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The Courier has been
SERVING PCC AND THE
PASADENA COMMUNITIES
SINCE 1915.
On this date in 1992
Rioting began after a jury decision
TO ACQUIT FOUR LOS ANGELES POLICE¬
MEN in the Rodney King beating
trial. Fifty four people were killed
IN THREE DAYS.
April 29, 2004
Vol. 89, No. 22
Library Rape Suspect Caught After Chase
Jaime Castaneda/Courier
Suspect Solomon Picart is arrested a block away from where witnesses said he approached a female student in
the Shatford Library. Picart was arraigned on Wednesday at the Pasadena Superior Courthouse.
Students follow man through surrounding
neighborhood after he accosted a women
in the restroom on Monday around 4 p.m.
Tameka Davis
Staff Writer
A man was arrested and
charged with attempted rape and
kidnapping on Monday, April 26,
after physically assaulting a PCC
student in the women's third floor
restroom in Shatford Library.
The suspect, Solomon Picart,
24, was apprehended across the
street from PCC on Harkness
Avenue after leading PCC police,
several students and the alleged
victim's boyfriend on a wild foot-
pursuit from the library.
Lt. Brad Young said Picart's
accuser, a young woman, was
already in the restroom when she
was approached by the suspect
who allegedly attacked her.
Witnesses sitting at tables near
the restroom said they heard
echoes of the victim's screams
coming from inside the restroom.
The young woman managed to
escape her attacker.
Picart, who was identified in
the police report as a transient,
exited the restroom and tried to
flee, but his accuser continued to
point and identify him as an
attempted rapist.
Soon there were many stu¬
dents chasing the suspect
through the library.
Ray Shui, 30, was on the
entrance level of the library
when he heard someone scream,
"call 91 1 " to the librarians at the
main desk.
Another student was chasing
Picart when Shui said he was told
"Don't let that guy get away; he
tried to rape someone."
Shui approached Picart on the
stairs ascending from the library's
computer lab and said "We need
to ask you some questions."
Picart responded with "don't
get in my way" and continued to
climb the stairs.
Shui walked briskly following
Picart closely out the
north door of the library
on to Colorado.
The See page
chase began
once they Kelp
Results in
for Open
Senate
Elections
Stephen Folan
Staff Writer
The college's academic senate
recently announced the results of
an election to decide its executive
committee for the upcoming term.
The senate's entire executive
committee will be changing posi¬
tions as a result of the election.
Nominations for each position were
made during a 12-day period
between March 10 to March 22. The
election itself was conducted by fac¬
ulty ballot, which ended April 7.
Replacing retiring president
Alan Lamson will be Kathryn
Dabelow, current executive com¬
mittee secretary with James Bickley
as vice-president. Both are social
sciences instructors.
Counselor Edward Martinez will
be assuming the secretary position
to replace Dabelow. Ahni
Armstrong, business and computer
technology instructor, will serve as
treasurer.
The new executive committee
members will begin their terms on
Julyl, after being gradually intro¬
duced to their new duties and
responsibilities as senate officers.
Dabelow chose to run for presi¬
dent after being persuaded by col¬
leagues. "I've been an integral part
of the committee for four years,"
Dabelow explained. "You need to
have that kind of experience to be
an effective president."
Lamson has presided over the
academic senate for four terms, the
maximum limit for senate presiden¬
cy. He has also served
terms as vice president
and secretary.
"Taking Seepage
over from
my prede- Senate
Student Arrested For
Stalking Her Professor
Jessica Pirkl
Staff Writer
PCC student Chia Hsuanlee, aka
Nicole Lee, was arrested on a
charge of stalking a former PCC
professor. The alleged
stalking of the profes¬
sor, who wishes to
remain anonymous,
lasted for a period of
three years.
Hsuanlee was arrest¬
ed April 19, at her home
in Alhambra, when PCC
officers were conduct¬
ing a follow-up investi¬
gation concerning the
case. Officers found Hsuanlee at
that location after she sent a letter
to the victim's new home in North
Carolina, in which she stated her
current address. Hsuanlee not only
reportedly sent letters to her vic¬
tim's new residence/ but drove to
North Carolina where she showed
up on the victim's doorstep.
