Lancers Win Metro Conference
For Fourth Consecutive Year
WE’RE NO. I—Placekicker Paul Gfglgens expresses his exhuberance
after kicking 30- yard field goal wtth no time left on the dock to gtve the
Lancer football team a dramatic 17-14 victory over Taft College. The Win
gave PCC a 10 0 record on the year and a trip to the Metro-Valley Bowl
Dec 6 at the Rose Bowl {Slory on p 4.1 - Courier photo by John Lloyd
DECEMBER 5. 1980
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
VOL 50, NO. 15
lub Members Want
Tuition Bill Changed
By Monique Meindl
Staff Writer
A letter in response to Assembly Bill
2825, which increases tuition for for¬
eign and nonresident students, was
written by members of the Interna¬
tional Club and sent to state legislators
Nov. 26.
The Club is taking a positive stand on
the issue and hopes to sway the think¬
ing of the legislators, according to
Negotiations May
Reach impasse
The collective bargaining process
between blue collar workers and the
Pasadena Area Community College
District may be moving closer to an
impasse, according to Arlene
Mordasini, Teamster’s Local 911 repre¬
sentative.
The blue collar unit represents custo¬
dians and skilled trade workers includ¬
ing carpenters, plumbers and welders.
Both sides must agree that no move¬
ment is possible and an impasse does
exist. At that point, the Public Employ¬
ees Relations Board would be con¬
tacted to send a mediator. The medi¬
ator is an independent party in the
negotiations and works to effect com¬
promise.
Salary negotiations were reopened
during the summer as agreed to in the
first contract, which was signed F'eb.
26, 1979. That contract was negotiated
for almost three years before being
signed.
“We feel we have made the last
move, and I fully believe the District
should reevaluate and come to the
table," said Ms. Mordasini.
However, Larry Curtis, chief spokes¬
man and legal counsel for the District,
said, “Right now, things seem to be on
dead center. It’s up to the teamsters;
the ball is in their court.”
The District has offered salary ad¬
justments from 6 to 11.36 percent.
However, the higher offer includes
parity pay for some blue-collar classi¬
fications. Parity is a salary scale
equitable with area public and private
workers. According to Raymond
Martin, shop steward and welder, the
union will not accept parity adjust¬
ments as part of the District’s total
offer.
The Teamsters began setting up the
informational picket line Nov. 19.
which workers approved in September.
The picket does not mean there is a
strike; “the workers don’t intend to
stop work,” said Ms. Mordasini.
“The picket is only to inform the
public about the worker's dissatisfac¬
tion with the lack of negotiations,” 'said
Martin.
“We’re not monsters, we’re* just
looking for a fair deal,” said William
Petring, skilled trades worker, who is
participating on the picket line.
. (Lf ^
— Courier photo by Zach Harmon
STILL WALKING THE LINE — PCC blue collar workers who are
members of Teamsters Local 91 1 continue the informational picket they
started Nov. 19. The workers, who participate during their off-duty hours,
have vowed to remain on the picket line until negotiations resume.
A lew Price May Deter Casual Use
Campus Catalog Cost Might Rise
By Rosemary Cameron
Contributing Writer
Whether to raise the price of the
1980-81 edition of the school catalog is
being considered by PCC adminis¬
trators, although at this stage no de¬
cision has been reached, according to
Dr. Richard S. Meyers, super¬
intendent-president.
Production costs have become much
more expensive the last few , years,
partly due to inflation, said Robert
Burns, director of Purchasing." In'just
one year production costs have risen
from $1.35 to approximately $1.96 per
copy. We are ordering a smaller quan¬
tity of catalogs this year (1981-82 edi¬
tion). We will hopefully save a total of
$846,” he said.
The current (1979-80) issue is priced
15
II Students and Staff Invited
Ulld
lll*\ lot il
The open house will also give the
discuss with administrative members
ASB sent a special invitation to the
■
i
ill be an
Alice B. Mothershead, International
Club adviser.
No decision has been made about the
possibility of implementing an install¬
ment plan for the payment of tuition,
although it has been discussed by Dr.
