PCC Courier, April 10, 2003

Feature: A fun-filled spring break with Native Americans See Page 4 Jlrtist-in- ‘Rfsicfence: Dancer Alice Lo, the newest artist to grace PCC See Page 5 Sports: ^rikeout again See Page 6 P A Winner of tit» faAultuU Paceletteb Awa flou/utali&tic P XCt\li(HtCti! Courier Since 1915 VOL. 88 NO. 23 www.pcc-courieronline.com April 10, 2003 Students Protest War, Tuition Hike All photos by Jonathan Enriquez/Courier Angela Seki marches through the quad on March 20, as one of the many student protesters rallying against the invasion of Iraq. Three are handcuffed, two are arrested in a PCC walkout on March 20, while a Downtown L.A. protest remains calm Robert Glassey Contributing Writer When war protesters entered the C Building to encourage fellow stu¬ dents to join them in an anti-war walkout, they were met by four cam¬ pus police officers intent on prevent¬ ing a disruption of classes and col¬ lege offices. The protest took place on March 20, the day the United States launched its ongoing attack on Iraq. Just after 1 p.m., a throng of about 50 war protesters, many of them active in Students for Social Justice, came through the west entry of the C Building chanting, “Stop the war, stop the bombs, walk out now.” Philip Mullendore, chief of cam¬ pus police, intercepted the protesters as they came to the top of the steps and onto the second floor. Mullendore was backed-up by his second in command, Lt. Bradley Young and officers Alan Chan and Nicholas Hoekstra. Things quickly moved from noisy to chaotic when police took three students into cus¬ tody: Victor Mendoza, 27, Jackson Baugh, 25 and Marco Martinez, 20. Police immediately found them¬ selves challenged by other students demanding the release of the three. In the course of the ensuing scuffle, police used batons and pepper spray # see PROTEST, page 3 Sheryl McQuilkin/Couner Fast Facts "A Call to Action" Student March on Pershing Square - 1 6 schools participated in the, protest on March 27 -Approximately 150 students from PCC joined m the protest -The march was organized in protest of Gov. Gray Davis’s pro¬ posal to raise the tuition of com¬ munity college students from $1 1 a unit to $24 effective next Fall Merrin Fuentebella Contributing Writer Thousands of students protested against Gov. Gray Davis’ planned budget cuts to community colleges at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles Friday, March 28. Associated Students (AS) mem¬ bers from all around Southern California organized the event and provided buses to and from the rally, which lasted from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. As many as 4,000 community college students participated. Every student wore a T-shirt provided free by AS members. Each college had a unique color to represent it. The front of each shirt said, “Keep the doors open,” while the back had the name of the individual’s college. At noon the students left the square, one college at' time. The chanting marchers traveled east on Fifth Street, north on Broadway, west along Third, and circled back down Hill Street to Pershing Square. Among the schools participating were Santa Monica, Glendale, Rio Hondo, and the nine Los Angeles District campuses. “The feet that UC and Cal State campuses are given budget increas- # see PERSHING, page 3 Police Face Inquiry Linda Rapka Staff Writer Campus police will soon be sub¬ ject to an investigation stemming from allegations of inappropriate behavior during the arrest of two PCC students at a recent anti-war demonstration. The two students arrested “have subsequently alleged inappropriate behavior by the campus police dur¬ ing the disturbance,” said college president James Kossler in a recent memo. The college plans to use “an outside, independent third-party to conduct the investigation [of the officers involved],” Kossler affirmed in the memo. A peaceful walkout on March 20 turned violent when student protestors entered the C Building, prompting campus police to handcuff three students. Two of them, Marco Martinez and Victor Mendoza, were initially arrested on felony charges of incit¬ ing a riot. The third student, Jackson Baugh, was released. Mendoza was also later released, and the charge on Martinez was “dropped down to a disturbing the peace charge, a misdemeanor,” said Judy Beres, legal council for Martinez. The arrested students say they will seek suspension of the arresting officers, Lt. Brad Young and Philip Mullendore, chief of police. “If an investigation warrants a civil action, we will look into it,” said Dale Bolger, assistant to Beres. Those students arrested have made a list of six demands of the campus police and the college. Martinez and Mendoza want all charges dropped and an independent % see CHARGES, page 3 Father of Murdered Flamenco Dancer Finds Justice After Four Long Years Rita Vega-Acevedo Staff Writer Anxiety, tension and tears over¬ flowed in the small Pasadena courtroom on March 27, as Judge Teri Schwartz sentenced Johnny Ortiz to 1 6 years to life for the murder of PCC student Maria Isabel Fernandez. Relatives and friends of the vic¬ tim came to the courthouse to con¬ front Ortiz, who murdered Fernandez, 1 7, by stabbing her 46 times with two kitchen knives. Ortiz expressed or remorse during the proceeding. Marian Thompson, deputy district attor¬ ney, said that Ortiz declined the opportunity to make a statement. Ortiz, 31, killed Fernandez on Feb. 5, 1999 for terminating their relationship. He fled to Mexico, where he was caught and extradit¬ ed 19 months later. On Feb. 27, 2003, he pled guilty to second-degree murder in a Pasadena courthouse. At the February hearing, he waived his right to a jury trial and any future appeals, but remains eligible for parole after 16 years in prison. At the sentencing, the Fernandez family and friends of Maria Isabel took turns imploring Schwartz to deny Ortiz parole. Miguel Fernandez spoke calm¬ ly of his loss and the cold-blooded manner by which Ortiz killed his daughter. “I really beg you. He should not go free. He should serve a lifetime sentence,” he said. Blanca Bcjarano, mother of Maria Isabel, sat in the front row clutching a flamenco videotape and her daughter’s picture. Bejarano, now divorced from Fernandez, spoke next with a court interpreter’s assistance. She described the anguish oi giving birth to a baby in Bolivia on the same day her daughter was murdered. “My son will never know his sister,” she said. “That trauma will be with us for the rest of our lives. There is no counsel¬ ing or professional help that will Ф see ORTIZ, page 3 Board Imposes New Raises For Faculty Terrance Parker News Editor Instructors at Pasadena City College will finally receive raises for the 2001-2002 academic year, but not as much as many had hoped to get. The PCC board of trustees voted 6-0 to accept and implement the proposal from the CTA/district factfinding panel at a recent meeting The factfinder’s report recom¬ mended granting a 4.87 percent increase to all full-time and part- time faculty salaries for the period. The report also called for a one¬ time bonus for part-time instructors equal to 13.5 percent of their earned salaries for the fall and spring semes¬ ters of 2001-2002. PCC is working on the paychecks this week. However, instructors hop¬ ing to spend the money will need to wait a little longer. Los Angeles County serves a repository for many of the college’s fends. It also provides a level of accountability for PCC. County offi¬ cials will check to make sure every¬ thing is in order, including credit to retirement accounts, before approv¬ ing the checks. This may be finished by the end of April, according to the college payroll office. In February the local chapter of the California Teacher’s Association (СТА), the union representing PCC faculty, rejected a proposed 5 per¬ cent raise for the same time period, marking the first time the college’s # see СТА, page 3