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- PCC Courier, April 11, 2002
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- 11 April 2002
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- Student newspaper published and edited for the Associated Student Body of Pasadena City College weekly during the college year by the journalism students.
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PCC Courier, April 11, 2002
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P A S A D E N A
C I
С О
E ■ G E
COURIER
Since 1915
VOL. 87 NO. 23
www.pcc-courieronline.com
APRIL 11, 2002
On Campus
Jazz Band
Instructor
• Plays with
the Best
By Ginger Van Hook
Courier Correspondent .
Bobby Bradford walks briskly
across the campus and waves
cheerfully as he disappears into
K1 00 of the music building at PCC.
This is and has been for the past 28
years, the home of a legendary
trumpet player in our midst who
spent time in the Air Force as a
bandsman and now conducts his
own jazz orchestra. He also teaches
a Survey of African American
music, which includes studies on
the Blues, Ragtime, Spiritual,
Gospel and Jazz.
Bradford said in a recent inter¬
view with the Courier that he,
“practiced all day and I went into
the military for four years, 46
months to be exact, practicing,
studying piano composition, writ¬
ing tunes of my own, getting better
as the years went by. I wasn’t seri¬
ous until I got into the Air Force, at
the end of the Korean conflict. This
was my occupation. I played five
days a week, got paid and devoted
my time to serious study. I played
for parades, the raising and lower¬
ing of the flag, and dances in the
Officer’s Club. So, during the day,
all we did was practice and study. I
was like everybody else, I went into
boot camp and after I did a year of
service I got to audition for the
band in a special area.”
Bradford was known for his col¬
laborations with the late John
Carter, clarinet player and public
school teacher, who passed away
10 years ago. Bradford has per¬
formed with lots of people.
“I’m no spring chicken, when
you’re a player, you take whoever
calls you, unless you have your
own band. I’ve played with the
Quincy Jones band in New York
and with Ornette Coleman. I made
my first recording back in 1969
with John Carter on Revelations
Records. From then on interest con¬
tinued and I made more recordings.
But the music business has its ups
and downs. Its either feast or
famine, so I went looking for some¬
thing a little more stable so I could
get married and have a family. I
went into teaching. I had music
education training so in 1963 I
went back to college and finished
my degree. I taught for one year in
the public schools*, in Texas and
then came to California.”
@ see JAZZ, page 3
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Photo by Kenny Kimura
The spring break invasion that was held in Harbeson Hall Showcased some
of PCCs talented students and staff. Shelly Qu Xia Li, a student from
China, Yu Qiu Yao a folk dancing instructor and Stephanie Yoen Man Tai
also from China perform traditional dance from China. The event also fea¬
tured live bands, break dancers, flamenco dance and acrobats. The show¬
case was put on by the associated students, international student club and
coordinated by Keenan Gosset, vice president for campus activities.
Allegations by
Athlete Result
in Work-Study
Investigation
Trustees Give Out Teacher
Award, Discuss Measure P
By Terrance Parker
Staff Writer
One PCC faculty member will
be paid $1500 and have the oppor¬
tunity to lecture or perform in their
area of expertise for a select audi¬
ence of their peers . as part of an
awards program approved by the
board of trustees.
By the unanimous vote of all
present, the board approved the
Trustees’ Annual Faculty
Lecturer/Performer Award at its
April 3 meeting. The trustees set up
this award for the express purpose
of encouraging “classroom research
in methods appropriate for different
ways of learning and to recognize
creative and innovative pedagogy.”
A selection committee composed
of four faculty members chosen by
the academic senate, a classified
employee, a student, and one of the
trustees will choose the winner. The
audience will consisting of PCC
faculty and staff, students in the col¬
lege’s teacher preparation program,
teachers from schools within PCC’s
district, and education professors
from local colleges and universities.
The board also discussed plans
for appointing the citizen’s over¬
sight committee for measure P. This
committee will oversee spending of
m see BOARD, page 4
By Jake Armstrong
S.ports Editor
The Department of Education is
conducting a program review of the
college’s Work-Study program after
a student alleged that he received
money from the program without
working. The investigators learned
of the allegations after reading an
article that appeared on the Courier’s
website.
Sam Sikes, an 18-year-old fresh¬
man, claimed to have been issued
checks from the program several
times, even though he was not
required to work any of the hours.