Bonnie R. James, vice president for
Business Services, Dr. Irvin G. Lewis,
vice president for Student Personnel
Services, and PCC Superintendent-
President Dr. Richard S. Meyers, ac¬
cording to Lewis.
“We members think that it would be
more fair if those who are already
enrolled at a certain tuition cost re¬
main at that cost until their education
has been completed within this col¬
lege,” states the letter.
“In the name of international good
will and future cooperation between
countries of the world, we beg you to
consider the hardships that this bill is
causing the students, and we plead with
you to make an adjustment such as was
made by the Grandfather Clause for
the California States Colleges during
the early ’70’s,” the letter concludes.
The Grandfather Clause allowed stu¬
dents already enrolled in the college to
continue paying the unadjusted tuition,
according to Mrs. Mothershead, who
worked in support of the clause in the
’70s.
“The Grandfather Clause was not
written into AB 2825, and in order for it
to be applied, a 'new bill would have to
be introduced,” said Lewis.
According to Lewis, a new bill would
have to introduced to the legislature,
which is now in session, before Feb. 1,
1981. “The students would have to get
enough senators to support the bill, and
have the governor sign it,” he said.
The first step is to inform the legisla¬
tors of the problems the rise in tuition
causes students, said Mrs. Mother¬
shead. “The letter will let them know
how the students feel. In the future we
hope that the legislature will consider
the hardships students face before
passing a bill of this nature.”
Other colleges have asked for a copy
of the letter written at PCC to help
their students respond to the problem,
according to Mrs. Mothershead.
Recipients of the letter were,
Meyers, Assemblyman John Vascom-
cellos, Sen. Alan Sieroty, Sen. Alan
Cranston, Gov. Jerry Brown and John
Reichard, executive secretary of the
National Association for Foreign Stu¬
dent Affairs.
When asked about the expected re¬
sponse to the letter, Mrs. Mothershead
replied, “I don’t really know,” but
added that the letter would, through
voicing the students views, bring atten¬
tion to the problem.
The next step, Mrs. Mothershead
explained, is for students to get togeth¬
er to raise money to help each other.
To do so, the International Club has
planned various fund-raisers, including
a drawing in which participants are
eligible to win various prizes.
Tickets, costing $1 each, will go on
sale Dec. 7 at the International Club
Booth at the PCC Flea Market. The
drawing will be. held Jan. 13 at the
club’s weekly meeting, said Mrs. Moth¬
ershead.
The club is also sponsoring a bake
and “Christmas goodie” sale Dec. 18.
Proceeds from the sales will go into a
scholarship fund to help foreign stu¬
dents with tuition, according to Mrs.
Mothershead.
Still Sha/cin9 After
All These Years?
at $1. Up until March of this year the
catalog was free, production costs
being funded by the college, according
to Burns. But with the increase in
production costs and the impact effect
of Proposition 13, which cut back state
funds to community colleges, PCC
found it necessary to revise its finan¬
cial policy regarding the catalog. Prop¬
osition 13 made it necessary for the
college to look for potential savings in
its overall budget, said Burns. “Pric¬
ing the catalog was a way of recouping
some of the production costs,” he
added. “We were one of the few col¬
leges giving away catalogs.”
Another reason for putting a price on
the catalog was to discourage students
abusing them, Burns said. When the
catalog was free, far greater potential
existed for students to pick up a copy,
glance through it, and then dispose of
it, obtaining another catalog at a later
date. The college hoped that pricing it
would discourage casual use of the
catalog, he said.
“The catalog has not changed much
over the last 12 years, although we
have made improvements in pictures
and clarity in the format,” Burns said.
One change involves using a com¬
puterized typesetting system to pro¬
duce copy for printing. Computeriza¬
tion has made it a more efficient
operation, said Burns.
By Alex Spada
Contributing Writer
Complaints of a barely perceptible
“shaking” at the Paramedical Sci¬
ences Building cropped up almost as
soon as the building was dedicated in
1974. Faculty and students alike cited
symptoms of fatigue, nausea, loss of
balance and restlessness.
Last November, after years of such
complaints, studies and modifications,
the problem jarring the U Building, as
it is commonly known, appeared to be
gone.
