
each student’s academic needs.
Photographs by PCC students
are also on display in the test¬
ing center’s waiting area.
ANCIENT BE A UTY
Journey to the Yucatan Peninsula to visit the ruins of massive temples
built by centuries ago. Travel back into a time when indigenous peoples of
Mexico erected huge monuments to calculate celestial events.
SEE STILL LIFE PG. 6
“NO, REALLY, I MEAN IT. . A
Staff writer, Erika Kennelley, orders religous fanatics to stop preaching to
the campus. Send a letter to the Courier and give us your viewpoint on
Bible babblers.
SEE OPINION PG. 2
Г
