Pasadena
City
College
the
*
Since 1915
i
j
>
4
)
. i
)
»
f
Asian
White
20%
anic
African American
Native American 1%i
Filipino 4%
Source: U.S. Census Department and PCC
£10L. 86 NO. 26
www. p cc-courieronline. com
April 19, 2001
A Different View
Maybe *Prozac can help
^.him. Taking bits and
pieces from this week's
headlines, award-win¬
ning columnist Jon
Heller goes nuts on the
5state of mind we're liv¬
ing in. Here a hero,
there a hero, every¬
where a hero, hero.
see page 2
I SPY
What's next, undercov¬
er librarians? $10,000
worth of new security
cameras are now
^"rolling" in the Shatford
'Library so that students
can study safely and
library books will
always be there for
)your next cram-session.
AS ELECTIONS
With just two hurdles
i left on the road to
elected office, 18 stu¬
dents remain in the
running for the 11 seats
: on the Associated
Student (AS) board.
SEE PAGE 2
On a roll
The Lancers baseball team
extends its winning streak
to four games with a win
over Mt. SAC.
SEE PAGE 4 —
In the last
California
has had a
dramatic
shift in its
racial
make-up.
PCC
reflects that
by Vincent DXIrazi
Anyone looking at the students
relaxing in the quad or those filling
classrooms on campus can easily
see just how the population of
California has shifted in the last 10
years. Recent census numbers show the chang¬
ing face of California and L.A. County is reflect¬
ed in the student body at PCC.
Not only do we have the sometimes dubious
honor of residing in the most populated state in
America, but we also live in the most populated
county in the country as well. California houses
an average of 217.2 persons per square mile,
while L.A. County has a staggering 2,334.1 peo¬
ple per square mile ratio.
Students have witnessed the changing faces
around them, especially on campus. “There are
less young white kids, and more Asians and
Latinos,” said Marianne, a PCC student majoring
in Spanish.
Her observation is correct. On campus, we
have seen an increase in the numbers Hispanic
and Asian students over the past 10 years.
This semester, Hispanics are the most repre¬
sented ethnicity on campus. Of the college’s
28,774 registered students, 8,409 are Hispanic,
accounting for 36 percent of all students.
The next largest are those of Asian descent.
There are 7,335 Asians who attend PCC, making
Ш"'"'
SEE Census, PAGE 3
С
a I i f o
American 1%
зап
American
Smoking ban still
unresolved
Michelle Faleme
/
The Courier
Stas Sabinov says he won’t abide by a ban on smoking.
By Latoya Sturge
Opinion Editor
After two years of deliberation, the col¬
lege still can not settle on a new smoking
policy for the campus. At a recent meeting
of the College Coordinating Council,
PCC’s highest shared governance board,
representatives of both students and staff
re-engaged in an extensive debate about
the pros and cons of limiting smoking.
According to the current proposed poli¬
cy, formulated by PCC’s health and safety
committee, “small unobtrusive signs
would be posted indicating smoking is not
permitted on balconies, stairwells, ramps
and within 20 feet of a doorway.”
Several objections to the new plan were
recorded, with at least one person showing
support for a plan for designated smoking
areas that was previously rejected. One
observer, a student and professed chain
smoker, asserted that the most effective
policy would, “Tell me where to smoke
instead of where not to smoke.”
“The college would soft-pedal the
enforcement,” said Keith Oberlander,
member of the health and safety commit¬
tee. This means that the policy would be
implemented through “information and
education,” rather than enforcement.
Instead of issuing citations, college repre¬
sentatives would hand out literature out¬
lining the campus policy.
Phil Mullendore, chief of campus police
said, “We’re not going to take cadets off
their duties to deal with smokers.”
Since the policy is not law, actual
enforcement would prove difficult.
Students or faculty smoking in restricted
areas would only be in violation of the col¬
lege code of conduct and would therefore
have to be reprimanded by their governing
boards, the Associated Students (AS) and
academic senate respectively.
“If we wanted to enforce it for students
we would have to go through the student
discipline process,” said Mullendore.
The effectiveness of an unenforced poli¬
cy was also called into question by
Associated Students (AS) representative
Gabriel Garcia.
“I’m not sure that the health of the stu¬
dents will be greatly improved if we’re not
p- see Smoking, page 3
Dues divide
СТА
and its members
By Tim Alves
Editor in Chief
Some faculty members spearheading an initiative to reduce union
dues are blasting the college’s local chapter of the California
Teachers Association
(СТА)
for allegedly trying to deep-six the mea¬
sure through a campaign of misinformation and deception.
Ballots are due this Friday and the
СТА
union is urging its mem¬
bers to reject the measure, calling it unnecessary, irresponsible and
unreasonable, by reducing the yearly full-and part-time faculty dues
by as much as 51 -percent.
“This will cut revenue, cause a serious financial hardship and
require us to cut staff,” said Ed Ortell, business instructor and chief
negotiator for the
СТА.
Ortell pointed out that the union’s board of
directors already voted in April to reduce dues for full-time instruc¬
tors by 25-percent and part timers by 50-percent.
However, the faculty coalition of full-and part-time instructors
counter that the dues reduction should be larger and claims the local
СТА
is spending union money to finance material that is opposed to
their initiative.
“They didn’t put any letterhead on the flier. It did come in a
union envelope with the
СТА
chapter logo, but many people I talked
to didn’t know it was union material,” said Christine Goudy, a part-
>- SEE
СТА,
PAGE 8
/