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Courier
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Volume 106, Issue 12
The independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena Since 1915.
December 6, 2012
1 8-week
semester
strongly
opposed
Just dance
Alexis Villanueva
/
Courier
The dance "Aqua Vitae" composed by Amber Alonso is performed on Nov. 30 at the Sexson Auditorium. Story
/
Page 8
Police chief to step down
Open letter to Board of Trustees cites 'crisis'
Emily Chang-Chien
Staff Writer
An open letter sent to the Board of Trustees
cites a crisis of confidence in the administra¬
tion among faculty, and claims that misman¬
agement may result in the loss of state funds,
according to Faculty Association President
Roger Marheine, who wrote the letter.
"The premature elimination of Winter has
triggered a crisis," Marheine wrote.
According to the letter, the cutting of over
1,000 class sections over the past three years,
as well as cancellation of Winter Intersession
has put the school in a predicament. "We are
now under our [full time equivalent student]
allotment and are in danger of losing state
apportionment," Marheine said.
In an email reply, Board of Trustees
President Geoffrey Baum deemed the letter
to be an act of "passionate advocacy."
"Through our actions and the very gener¬
ous contract offer to faculty — which was
rejected by you and your colleagues on the
PCCFA leadership — the Board of Trustees
has made clear its policy priorities for the
District," Baum said in his email.
Marheine elaborated in a separate email
that the state allocates a certain amount of
funding for all community colleges based on
Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES), which
is a formula. "We are in danger of losing
funds because the state sees [PCC] as losing
Continued on page 11
Hearing set in ex-employees' bribery lawsuit
Nicholas Saul
Editor-in-Chief
A hearing in a lawsuit filed
against two fired former school
officials will be held on Dec. 14
when the defendants will chal¬
lenge filed complaints, according
to court documents.
The complaints that former
Vice President Richard van Pelt
and former Facilities Director
Alfred Hutchings face are
bribery allegations on top of a
host of hedonistic requests.
Van Pelt and Hutchings were
fired in June after the school
found out that the two men were
being investigated by the District
Attorney's office for 'conflicts of
interest.'
According to the Assistant
Head Deputy of the DAs Public
Integrity Division, Jennifer
Schneider, the investigation is
ongoing with no completion
timetable. "It's impossible to
determine when the case will be
completed," she said. "We inves¬
tigate these matters until we are
satisfied and find out if it is a
Continued on page 10
Christine Michaels
Staff Writer
Strong opposition towards
shifting to an 18-week semester
was expressed at the Academic
Senate Town Hall on the
Carnegie Hour on Nov. 29 in the
Creveling Lounge.
In 2004, the college switched
from an 18- week, 54 hours of
instruction semester running on
the Carnegie Hour to a com¬
pressed 16-week semester also
with 54 hours of instruction. The
change was made to accommo¬
date for the lack of attendance in
the former second summer ses¬
sion, and creation of a winter
session, according to Philosophy
Instructor Philip Ricards.
Many speakers at the meeting
said that class scheduling was
the primary problem, and not
the length of the semester.
Associated Students President
Simon Fraser said the biggest
issue students have was class
overlap times.
"We are running right to the
bell. We need to take into
account that weird start and stop
times hurt students. We are not
having a consistency," Fraser
said.
Assistant Superintendent and
Vice President of Business and
College Services Robert Miller
said more block classes needed
to be offered. Block courses con¬
sist of a set of classes that must
be taken together.
"What I have heard is the
biggest need is block classes for
students. There is a certain need
to improve how we offer class¬
es," Miller said.
Natural Sciences Instructor
Paul Jarrell said scheduling
Continued on page 11
Perez to leave after
only eight months
on the job
Philip McCormick
Staff Writer
Chief of Police Stanton Perez
will have to step down from his
position as of Dec. 12 due to an
eligibility issue with his retire¬
ment program.
Sergeant Steven Matchan will
act as Interim Chief until a new
candidate is found for the posi¬
tion, officials said.
"I'm in shock," said Perez in
an interview on Monday. "I
wanted to work here for 10 years
or more... But I can't fix what
has happened and I have to
move forward."
Perez was hired by the Board
of Trustees in April after a long
career in law enforcement with
the California Highway Patrol.
He replaced interim Chief Frank
Scialdone.
An official statement from the
college said that this was neces¬
sary due to a state law passed on
July 1 (three months after Perez
was hired) that would prohibit
Perez from acquiring his pension
from his previous job with the
California Highway Patrol.
"This is not a move that either
Chief Perez or the College
wished to make, but we must
follow the law even though we
disagree with it," said President
Mark Rocha.
"I thank Chief Perez for his
service to the College. The PCC
Police and Safety Department
will continue its open and sup¬
portive service to the campus
and extended community."
Perez said that he appreciated
everything that the administra¬
tion had done to help him out in
this unfortunate situation.
"President Mark Rocha, Senior
Vice Presidents Robert Miller
and Robert Bell tried every
which way to find a way to keep
me here," said Perez. "For that I
thank them and adore them."
Though Perez will be stepping
down as chief, he will be teach-
Continued on page 11
Wendy Garcia
/
Courier
Chief of Police Stanton Perez.