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Welcome to PCC
Pasadena Oity College
Volume 98, Issue 2
“The Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915."
Friday, August 29, 2008
PCC Prepares for Disasters
Linus Shentu
/
Courier
Campus police maintain emergency supplies in preparation for a potential disaster, such as the earthquake that struck
Southern California July 29.
After July Quake, New
Measures Weighed For
Emergency Response
Allan Santiago
Opinion Editor
PCC is considering taking new measures in emergency
preparedness and is steadfast in preparing for the worst.
According to Police Chief Peter Michael, PCC is
planning to improve methods of warning those on cam¬
pus of impending dangers or crises.
“We’re looking at hopefully putting up flat screen [tel¬
evisions] throughout the campus,” said Michael. “For
emergencies they would flash whatever information we
put out on it.”
Michael also mentioned the installation of a wireless
public address system throughout campus, so officials
can make announcements - a scene that would be remi¬
niscent of high school, he said.
The new measures come in light of the magnitude 5.4
earthquake that shook Southern California on July 29,
when AlertU, a campus emergency text message service,
failed to function as anticipated.
“We finally had a real emergency and we discovered
that the [cell phone] infrastructure collapsed on us,” said
Police Lt. Brad Young.
Another method would be a master email containing
an emergency related message sent to all the computers
on campus, even to Blackberries, according to Young.
“Is it worthwhile to do that? Absolutely,” he said
Page
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tlifili .iiit
Christina Demirchyan
/
Courier
Martha Deloera searches for textbooks in the book¬
store Tuesday.
Karen Guzelian
Arts Editor
With the school year just around the cor¬
ner, many students are getting ready to pull
out their wallets and shop for their books.
According to an informal Courier survey,
PCC students spend on average $200 to $300
each semester on books, but soon it may
become easier and more affordable for stu¬
dents to purchase their books.
With the help of CALPRIG’s (California
Public Interest Research Group) “Make
Textbooks Affordable” campaign, on July 31
the College Opportunity Act of 2008 was
passed by congress. It aims to help students
save money when buying their textbooks.
"[With this bill] students have control over
what they pay," said Textbook Advocate for
The Student PRIGs, Nicole Allen.
The bill requires publishers to include the
prices of textbooks when deciding which
books to buy. With the knowledge of text¬
book prices, faculty can decide if the price is
reasonable and look for more affordable
alternatives if it’s not.
It also requires publishers to offer the
material that is usually bundled with text¬
books to be offered separately. Bundled text¬
books that include additional material, such
as CDs, study guides or manuals are more
costly than books that are sold individually.
With the bill, students will be able to buy the
items that they need, without having to
spend money on the rest of the material.
"I never use that stuff... I think the CDs
are useless... I just read the textbook,” said
biology major, Angelo Men, 19.
Colleges will also be asked to give students
a textbook list when they are enrolling in
their classes. Each semester students show up
to the campus bookstore at least a week
before classes begin. With the bill, students
wih be able to know what books they need to
buy when they are registering for their class,
giving them more time to save money before
school starts and “search for lower prices and
leave enough time for shipping,” according to
the Make Textbooks Affordable campaign.
Buying books online can help students
find their books at lower prices and help
them save money.
"I went online and I got my book $50
cheaper," said Daisy Grimes, 25, social sci¬
ence major.
Now that the bill has passed, an initiative
has begun to help students with affordable
options.
According to the article, “Free Digital
Texts Begin to Challenge Costly College
Textbooks in California” in the L.A. Times
on Aug. 18, “Public colleges and universities
in California this past year backed several
initiatives to promote online course materi¬
als, and publishers and entrepreneurs are
stepping up release of electronic textbooks,
which typically sell at reduced prices.”
Electronic textbooks include e-textbooks,
videos, taped lectures, tests, and other mate¬
rials, which are found online. Some of the
material can be printed free of charge.
Students like Grimes seem to be interested
in the rise of open textbooks. "Even better,
you can save money and save paper... sounds
a lot better," she said.
A similar bill, SB 832 was passed in
California in 2007, but was vetoed by Gov.
Schwarzenegger.
“The fact that [the College Opportunity
Act of 2008] passed nationally, is going to
have a larger impact on students,” said Allen.
Sports
Soccer: Setting Ath¬
letic and Academic
Goals. Page
7»
Art
Pacifika: Community
based exhibit high¬
lights Pacific Islander
heritage. Page
6»
Lancer Life
Yogurt Wars:
Where to find
the best dairy
treat. Page
5»