An auditor from the DOE arrived
on campus Wednesday to conduct a
two-day investigation of the pro¬
gram. The federal agency is investi¬
gating because Work-Study funds
come from the federal government.
“We are in the process of investi¬
gating the allegations,” Ernestine
Moore, vice president of student and
learning services, said.
While the DOE’s investigation is
scheduled to come to an end today,
Moore said that the college is work¬
ing with them and may investigate
the matter for a longer period of time.
“We are working together'on this
investigation,” Moore said. “We
have to look and see if this is hap¬
pening and to what extent. Or if it is
not happening, we have to verify
that.”
Moore said that a supervisor must
sign the timesheets to verify that the
hours were worked. “If you sign
something that says somebody
worked, the expectation is that they
worked,” Moore said.
According to several Work-Study
students, the timesheets used to log
hours worked are supposed to be
filled out by the student themselves.
The Work-Study timesheets for sev¬
eral players obtained by the Courier
show that the dates and hours worked
appear to have been filled out by the
same person, indicating that the play¬
ers themselves did not fill out the
forms. In addition, all of those docu¬
ments show that the players worked
the same number of hours on the
same dates.
A portion of the form requires the
signature of the student worker and
the supervisor to certify that the
hours logged are correct.
Sikes was a participant in the pro¬
gram under the supervision of men’s
basketball coach Bill “Rocky”
Moore. Both of their signatures
appear on a timesheet for 44 hours
dated November 2001. The rate of
pay written on the form is $6.75 per
hour.
# see INQUIRY, page 4
Disabled Student Claims Financial Aid Bias
By Andrew Campa
Assistant Sports Editor
Alleging that he was unjustly denied
financial aid, PCC student David Carranza is
fed up with the disabled student aid system
that he describes as “inadequate.”
“ I’m a regular student like anyone else,”
Carranza said. “DSP&S (Disable Students
Program and Services), psych services and
financial aid treated me like dirt, like I was
nobody.”
Kent Yqmauchi, assistant dean of special
services, disputed the validity of this allega¬
tion.
“We handle a large amount of people,”
Yamauchi said. “There may be occasional
errors, but I don’t believe anyone is going to
go out of their way to bother or disrupt a stu¬
dent’s academic progress. We’re here for the
students, not to save money or rip them off.”
Carranza’s claim stems from an abrupt
interruption of financial aid in the spring of
2001. “They took away financial aid when I
needed it most,” Carranza said. “Isn’t this
the puipose of financial aid, to help stu¬
dents? I didn’t have a job, was in serious
debt, and financial aid stuck it to me when I
needed their help.”
Carranza was in his second semester at
PCC and was unaware he was about to be cut
off from financial aid. “They just cut me off
without notice,” he said. “I received a letter
on Jap. 23, 2001 which said payment was
suspended. What was unknown to me was an
inter- department memo written on Jan. 22,
which said my financial aid application was
accepted. What happened in one day that
forced this abrupt change?” Carranza asked.
In the Jan. 22 memo, Kim Miles, assistant
dean of financial aid, approved of the student
Carranza’s petition. “Request approved to
continue arrangement of previous petition.
Must complete all units with acceptable
grades,” wrote Miles in the note.
“I think my grades are pretty acceptable,”
Carranza said. “I was not an honor student
but they (grades) were acceptable.” In the
summer of 2000, Carranza aced a Bus. 9
class and followed up the next two semesters
with GPA’s of 2.85 and 3.0 respectively, yet
his aid was cut off.
“Once a student has passed the limit for
student aid, it’s over,” said Miles. Although
she could not speak of Carranza’s case
specifically due to student confidentiality,
she said that there were strict limits to finan¬
cial aid.
In a two-year college, the maximum time
frame would be three years or six semesters
since Carranza was a full-time student.
However, previous coursework must also be
taken into account. The previous coursework
in Carranza’s case was four semesters taken
at East Los Angeles College back in the mid
‘70s.
“There are special appeals processes,”
Carranza pleaded. “I was completely able
bodied back in the 70s when I was taking
those courses. Now I am disabled, trying to
get schooling so I can get a job and fully sup¬
port myself. There are special exceptions to
those rules and they know it. Miles just took
a disliking to me, and now she’s not going to
help.”
