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P A S A D E N A
C I
C O L L E G E
Courier
Since 1915
VOL. 88 NO. 16
www.pcc-courieronline.com
FEBRUARY 6, 2002
Instructor Discovers Rare Fossil
by Michelle Constantine
Feature Editor
Russell DiFiori, biology
instructor, is credited with finding
a Wooly Mammoth Skull 200
miles south of the only other
Mammoth ever found in Baja.
DiFiori spends a good amount
of his free time in Baja on scouting
trips to update locations for the
spring and summer Baja Science
Program trips.
On this trip, he was at a beach
near San Quintin when he noticed
“a bone eroding out” in the beach
cliff.
“As the waves erode the beach
cliff, new things
come out,” said
DiFiori. He cut
a chunk of the
hard sand out of
the cliff and carried it up the
cliff to his truck.
When he set it down, the sand
broke apart revealing the lower
jaw of a Wooly Mammoth. As
luck would have it, the jaw and
molar are the defining bones of a
Mammoth.
“You don’t expect to find the
piece that tells you what it is. It’s
extremely lucky,” said
DiFiori.
However, bringing
his find back to the
United States will
not be possible,
past, people have
removed fossils, Aztec pieces, and
slabs of rock with cave paintings
In the
on them from Mexico causing the
country to create and enforce the
Mexican Antiquity Act.
“Mexico is enforcing its legis¬
lation and that’s a good thing,”
said DiFiori. “It’s taken us almost
two months after finding it to fig¬
ure out what to do.”
The skull is buried in the cliff
upside down with the back stick¬
ing out.
“Since just the back of the skull
Ш
see FOSSIL, page 4
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Wooly Mammoth
“ The tragedy serves as a warning “ I think we move forward. We
for us to not become arrogant in moved forward after Apollo 1 and
our ways. As technologically Challenger. Hopefully we can pass
advanced as we may be, we cannot fingerpointing and blame and move
control every aspect of life.” forward.”
--Student Greg Alvarado
-Student Scott Bodie
1
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I
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. _ a
These are some of the final shots of the Columbia space shuttle and crew prior to its launch.
® see story on page 4
CD Rebates;
Get Yours
by Linda Rapka
Staff Writer
Music buyers are finally get¬
ting some satisfaction after years
of paying too much for over¬
priced CDs.
As much as $20 could be
awarded to customers who pur¬
chased a CD between 1995 and
2000. This refund is the result
of a massive price-fixing settle¬
ment by several major U.S. CD
companies.
To be eligible for part of this
settlement, persons must have
purchased a CD, cassette of
vinyl record in the United States
between Jan. I, 1995 and Dec.
22, 2000.
There is no need to tear the
house upside-down searching
for an old receipt; no proof of
purchase is required.
Even minors can file claims
because there is no minimum
@ see REBATES, page 3
Accreditation
Fine Until 2009
School passes
accreditation with
high marks as
visitation team
insists on impov-
ed collegiality
Fee Waivers Make College Affordable
With a tuition hike looming, financial aid is available
; *
- - to J
AT
Free
Money
by Linda Rapka
Staff Writer
Tuition may
be raised from
$ll to $24 per
unit next
semester at all
California
community
colleges if Gov.
Gray Davis’
budget proposal passes.
However, some students may
not have to spend any extra money.
PCC’s Board of Governor’s fee
waiver “will not be affected by any
tuition increase,” according to Kim
Miles, assistant dean of financial
aid.
The Board of Governor’s fee
waiver covers all but $l of all reg¬
istration fees for eligible students.
To qualify, a student must be a
California resident, attend PCC and
demonstrate financial need.
There are two ways to apply for
this fee waiver. One is to submit
the one-page Fee Waiver
Application available at the
Financial Aid office in LI 14.
However, “eligible students
should apply for financial aid, not
just the Board of Gov.ernor’s
grant,” Miles emphasized.
This means filing a Free
Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA). This form is also
available at the Financial Aid office
or online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Once submitted, PCC reviews
the FAFSA and advises students by
mail if they qualify for financial aid
offered by the college. The dead¬
line for the 2003-2004 FAFSA is
June 30.
Even if a student does not quali¬
fy for the Board of Governor’s
Grant, he could still be eligible for
money by filing a FAFSA.
Everyone who submits a
FAFSA is automatically screened
to see if they qualify for other
grants, such as the federal Pell
Grant which dispenses up to $4,000
to each qualified student per year.
For state-funded Cal Grants, the
FAFSA and Cal Grant forms must
4
Kenny Kimura/Courier
Students wait in line for financial aid assistance.
be filed by March 2.
For anyone who needs help or
has questions about the financial
aid application process, a financial
aid seminar will be held on
Saturday, Feb. 8 from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. in LIT 4.
Students can get help with their
FAFSA as well as learn about
grants, scholarships, loans and
more.
“We do everything we can to
make any changes less painful for
the students. That’s our goal,”
Miles said.
However, non-California resi¬
dents attending PCC will feel a def¬
inite pinch with the plan to raise
out-of-state tuition from $132 to
$149 per unit.
The college does not offer these
students financial aid. Out-of-state
students must find financial assis¬
tance through private grants, schol-
Ш
see AID, page 3
by Nick Barral
Staff Writer
PCC’s accreditation has been
reaffirmed once again.
The accreditation is effective
until 2009.
Accreditation means units
taken at PCC can be transferable
to other colleges.
The Accrediting Commission
for Community and Junior
Colleges, Western Association of
Schools and Colleges sent repre¬
sentatives to evaluate the college
in Oct 2002.
Ten members visited with
trustees, administrators, faculty,
staff and students.
The commission’s report said,
“Team members were impressed
by the depth and strength of sup¬
port for the college from stu¬
dents, faculty and staff.
“They took great pride in their
college’s distinguished history,
were steadfastly committed to
ensuring a quality education for
all, and shared a common vision
of Pasadena City College as a
premier community college.”
They added, “The team
observed many instances of
innovative support from student
learning and success.”
They citied the Math, Nursing
African
American
Enrollment
Declines
by Whitney Porter
Staff Writer
The number of African American
students is declining on campus, rais¬
ing concerns that the college is not
doing enough to attract and keep
minorities.
Members of the educational pro¬
grams committee expressed concern
after statistics in the Institutional Self
Study 2003 indicated that the number
of African American students
enrolled at PCC is steadily declining.
Since the fall semester in 1995, the
number of African American students
has decreased by 1.3 percent, from
7.8 percent to 6.5 percent of credit
Ш
see REPORT, page 3
and the Social ScienceLearning
Centers among others as such
innovations.
While here, they witnessed a
demonstration on campus.
“The noon meeting was
accompanied by a vigorous rally
of some two hundred faculty,
staff and students who demon¬
strated their support for contract-
Ш
see PCC, page 3