Thursday, April 27, 2000 Vol. LXXXV, No. 26
The | Wm ■ I
Pasadena City College
Graduation honors
nine valedictorians
By Isael Hermosillo
/Courier Staff Writer
n the year marking the 75th Anniversary
of the college it comes as no surprise that the
keynote speaker for this year’s commencement cer¬
emony will one of the college’s 75 Most
Distinguished Alumni.
Dr. Koichi Nishimura chairman of the board,
president and chief executive officer of Solectron
was selected by a committee of students, faculty,
and administration that began their hunt for a
speaker last June. Commencement 2000 will be on
Friday, May 19 at 6 p.m. in front of the Mirror
Pools.
Stephen Johnson Assistant Dean of Student
Affairs said, Nishimura was selected as the speaker
because of his many accomplishments in the busi¬
ness world.
Nishimura has led Solectron from a small region¬
al entry company into the world’s largest and most
profitable electronic manufacturers. Under his lead¬
ership Solectron won .the Malcolm Baldridge
National Quality Award twice in 1991 and 1997.
Nishmura holds a doctorate in material science
and engineering from Stanford University, and mas¬
ter’s and bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
from San Jose University.
Dr. Koichi Nishimura, one of
the 75 most distinguished
alumni of the college, was
chosen as the keynote speaker.
Among the nearly 600 students graduating, nine
have qualified as class valedictorians.
Chi-Mei Ku, Ketty Citterio, Janet Contreras,
Adelaine Foo, John Hake, Paul Maisano, Danielle
Kai Newman, Yan Lin Tai and Staley Wong are the
top students of the class of 2000.
All of the valedictorians will be given the oppor¬
tunity to give a brief speech thanking family,
friends and instructors that helped them thorough
their time at PCC. But do to time constraints there
will only be one valedictorian speech.
The valedictorians came together and then decid¬
ed among themselves who would deliver the vale¬
dictorian speech, and they choose Wong to address
See GRADUATION on pg 2
■ The women’s softball team went head-to-
head against a squad of former students in
the annual Alumni Game.
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Photo courtesy of Oscar Chavez
Robert DeOcampo, AS president, led graduates during last year's ceremony
Gearing up for
musical bliss
By Gali Raval
Courier Staff Writer
Strumming their strings and
singing their songs, music division
students arc gearing up to perform
their hearts out.
With two concerts scheduled for
this weekend, and 10 more planned
during May, the college’s music
makers will show off all that they
have learned this semester.
Grooving to their own beats, the
percussion class will perform an
ensemble tomorrow. Under the
direction of Tad Carpenter, these
drummers will perform in
К
100 at 8
p.m.
Directed by Anne Marie
Ketchum, the opera/music students
adorned in full opera costumes will
show off their talents on Saturday
night. Harbeson Hall will be trans¬
formed into an opera house for “An
evening of Scenes” featuring por¬
tions of The Magic Flute, Falstaff,
The Rape of Lucretia and Pirates of
Penzance at 8 p.m. A reception with
refreshments will be held after the
performance. Ticket prices for both
weekend concerts are $5 general
admission and $3 for students and
staff with current PCC IDs.
The musicians are not the only
ones preparing for events. This
semester the college implemented
the position of concert coordinator,
and Norma Altschuler has been very
busy setting up shop. Taking care of
all of the time consuming details,
from finding suitable venues to mak¬
ing fliers and publicizing upcoming
events, Altschuler has had her hands
full. “The staff is ecstatic to have me
here. I plan out their programs,
relieving them of things they should¬
n’t have to do. This position has
been needed for a long time, and now
it will be on-going,” she said.
In addition to the end of the year
recitals, the music division provides
many free concerts in the quad for
students to enjoy. The last quad
event for the semester will be on
May 2 at noon, featuring the Lancer
Jazz Choir. The scheduled events for
May are: * “Swing band dance” on
See MUSIC on page 2
Credit
Charging
into
financial
disaster?
