PCC Courier, August 24, 2000

The Pasadena. Since 1915 VOL 86 NO. 2 www.pcc-courieronline.com AUGUST 24. 2000 News At A Glance New ! Do you have a hot tip that the “Courier” needs to know about, a story that should be looked into or a general comment? Call our new “Tip Line” at (626) 585-7339. In preparation for Labor Day, the “Courier” will not be publising next week. COURIE However, a new issue will hit the stands on Sept. 7 with extended coverage of the proposed parking structure and the dangers facing pedestrians along Colorado Boulevard. WebExtra From algebra to anthropology, the college is offering instructional courses online. Nearly 400 people have already become cyber¬ students with many more waiting to add. A work¬ ing knowledge of the web is rec¬ ommended, however is not neces¬ sary. Classes are now forming, log onto www.pcc-courieronline.com for this exclusive “web only” story. Volleyball Preview: Coach Lori Jepsen says the Lancer squad is deep and much stronger than last year’s team. She’s set high goals and thinks the athletes will get even better as the season wears on. For this and other exclusive “web only” stories, log onto www.pcc-courieronline.com. Weather DCOnO T" Today: High: 95° J§ Low: 65° J % Tomi norrow: jh: 84° v: 65° A ^ * «31-пс Lo; SaturdaY:jH High: 83°Щ " Low: 64° ™ iP ' • Щ jjjfe, Sunday: P3High: 82° Low: 63° Annual parking crunch drives students crazy By Kevin Hawkins Freeway road rage pales in comparison to the chaos that ensues from the battle of cars competing for a limited number of available spaces on campus, particularly in the parking struc¬ ture. The frustration that builds up in drivers after circling the park¬ ing lot for long periods of time while maneuvering perilously close around other vehicles, caus¬ es some people to make impatient decisions and act rudely toward other drivers. Pasadena City College students had plenty to say about the park¬ ing mess. “It sucks,” said Bryce Way. “One woman was waiting for a spot and she held up seven cars behind her.” Because of the time it takes to find a spot, some students and even some faculty members have been late to classes. “The lack of spots hurt stu¬ dents in the first week,” said Scott Hamabata. “ I was in a CIS class and the teacher kicked out stu¬ dents that were only 15 minutes late.” “My friend decided to drop his class rather than deal with the parking. The parking is forcing us out of school,” said Ton Sang. Even though Lots 10 and- 11 were opened up for student use, which actually created 105 new spaces, there is no noticeable change in the congestion prob¬ lem for students. Unfortunately, the parking sit¬ uation will remain the same for the next couple of weeks. The parking structure on Del Mar and Bonnie Avenue is still just in the talking stage, and area residents are very much against allowing any more streets to be used for college parking. Lots 1 and 2 were designated for faculty use at the end of sum¬ mer by the campus Parking Committee to make it easier for teachers to find a spot and get to class on time. It is still too early to tell if the faculty spaces have been effec¬ tive in alleviating the problem. “Initially, the Parking Committee decided to try these PARKING, page 2 Gali Raval / The Courier The first few weeks of school are a parking nightmare for students. LECTION 000 Students engulfed in the chaos of the DNC By Rick Shaw and Afni Adnan For four days, the eyes of the nation turned towards downtown Los Angeles for the Democratic National Convention and the daily soap opera of clashes between protestors, gawkers and riot police. Amid the chaos, some PCC students had front-row seats. From Aug. 14-17 the area surrounding the Staples Center saw a steady stream of demon¬ strations, arrests and mayhem. “There was anywhere between 5,000 and 8,000 kids hanging around enjoying themselves,” said George Davidson, Associated Students’ president of external affairs, who witnessed the demon¬ strations first hand. Like many Southlanders, he was drawn to the opening night of the convention by a mix of curios¬ ity, wanting to be part of history and for some free entertainment. Among the hundreds of people lining Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street, some came to draw attention to issues ranging from increased environmental protection to campaign finance reform, and some came in hal- loween-like costumes to simply draw attention to themselves. But most came with cameras in tow to take home photo souvenirs of DNC, page 2 Photo Courtesy Brandon Kadar Los Angeles Police Department officers in full riot gear patroled the streets outside the Democratic National Convention last week. Photo Courtesy Brandon Kadar Protestors and music fans push and shove to get a closer view of a free concert performed outside the Staples Center Angry professors mount a signature drive, try to force the administration to award a large pay raise Teacher’s union says instructors should benefit from budget windfall By Tim Alves Fed up with years of what they call sub¬ average raises in comparison to other schools in the Southland, the college’s full-time instructors have started a grassroots petition urging a sizeable pay increase. Last Thursday, Mike Riherd and Lee Reinhartsen, professors in the English and foreign languages divison began circulating the petitions to the different academic depart¬ ments. In an effort calling for an eight, nine or 10- percent salary raise for full-time instructors, they are hoping anywhere between 200-250 instructors will sign their names to the signature drive. “We began to feel irritation and aggrava¬ tion, year after year when we had to settle for a two-percent raise. But when we heard the rumor that the college was going to offer COLA (cost of living allowance) only, we began to get mad,” said Riherd. The state has set the COLA allowance for an adjusted 4. 1 7-percent. the year of opportunity,” said Riherd. This summer, the state legislature approved $600 million additional dollars for “The administration says it can’t use the money for salaries, however the truth is that it doesn’t want to.” Ed Ortell, business instructor and chief negotiator for the California Teachers Association (СТА). “This petition is meant to influence the administration, to make them see that there’s a need for a long-overdue raise for full timers. There is a lot of state money this year, this is the community college system, one of the single largest increases in California history. “The administration says it can’t use the money for salaries, however the truth is that it doesn’t want to,” said Ed Ortell, business instructor and chief negotiator for the California Teachers Association (СТА). “When times were tough, we shouldered the burden. Now it’s time to share the wealth.” PCC currently employs 353 full-time instructors who make on average $59,054. While the instructors are hoping for a 10-per¬ cent increase, the СТА is heavily lobbying for a 12-percent hike. Complicating matters is that the full-time teachers’ contract expired on July 30. The administration and the СТА negotiated yester¬ day for a new agreement and are planning a marathon session Aug. 3 1 . Riherd said although the pay issue does not directly affect students, he felt that the college has lost and will continue to lose top-quality teachers to other institutions which offer better pay packages.