PCC
sim
аж 2Э13
Pasadena City College
High: 69°
Low: 41 °
Tomorrow:
Sunny.
High: 71°
Low: 43°
Saturday:
Sunny.
High: 76°
Low: 39°
Sunday
Sunny.
High: 76°
Low: 39°
"T razos
у
Fragmentos:
An Experience in Latin
American Performance"
Latin American Issues through
the Arts invites students to
attend their first theatrical pro¬
duction, "Trazos
у
Fragmentos:
An Experience in Latin American
Performance." Inspired by Latin
American writers throughout the
ages, the presentation will be
directed by Professor Gustavo
Geirola. The performance is
scheduled for tomorrow at 8
p.m. in Harbeson Hall, and
admission is free. For more
information call 585-7664 or
585-7181.
Hunger Awareness Week
This week marks Hunger
Awareness Week, with various
events scheduled to ease the
plight of needy families in the
Pasadena area and beyond.
Today a Hunger Banquet will be
featured from noon to 1 p.m. in
the Lounge. It is billed as a
"lunch and learning event" to
benefit low-income PCC fami¬
lies, and donations are welcome.
From 7 to 1 0 p.m. the Volunteer
Center and the AS present Susan
Haner, billed as "America's
Hottest Hypnotist." Admission is
three canned goods or S3.
New Big Shots Picture
Gallery is Now Online
Check out our website for
loads of images reproduced
from our print edition. Our
current gallery features photos
from Dia de los Muertos and
Baja California. You can even
copy the images you like right
onto your desktop. Log on
today.
Thursday, December 2, 1999
Volume 85, Number 13
Speaker stirs up controversy
The fiery rhetoric of JDL leader Irv Rubin draws protests from faculty, students
Daniel Archuleta
/
Courier
Irv Rubin, head of the Jewish
Defense League (JDL), spoke at the
college last week amid tight security
and student protests.
By Audrey Allen and
Erika Kennelley
Staff Writers
They plastered the campus with
fliers. They wrote a message on a
chalkboard to other students using
words like. . .BOYCOTT. . .TERROR¬
IST. It was a protest that involved stu¬
dents, the college administration and
the Jewish Defense League.
The “protest” heated up age old
issues of academic freedom and free
speech and the right to protest.
It doesn’t take a political science
major to know that the First
Amendment of the Constitution grants
the right to free speech. However, sev¬
eral students claim that their voices
have recently been “muffled" by the
college. These students who led this
protest were Jeff Perkins and Jason
Marrero.
ON THE RECORD
“He (Rubin) could
have had an out¬
burst. He’s been
involved in
outburts.”
-Jeff Perkins,
student protester
Last Monday, four students were
standing in the hallway of the C
Building expressing their disdain
toward the guest appearance of the
chairman of the Jewish Defense
League (JDL), Irv Rubin. Rubin was
invited by Michelle Ireland-Galntan,
professor of social sciences, to speak
to a philosophy class on behalf of the
Humanities Block Program on
Wednesday, Nov. 24.
According to Perkins, the student
protesters were approached by Robert
Doud, professor of social sciences,
who insisted that they stop discussing
their opinions with other people.
When the students said they were
defending their right to free speech,
Doud walked away, but returned with
Joyce Black, vice president of instruc¬
tion. Black demanded that the protest¬
ers give her their names and the name
of the group they were from as well as
the identities of the professors who
put them up to their protest.
ADMINISTRIATIVE BEAT
A fade to Black
Joyce Black cites personal reasons for retiring
after six years as vice-president of instruction
By Gali Raval
Staff Writer
Joyce Black, vice president of
instruction, has decided that it is offi¬
cially time for her to say goodbye to
PCC and retire.
During more than 25 years in edu¬
cation, Black’s career has covered just
about every aspect of teaching. She
began as an anthropology teacher in
1971, then climbed the proverbial
"ladder of success” to the position of
vice -president.
The office of vice president calls
for insuring the quality of instruction¬
al programs, hiring of faculty, and
drafting state reports that are part of
the curriculum process. The job tasks
often lead to controversy and Black
has found herself in the “hot seat”
many times when faculty members
disagreed with her decisions.
Currently, Black is involved in a fac¬
ulty grievance dispute, which will be
taken up in arbitration. In 1995, a stu¬
dent approached Black regarding a
grade dispute. As vice president of
instruction, Black supported the stu¬
dent and took the matter up with the
board of trustees. The whole matter
stirred up a huge controversy and ulti¬
mately ended with the board voting 4-
3 in favor of not changing the grade
because of legal ramifications.