Miles did say there were circumstances in
which a student can continue to apply for
financial aid. “There are exceptional situa¬
tions in which financial aid may be contin¬
ued for a student,” Miles said. “That has to
go through an appeals board. It’s not like I’m
the only individual who controls the fate of
students and financial aid. If a students
appeal is denied even with an exceptional
situation, then what else can I do for the stu¬
dent?”
What bothers Carranza about the interof¬
fice memo on Jan. 22, 2001 was that he
believes Miles knew that his time was up and
she still toyed with him. “On the note it says
my time is almost up, and that this will be
my last semester of financial aid,” Carranza
said.
“If that’s the case then why didn’t she tell
me this?”
In the memo Miles seems to contradict
the school’s policy. She states that the stu¬
dent is approaching the time frame for termi¬
nation soon. She also states that this will
likely be his last semester. The very next day
he received a letter that stated his financial
aid had been suspended and that an appeal
Matt Robinson/Courier
David Carranza has been denied
financial aid for the past year.
would be needed for reinstatement.
However, in the Jan. 23, 2001 letter,
Miles states that Carranza’s financial aid had
been terminated due to a lack of academic
progress. After two days Carranza received
another letter, in which Miles stated that his
financial aid had been reinstated for spring
unless he receives an unsatisfactory grade (F,
I, W or NC). A few days later, Carranza
* see DSP&S, page 5
INS Proposes Revamp of Policy for Foreign Student Admittance
By Joseph Narvaez
Copy Editor
Flooded by calls for reform and restructuring since
the Sept. 11 attacks, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) announced Monday that
it will severely cut the length of time many foreign
students and other travelers are allowed to spend in
the United States. While any new INS rule changes
tend to make foreign students anxious, these new reg¬
ulations will primarily, affect students just coming
into the country.
“These new rules strike the appropriate balance
between INS’ mission to ensure that our nation’s
immigration laws are followed and stop illegal immi¬
gration and our desire to welcome legitimate visitors
to the United States,” said INS Commissioner James
W. Ziglar. “While we recognize the overwhelming
majority who come to us as visitors are honest and
law-abiding,” he said, “the events of Sept. 1 1 remind
us there will always be those who seek to cause us
harm.”
Every year, millions of travelers are admitted into
the United States under business (B-l) and tourist (B-
2) visas. The INS hopes that these proposed policy
changes will give the agency greater control over
their presence.
One of the INS proposals prohibits non-immigrant
visitors admitted under B-l or B-2 visas from chang¬
ing to that of an academic (F) or vocational (M) stu¬
dent prior to receiving INS approval of their request.
This interim rule, which will be published separately,
takes effect immediately upon publication in the
Federal Register.
Immigration officials hope that this new regulation
ensures that individuals seeking to remain in the
United States in student status will have received the
appropriate security checks before enrolling in class¬
es. Existing rules allowing the commencement of
studies before a change of status is approved will con¬
tinue to apply to individuals already in the United
States under visitor status, since their courses of study
began under the old rules.
Another proposed rule change requires those plan¬
ning to attend a U.S. college or university to obtain
the proper student visa prior to their entry to the
United States. Individuals admitted under tourist
visas for the purpose of touring campuses or inter¬
viewing for admissions will still be able to change to
student status, but only if they stated their intent to
study in the United States upon entering the country.
With over 1,000 international students currently
enrolled at PCC, nervousness about the proposed rule
changes is creeping onto campus. “Several students
have already voiced their concerns to me,” said
Barbara Griffith, international student adviser. “I just
try to assure them that this shouldn’t affect students
who are already in the country and taking classes.
These new rules are designed for those who are just
coming into the United States, not current interna¬
tional students.”
There are some 550,000 international students cur¬
rently in the United States. That number makes up
only 2 percent of temporary visa holders. Most have
gone through the proper application process before
beginning classes.
Other proposals by the INS include eliminating the
current 6-month minimum for tourist visas and short¬
ening the stay to 30 days in most cases, reducing the
maximum initial entry period for individuals with
business visas from one year to six months and reduc¬
ing the maximum extension that can be granted for
tourist and business visas from one year to six
months.
INS is forwarding all proposed changes to the
Federal Register for publication and public comment.