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Pasadena City College
Volume 102, Issue 12
"The Independent Student Voice of
РСС,
Serving Pasadena
High-tech emergency operations center to open
Volleyball
Lancers fall in the third
round of the SoCal
Regional Tournament
Page
8»
Since 1915.'
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Police crack
down on
smokers
Justin Clay
Staff Writer
The PCC Police Department has taken a new
approach to enforcing the smoking policy on campus.
Now, anyone caught smoking outside of the designat¬
ed areas and throwing cigarette butts on the ground
could be affected financially.
"To help Campus Police achieve a higher compli¬
ance rate, officers are now citing smokers for littering.
That does carry a fine that would have to be taken to
the Pasadena courthouse," said PCC Chief of Police
Peter Michael.
For the past three semesters students and staff who
wished to smoke have been relegated to four desig¬
nated areas, located at the four comers of the campus.
Some people think the smoking areas are a wel¬
come change, while others see them as a violation of
rights.
"The original policy was enacted because non-
smokers, staff and Student Health Services recog¬
nized the dangers of tobacco usage," said Michael.
"And also the fact that other community college
campuses had become completely smoke free," he
said.
Chief Michael says that some on campus have not
always followed the original policy since it was enact¬
ed.
"People on campus have not been very compliant.
I compare it to the law against cell phone use while
driving-people don't seem to follow it because it's
not convenient to them," said Michael.
"Complaints have continued to stream into
Campus PoUce about smokers not following the poli¬
cy and it affecting non-smokers," he said.
Chief Michael says that Campus Police have seen
results, however minimal.
"Since the policy was passed officers have been
Continued on page 2
New add
policy to
begin for
spring
No-cost waiting lists coming
Janine Shimomura
Editor-in-Chief
A new way students can add classes through
longer, no-cost waiting lists is starting with registra¬
tion for the spring semester.
The change was requested by the Academic Senate
and was discussed for months. Spring registration
begins next Monday.
"I think we're going to take it a step at a time and
hope that the new procedure doesn't interfere on the
student's behalf," said Edward Martinez, president of
the Academic Senate.
"It's good for the students because they don't have
to pay for a class they haven't gotten into yet," said
Stuart Wilcox, vice president of student and learning
services.
According to Wilcox, the new system will allow
more students to placed on the waiting list, with a
rough estimate of about 10 students. Each division
dean was given the opportunity to set the waiting list
limit.
"We wanted the list to be long enough so the
teacher never runs out of names," said Wilcox.
The college hopes that the change will create a more
Continued on page 7
Aubrey Quezada
Staff Writer
PCC's new "state-of-the-art"
Emergency Operations Center is set to be
completed and available for use in time
for Pasadena's Rose Parade on New
Years Day, according to Campus Police
Chief Peter Michael.
Though outfitting for the Emergency
Operations Center, in room 203 of the CC
Building, did not begin until the summer
of 2010, Michael expects it to be fully
functional when the new year approach¬
es.
"Every public agency is required to
have an Emergency Operations Center
that follows the guidelines of California's
Standardized Emergency Management
System (SEMS) and the United States'
Nation Incident Management System
(NIMS)," Michael said.
California's Emergency Management
Agency's website says, "SEMS is the cor¬
nerstone of California's emergency
response system and the fundamental
structure for the response phase of emer¬
gency management."
The website also says that "state agen¬
cies are required to use SEMS and local
government entities must use SEMS in
order to be eligible for any reimburse¬
ment of response-related costs under the
state's disaster assistance programs."
Without filling out the proper forms or
following the guidelines set by SEMS
and NIMS, the college would not be
reimbursed for any expenses paid during
an emergency.
In the case of an emergency, said
Michael, FEMA would pay all personnel
as well as cover the cost of any special
equipment needed.
"It is critical that we have [an
Emergency Operations System] up and
running and operating properly with
efficient and effective resources so we
can get federal money in a real emer¬
gency," Michael said.
The Emergency Operations Center,
Continued on page 7
Lancer Life:
PCC’s official blog
features a new
student voice.
Page
2»
Champions:
Students see
the court as a
quiet getaway.
Page
5»
Walking for a cause
Anthony Richetts/Courier
Daniel Perea, an English major, leads a group of students across
the Quad as part of AIDS Walk 2010 on Wednesday. Students
shouted, "Find a cure!" spreading their message throughout cam¬
pus.
Louis Cheung/Courier
The Emergency Operations Center will be in use
during the Pasadena Rose Parade.
i