Black, who has already passed
retirement age, made the sudden deci¬
sion to leave at the end of this semes¬
ter because, "There are so many other
things that I want to do. Last year, the
retirement system changed and it
became more lucrative for retirees.
Also, when I was hired (in 1994), I
told Jack Scott, former college presi¬
dent, that I would only stay for five
years, and it has been more than that.”
Her official retirement day will be
Dec. 31, 1999.
Her initial plans for retirement
involved spending time overseas,
however, those plans had to be put on
hold to care for her son, who is suffer¬
ing from a kidney failure. He has had
no other alternative than to move back
home. “His illness came as a big sur¬
prise to me, but he is more important
to me than my plans. I need to take
care of him until he gets back on his
feet.”
Black, Pg. 2
Daniel Archuleta
/
Courier
Retiring Vice-president of Instruction Joyce Black looks towards life after PCC.
Daniel Archuleta
/
Courier
Student Jeff Perkins leads protesters.
“I began to walk away and she
[Black] continued to hold my arm. I
threatened the possibility of her
actions being illegal. She replied, ‘sue
me’,’’ said Perkins. Black refused to
Rubin, Pg. 3
COMMUNITY BEAT
Stadium
lights irk
locals
Loud noise also a factor
By Gia Scafidi
Staff Writer
Taking the podium one after the
other, disgruntled neighbors trans¬
formed the Circadian into a venting
arena at the Nov. 17 board of trustees
meeting. The cause of all their frus¬
trations — honking horns, boisterous
cheers, blinding lights and blaring
announcements radiating from the
new Lancer Stadium.
Neighbors came to voice their
concerns about the impact of the stadi¬
um on the community. They let it be
known that the speed at which modifi¬
cations were being handled to allevi¬
ate the noise and light intrusion from
the stadium was not sufficient. "There
seems to be no sense of urgency,” said
Anne Osterhout, a nearby resident.
“The noise and intrusion is unaccept¬
able."
Susan Miele, president of the
Stadium, Pg. 5
Vandalism continues to
plague campus facilities
By Tim Alves
Staff Writer
The college is fighting a war. It is a
war being fought on one side with
glass etchers, spray cans and drills
while the other has only small paint
buckets and patches.
"You just can’t imagine the kind of
damage people do to this campus,”
said Richard Van Pelt, director of facil¬
ities services.
Graffiti in some cryptic, unreadable
script is sprayed on the side of build¬
ings, planter boxes and dumpsters.
The campus restrooms have similar
markings carved deep into the mirrors,
reflecting jagged, obscured images so
that it is impossible to see a useable
reflection. Toilet seats bear similar
scars, both etched and marked with
braggart slogans of cowards.
Restroom and classroom doors have
deep gouges; a testament to wanton
destruction. Tampon machines lie
twisted and beaten on the floor,
wrenched off the wall for mere change.
Used condoms litter floors and feces is
smeared on toilets, partitions and
walls.
For the facilities department, it a
continuous battle.
“All of our shops are involved in
the damage repair,” said Van Pelt.
Daily, a small army of carpenters,
plumbers, electricians, painters and
locksmiths repair PCC property that is
under constant assault.
"We have one person who goes out
early in the morning before classes
begin, and all he does, is paint over
graffiti that wasn’t there the night
before. We have enough work to keep
a full-time painter busy.”
"The first floor of the R Building
and the second floor of T are just terri¬
ble, We have three custodians who
touch up the bathrooms during the day
and two who sweep through at night.
Everyone works on cleaning the bath¬
rooms, a total of 30 custodians will go
through the bathrooms during the
course of the day,” said Van Pelt.
"It’s really disgusting. It makes the
whole bathroom look dirty and unsan¬
itary. It looks like gangland in there,
like you could get jumped at any time.
Plus even if I did, the toilet probably
wouldn’t flush and the toilet paper
would be gone,” said Shawn Kelley, a
PCC student.
However, purging a bathroom of
Richard Fa vela
/
Courier
Over $1 2,000 was spent last year replacing mirrors thrashed by vandals.
The exhorbitant cost of these repairs was passed on to the taxpayer.
graffiti is far easier than some of the
other problems vandals cause.
Recently, mirrors in the men’s bath¬
room on the first floor of the CC
Building and the second floor of the C
Building were so badly etched, they
had to be replaced to the tune of
$12,000.
Another disturbing trend in bath¬
room vandalism involves not only
destruction, but also potentially dan¬
gerous sexual behavior.
Vandalism, Pg. 3
learning from the Dead
Cadavers help students under¬
stand the inner workings of the
human body. Campus, Pg. 3
Inside This Issue
Coach Peron's women's basketball
continues to trounce the competition
this season. Sports, Pg. 8
у
