PCC Courier, February 06, 2003

ч¥ *> to < И r> ♦ *>e« 4 *s "■> 4 , 4 Ч ' ' «• « A. ^ •> Sabah Alquaddoomi Loves Life see page 5 : k# Peter Schickele’s Got A Headache see page 6 A Men’s Basketball Wins Easy see page 8 - v Ь 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 -to шш: Шк 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 Я I 'Ш . _ 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