The air conditioning system’s fan
speeds were lowered “to reduce
further any vibration and noise which
might still be affecting persons,” said
a report commissioned by the Board of
Trustees of the Pasadena Area Com¬
munity College District.
But the building “still vibrates.”
said Robert Pierce, Life Science de¬
partment chairman, though he admits
the problem has been reduced. “Before
it used to rattle.”
In 1976, after two studies yielding
“inconclusive findings” and “in¬
decisive evidence,” consulting engi¬
neer Raymond Baird found abnormaly
intense and sub-audible sound pressure
in the building’s third and fourth floors.
The flow of air in the air conditioning
units was believed to cause the vibra¬
tions, and in 1977 vanes and scoops
redirecting the flow were installed.
The problem seemed to be arrested.
Things Were Quiet
“Things were pretty quiet for a
while,” the Courier reported Dr.
Charles Miller, then vice president of
business services, as saying in May
1978, “but then people started to com¬
plain about the vibrations again.”
In late 1979, the speeds of the third
and fourth floor air conditioning fans
were further decreased by about 17
percent, and Baird reported vibration
losses of up to 95 percent. The problem
again seemed solved.
Last spring, however, student Joyce
Hill was so affected by the vibrations,
she took all her tests in C Building. Her
reaction is a unique one, not only for its
degree, but also because students seem
to be less affected since they are
usually in the building for shorter
periods than faculty.
“When I had to sit for a long time,”
Ms. Hill said, “I couldn’t follow the
lectures. My head felt like it was full of
air. I wouldn’t stand up because I
thought I would fall.”
Though her doctor found nothing
wrong, she said, “I just thought some¬
thing was wrong with me.” Ms. Hill
said she tried different seat locations,
eating or chewing during class, sitting
or standing, but her wooziness and
dizziness did not go away.
“After 15 minutes,” she explained,
“my head was out. I wouldn’t try to
take notes, when I tried to look up and
down (from a teacher to her notebook)
I was dizzy.” It was then her grades
declined, she said.
“I was ashamed, embarrassed and I
was afraid.” she said. “When I talked
(Continued on Page 6)
U Building — Good Vibrations?
At the time when complaints about
vibration in the U Building were
beginning to be voiced, little was
known about its effect on humans.
Since then, various organizations
have conducted studies that have, as
the American Society of Safety Engi¬
neers put it, asserted “emphatically
that vibration is one of the most
stressful environmental agents which
man encounters. ”
The Encyclopedia of Occupational
Health and Safety defines vibration
as “an oscilation of particles ... in a
solid body, a liquid or a gas’ ’ and says
there are “many receptors in man
which respond to vibration, not only
in the part of the body in contact with
the vibrating surface but also within
the body ... In addition, the otolithic
and vestibular Apparatus of the ear
(masses and cavities of the inner ear)
react to vibration when it affects the
whole body.”
Reactions to vibration, though
highly varied, have been greatly
documented and grouped. They in¬
clude discomfort, annoyance, physi¬
ological disturbances, interference
with activity, fatigue, intolerabilty,
pain and injury. The International
Organization for Standardization (an
accoustics authority) has determined
four factors in determining reaction
—intensity, frequency, direction and
duration, with each having its own
response relative to the body parts
exposed.
The fact that sensation to vibration
is not centralized has caused many
problems in the study of vibration
response, but perception has been
utilized as the “real threshold,
whereas unpleasantness and toler¬
ance are more or less subjective
judgements,” said a report of the
Archives of Environmental Health XI
Conference of 1965.
The IOS is one of many groups who
have adopted standards for vibration.
It recommends three criteria— the
preservation of working efficiency,
the preservation of health and safety
and the preservation of comfort. In a
report for vibration levels below one
hertz (cycles per second), the IOS
indicates that all levels should pro¬
vide 90 percent of the population a
freedom from the effects of vibration
if the hertz is not exceeded.
—Alex Spada
IS ROCK'N'ROLL HERE TO STAY?— Apparently
so, according to numerous faculty, staff and students
who have had classes in U Building over the last six
years. The problem has quieted down somewhat,
however, said Life Science Department Chairman Rob¬
ert Pierce. "Before it used to rattle."