By Laura Calderoni
Courier Staff Writer
Mother always said, “Don’t take
candy from strangers.”
But how many of us are willing
to give our most personal informa¬
tion to a Visa or MasterCard
Company, all in exchange for a bag
ofM&Ms?
You’ve seen them out in the quad
every now and then soliciting facul¬
ty and students; credit card compa¬
nies claiming they are offering you
a “low” percentage rate for estab¬
lishing credit. Sounds good, eh?
Think again. Most people don’t
think it matters whether they are
turned down repeatedly or not.
They just fill out the applications
for the free goodies. However,
what few realize is that if your
application is not approved, it goes
See CREDIT on page 2
At Friday's fashion show, many dif¬
ferent gowns will be modeled.
A night of elegance
On Friday, April 28 at 8 p.m.,
the Sexson Auditorium will be
graced by models robed in silky
skirts, black leather as well as
other original fashion designs.
Come see the latest styles that
fashion students have created
all year at the 15th annual fash¬
ion show. The 35 models have
been trying on the dresses as
well as working and learning
how they can best show off the
over 135 original student
designs that include everything
from sportswear to delicate
wedding dresses. For more
information call: (626) 585-
7084.
Diversity Forum
A Town Hall meeting “Making
the Invisible Visible” on diversi¬
ty will be held in the forum on
May 2 at 7 p.m. John Jenkins
former mayor of Lewiston,
Maine, will be the moderator of
the meeting.
Fencing Anyone?
The Fencing Association will
give a demonstration in the
quad on May l from noon to 1
p.m. Students are invited to
join the fun as students demon¬
strate this ancient sport.
Running in the Bowl
The Community Educational
Center is sponsoring its 18th
Annual 5K Run/walk on
Saturday May 6 at 8 a.m. in the .
Rose Bowl. For more informa¬
tion call the run coordinator at
(626) 585-3003 or (626) 588-
3031
Richard Fa vela/ The Courier
Ray Phillips, vice president of internal affairs points out course obstacles to the rewed-up soapbox racers.
A day at the races
Two-day event draws attention to campus groups
By Tim Alves
Courier Staff Writer
While the AS general elections
were being held near the Campus
Center, hundreds of students lined
the makeshift obstacle course set
up in the quad to cheer on teams
of soap box racers whizzing by in
their forest green go-carts for the
first annual “Pascar” event.
The April 26 and 27 event was
staged by the current (Associated
Students) AS board in an effort to
raise its profile on campus and get
students enthusiastic about partic¬
ipating in student government.
“It was just a coincidence that
this event and the elections were
planned for the same day, said
Robert DeOcampo, outgoing AS
president.
Ray Lee, Bruce D. Mayhill,
Robert DeOcampo made the
sleek-looking soapbox go-carts
and Veronica Castillo, volunteers
from the campus honorary club,
O.M.D. Representatives from the
major clubs on campus including
MEChA, the Supreme Council
and the Black Student Alliance
jockeyed for pole position in the
noontime Pascar 2000 races.
“I think this event
may be detracting
from the elections.”
-Robert DeOcampo,
Л5
President
Drivers and their pushers had
to navigate their way through a
series of obstacles including a
sand trap, water hazard and multi¬
ple “hairpin” turns.
“This is pretty cool, but I’m
not sure why they’re doing this,”
said Carlos Arechiga, student.
Arechiga’s confusion about the
event was common among the
students watching the huffing and
puffing racers.
“I think this event may be
detracting from the elections. But
it is my hope that the candidates
are reaching out to students, talk¬
ing to people in the crowd and
discussing what the AS is, what it
does and convincing the students
to vote,” said DeOcampo.
Daniel Loh, the only candidate
for AS president, said he was
behind the idea for the Pascar and
thought it raised awareness of the
existence of the AS and what it
does.
“This is a great opportunity for
more people to get involved with
student government,” said Loh.
For his part, Arechiga said the
day’s events probably would not
convince him to vote.
Photo courtesy of Oscar Chavez