The alleged stalking began in
2001 when Hsuanlee signed up for
the professor's mathematics
course. Soon after this,
the professor began
receiving numerous
handwritten letters and
notes from the suspect.
The notes and letters
were always left in the
victim's office on cam¬
pus, according to police
reports.
In 2002 the woman
again enrolled in the
professor's mathematics class.
The situation intensified when
the victim began receiving not
only letters but e-mails and gifts
as well. At one point, the victim
Hsuanlee
confronted the student and
asked her to cease and desist her
pattern of behavior. The suspect
agreed, but the stalking contin¬
ued unabated.
The escalation of the stalking
and bombardment of the victim by
the suspect led to PCC police and
PCC administration involvement.
According to reports, both the
campus police and administration
held meetings with the student
where she was instructed to stay
away from the professor.
"Even after she was removed
from the college and received coun¬
seling, her behavior continued,"
said Investigator Steven Lester.
By March 2003, the vic¬
tim called campus police to
report additional stalking
incidents, Seepage
and she took
out a tempo-
5
Stalker
Printing Services to Close in June
Linda Rapka
Entertainment Editor
A unique fixture on campus for
over 90 years, printing services will
close June 30, if not sooner.
The decision to eliminate print¬
ing services on campus came from
the college's executive committee
about two months ago, said Peter
Hardash, vice
president of
administra¬
tive services.
A note
taped to the
counter in
the print
shop's main
office was the
only public
notice posted indicating that
printing services was being elimi¬
nated and that final orders must
be filled by a set deadline.
"I see the changes that will take
place as a natural result of our
efforts to keep our curriculum cur¬
rent with industry standards and
trends and also a part of our con¬
tinuing efforts to try to do the col¬
lege's business in the most cost-
effective manner possible," said Dr.
James Kossler, college president.
The clo¬
sure resulted
from plans to
update and
restructure
the print
shop, which
is both an
instructional
program and
a production
service to the campus, Kossler said.
The instructional side of print¬
ing services will be housed in the
Effective June 30, 2004
Printing Services will be closed
Dr. Kossler and Peter Hardash
will be informing the campus
on the new procedures to
handle your printing needs.
future industrial technology build¬
ing, still several years away from
construction. The office of instruc¬
tion evaluated the current curricu¬
lum to plan for the space require¬
ments of the new building, Kossler
explained, and determined that
the printing industry has largely
moved toward digital and fast-
copy technology. As a result of
plans to update the class curricu¬
lum accordingly, "none of the
large presses in the existing print¬
ing area will be needed in the new
instructional labs," said Kossler.
On the production side, admin¬
istrative services evaluated the
cost of maintaining the large
presses if they were no
longer needed for
instruction, Kossler said.
It was found Seepage
that in
addition to Printing
AS Prepares for AIDS
Awareness Week
Ina Siem
Opinion Editor
The associated students board
voted unanimously at its April 26
meeting to hold a series of for
AIDS Awareness Week.
The vice president for stu¬
dent services, Maria Reyes, pre¬
sented a budget and a timeline
of the activities that would be
offered to students from May 10
through May13.
Reyes proposed a variety of
festivities for the four-day
event. "We do it every year, but
this year is going to be a little
different," Reyes said. "We
organized events for four days
of the week so students can get
involved in at least one of the
Jim Comeau/Courier
PCC's United Rainbow Alliance club was protest¬
ing in the Quad on Wednesday against a banner
denouncing homosexuality being carried by two stu¬
dents. The club was chanting, "Being gay is OK,"
when they were confronted by a man reading a verse
from the Bible. He told groups members, "I care abc
you and I love you, that’s why I'm trying to change
you." He also made references to homosexuality f
being the same as child molestation.
activities."
Some of the activities planned
include banner signing, demon¬
strations in the quad, movie night
and a candlelight vigil.
"We know that candlelight is
not allowed, but we came up
with the idea of flashlights," she
said. "In the end, what counts is
the participation of the stu¬
dents."
Reyes said that the activities in
the quad would actually let the
people see how easy and fast
AIDS is spread.
Besides, there would be valu¬
able information for stu¬
dents, "If people know
how easy it is to be tested
and it's See page
painless, A|DS