VOLUME 108 ISSUE 14
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT PCCCOURIER.COM
December 5, 2013
The independent student voice
of PCC. Serving Pasadena
since 1915
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
WINTER
EDITORIAL
INSIDE
PAGE
4»
Connect with us
О
facebook.com/
pcccourier
@pcccourier
■ 'Mtl
@pcccourier tumblr.com/
pcccourier
WINTER IS COMING
Emily Chang-Chien
Staff Writer
The California Public Employment Re¬
lations Board decided late last month that
the District violated the law by unilaterally
implementing a trimester calendar and
ordered the administradon to reinstate
winter and post public notices identifying
the error.
According to the PERB ruling, the
District violated the Educational Employ¬
ment Relations Act (EERA) by forcing
a calendar without winter, known as a
trimester calendar, before completing the
impasse with faculty.
Additionally, the document states that
these actions have led to a contractual
breach which amount to a policy change
that affects the PCC Faculty Association’s
(FA) scope of representation.
The District has also been ordered by
PERB to “rescind the implementation
of a trimester calendar at the end of
[the 2014 - 15 school year] and restore a
semester calendar no later than two weeks
Writf'
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION?
AUG. 29. 2012
Winter
classes
cancelled
Ж
JUNE 5,2013
Mediator rules in favor
of trimester calendar
FALL
SEP. 12. 2013
FA
argues
unfair
labor
practice
OCT. 3. 2012
2.700 oppose new calendar in
student petition
FA takes legal action
_ - over winter
JULY 29. 2013
Students protest
Winter's cancellation
DEC. 3.2013
The Public Employment
Relations Board finds the
District in violation of the
law, orders reinstatement of
Winter
after the end of that trimester.”
Early in the semester, the Faculty
Association filed a grievance with PERB
accusing the District of enforcing an un¬
fair labor practice. The FA characterized
the ruling as a total victory for the faculty
and students.
“We were deemed correct, we have
prevailed,” FA president Roger Marheine
said during the Dec. 2 Academic Senate
Meeting.
Upon reviewing PERB’s proposed
decisions, the District was quick to refute
the verdict through a Dec. 3 statement.
“The, PACCD expresses its strong
disagreement with the proposed deci¬
sion as wrongly decided and insupport¬
able,” the statement read. “The District
Photo illustration by Antonio Gandara
believes the proposed decision ignores
well-established legal precedent and mis¬
construes the facts of the case.”
WINTER page 3 ^
Journalism adviser reinstated
after admission of misdeed
Christine Michaels
Editor-in-Chief
Former Courier adviser War¬
ren Swil will be reinstated as an
instructor next spring after ad¬
mitting to shouting nude pictures
of himself to a student in an in¬
cident that led to a months-long
sexual harassment investigation,
sources confirmed.
Swil, 61, put on paid ad¬
ministrative leave in March for
complaints regarding sexual ha-'
rassment and grade retaliation by
Courier staff member Raymond
Bernal, who alleged Swil showed
him nude photographs and low¬
ered his grades on assignments
after the incident.
The school immediately
launched an investigation that
finally culminated in a letter no¬
tifying Swil of his reinstatement
in late November.
Several sources close to the
investigation confirmed to the
Courier that Swil admitted to
showing Bernal the nude pho¬
tographs. But the full results of
the investigation are being with¬
held to protect Swil, according
to General Counsel Gail Cooper.
“It is important to remember
that no matter how much inter¬
est there may be, Mr. Swil has a
right of privacy in his personnel
information that the District
must protect,” Cooper said via
email.
Swil received a letter from the
college explaining his rein¬
statement and the terms of the
investigation on Friday, and he
described the experience as “sur¬
real,” but he declined to address
the allegations specifically.
Earlier this week, he explained
in an email that his experience
on administrative leave was “un¬
imaginably traumatic and was
totally unnecessary.”
SWIL page 3 ^
Matthew Chan/Courier
Journalism instructor Warren
Swil retrieving his belongings
from the Courier in April.
Instructor found innocent
after investigation
Philip McCormick McQueen was placed on
Managing Editor
English instructor Mark Mc¬
Queen received a letter from the
college stating that he has been
found innocent of all accusa¬
tions that he attacked a student,
according to a union official.
However, how his reinstate¬
ment will be handled is still
unclear.
“Thank you all for support¬
ing [McQueen] with both the
letter from English faculty and
the FA sponsored petition,”
Faculty Association President
Roger Marheine said in an email
Wednesday morning. “The
online petition as you may know,
went viral as there are over
1 ,650 signatures of support
for Mark. . . 1 have no details to
share, especially regarding his
return to teaching.”
administrative leave so that the
college could investigate the
allegations that he attacked and
punched a student on Hallow¬
een, after the incident occurred.
McQueen, who has a number
of health issues, was allegedly
in the hospital after the event
because of stress related illness,
according to Marheine.
General Counsel Gail Cooper
said that McQueen had been
put on paid administrative leave
to protect the integrity of the
investigation and the student
complainant and witnesses.
A petition was created and
presented at the Nov. 14 Faculty
Association meeting demanding
McQueen’s reinstatement. The
petition stated that a student
physically confronted McQueen
MCQUEEN page 3 ^
SPEAK OUT!
Do you think winter
should be reinstated?
Vote at
PccCourier.com
WHAT'S
INSIDE:
To infinity
and
beyond:
Meet the student
making a stellar
NASA impact.
Page
9»
American
Idol turned
role model:
Hear the story of
Jordyn Kane
and her singing
aspirations
Page
8»