PCC Courier, April 27, 2006

Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915 Robinson Family Honored Page 4 April 27, 2006 pcc-courieronline.com Vol. 93, Issue 8 Board Suspends Internet Monitoring Jasper Yangchareon, Dean Lee Courier Staff Before voting unanimously on April 5 to temporarily stop monitor¬ ing all faculty computers for inap¬ propriate use, the board of trustees squabbled for more than half an hour over the language used in the Privacy, Security and Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources policy currently in use at the college. “I’m concerned about any type of monitoring,” said board member Beth Wells-Miller. “It sends the wrong message, and I think the money could be used for better things.” Right after a $96,000 software system was installed a few semesters ago to monitor employee computer use and block some websites for con¬ tent, faculty members became con¬ cerned that this could interfere with their teaching. Faculty members fought the blocking and won, but the adminis¬ trators continued tracking the use of the Internet, saying that blocking content was not an infringement of academic freedom. The board’s decision on April 5 was the biggest victory yet over the situation because it completely stopped all monitoring, according to the aca¬ demic senate. “This will alleviate the stress of people worrying that someone is watching everything they do,” said Dan Haley, the college’s head librar¬ ian. Some possible contradictions were pointed out in the text by the meeting’s attendees. According to the policy, the rights of academic freedom and freedom of expression apply to the use of these college computing and voice transmission resources. In that regard, PCC respects the priva¬ cy of its employees’ and students’ [see Inte.rn.et, PACE 7] Bird Flu on the Horizon Signs of the Times Daniel Belts / Courier Fueling Frustration: PCC football player Renardo Palmer, pictured in front of the Chevron filling station across the street from campus, is one of many students affected by the enormous rise in gas prices. “I can’t drive because gas is so expensive,” Palmer said. “I’m forced to take the bus.” Locker Room Thefts Linger Nathan Solis Staff Writer In the Hutto-Patterson men’s locker room on April 10, a locker door looked as if someone broken it open with a screwdriver. Clothes were thrown all over the floor and a handicapped door switch was smashed in. This is the aftermath of yet another locker room theft, the lat¬ est of six in the past three months in the Hutto-Patterson gym. An undis¬ closed amount of items was stolen this time, but recent locker theft police reports listed clothes, cologne and wallets as stolen. “Students should not go cheap when it comes to locks in the dressing rooms,” said PCC police officer Michael De Spain. “Those 99 cent locks aren’t going to cut it.” According to PCC police, these thefts have been recurring because students have not been reporting the thefts in the Hutto-Patterson gym. “If there is no victim, there is no crime,” said Officer Steven Matchan, who recommends that students report thefts no matter how minor. Campus police officers have an array of methods for preventing theft, ranging from finger printing lockers to filing police reports. PCC works Kris Calnon / Courier Destruction: PCC’s lockers are easily broken into, as demonstrated by the ongoing theft problem. with the Pasadena Police Department to identify fingerprints. “Utilize us,” Matchan said. Numerous thefts, though petty, have also occurred in the men’s and women’s locker rooms in the W building. Currently these locker rooms and the campus pools, adja¬ cent to the W building, are not open [see Thefts, PAG E 7 ] Preparations for deadly pandemic a work in progress. Christina Bustamante Staff Writer If Hurricane Katrina taught us nothing else, it taught us to think about things ahead of time and pre¬ pare for the worst. Usually, people don’t think about hurricanes, torna¬ dos or even earthquakes until one actually hits. Then as a society we struggle to prepare for the next dev¬ astating disaster. With summer approaching, birds have already begun to migrate, mak¬ ing the United States the next target for bird flu, the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu. While it remains pri¬ marily contagious among birds, the disease has infected more than 170 people and killed over 100. Dr. Mark Miller, associate director for research at the Fogarty International Center said in a Forbes.com article that if a bird flu pandemic does hit the U.S., it may spread across the country in just two to four weeks. California, the most populous state, he said, would be the most logical place for a pandemic to start, arriving directly from Asia. The pandemic is most likely to hit the U.S. by late summer or early fall. The Bush administration has already set aside $2.5 billion in preparation. “I think [the bird flu] would cause a panic; people would be really freaked out,” said student Edwin Rodriguez, 19. “But I think people are making too much out of it. If it’s going to happen it’s going to hap¬ pen.” Experts fear that the virus could change into a form that passes easily among people. The government has already begun creating checklists of preparation and response steps, spe¬ cialized for preschools, grade schools, high schools and colleges. “[The United States] gets a severe epidemic of the flu every 20 years,” said PCC microbiology instructor Barry Chess. “We are certainly due for one, but at this time bird flu is not a big concern. We have more people dying of other things like heart attacks.” According to Chess, the bird flu is not virulent yet, so it won’t spread from person to person at this point. “If it where to spread it could, how¬ ever, affect classes where people are brought together in large groups,” Chess continued. “We are certainly one of those places. If it was to cause a pandemic, I would hope that PCC would restrict the gathering of people in large groups and students and staff would be more open to distant edu¬ cation for a short period of time at least.” At the college level, the American Council on Education has already begun to alert thousands of college presidents about the need to prepare for bird flu. Federal health leaders [see Bird Flu PAG E 7 ] Immigration Protestors Call For Boycott Carlos Ramirez Staff Writer Los Angeles immigration protes¬ tors are now debating whether or not to participate in the next step for immigration reform: a massive national labor and school boycott. The boycott, scheduled to take place on Monday, has the potential to either advance immigration reform or fur¬ ther the notion that illegal aliens are detrimental to our economic stability and way of life. There will be two major protests in L.A. on Monday, one will be held by the March 25 Coalition at noon at Olympic and Broadway in downtown L.A. The Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network will be hosting a demonstration in MacArthur Park at 3 p.m. The massive demonstration has been organized in an attempt to show the United States and the world that HR 4437 is a step back in immigra¬ tion reform. The anti-immigration bill seeks to criminalize all illegal immigrants and anyone that provides help to them. Cardinal Mahoney has publicly announced his support of the illegal immigrants. If HR 4437 is passed, even parish soup kitchens will come under fire of the new law for feeding illegal immigrants. According to Rafael Pulido of WOJO “La Que Buena” 105.1 FM, the general consensus is that illegal immigrants want nothing more than to participate as legal citizens in the U.S. The intention of Monday’s boy¬ cott is to push for rapid immigration reform and to eradicate any anti¬ immigration bills that may criminal¬ ize illegal immigrants. There still exists, however, the fear that such an extreme measure will only hinder the immigration reform movement. Thousands of jobs could be lost in the wake of such a powerful immigration reform protest, and the momentum that has pushed this issue to the front door of every American household may dissipate. Construction sites, small businesses and restaurants have to continue their daily business, regardless of any protests and boycotts that may occur. The California economy may suffer in such a way that the general popu¬ lace will view Monday’s boycott as anti-American, rather than as a push toward immigration reform. Daniel Belis / Courier Bird Invasion: With birds beginning to migrate, the United States has become the next target for bird flu Dental Instructor Picks Up Plaque Dean Lee News Editor Using jelly beans as a prop, health sciences instructor Stephanie Schmidt gave a “student-centered” lecture during an award ceremony yesterday in the Circadian honoring her outstanding service and excel¬ lence in teaching. Schmidt received the 2006 Full- Time Faculty Lecture/Performance Award bestowed by both the aca¬ demic senate and the board of trustees. The award was presented by trustee Jeanette Mann and aca- d e m i c senate president Kay Dabelow. Both Stephanie Schmidt administrative boards also honored Schmidt with $750. The money was given to Schmidt personally to do [see Schmidt PAGE 7]