Pasadena City College
ишшшшш
Paae 6
И
Flip over to the photo gallei^y page,
and dissolve into a white wonderland
of soft snowy bliss. . .indulge yourself!
Stolen identity?
ШЯШШШШШШШШШШШШШШЯШвЯШШвЯШЯЯШШШЯШЯШШШШШвШЯШШШШШШ
Social Security error
stirs student fears
By Tim Alves
Courier Staff Writer
A printing error on a college-produced
tax form has resulted in thousands, possi¬
bly tens of thousands of students being
mailed personal information, including
Social Security numbers of other students,
raising fears the mix up could result in
identity theft.
“I’m pretty upset, it took me a while to
deal with it. It’s very disturbing.
Someone has my name, address and
Social Security number. Someone can
ruin my life with all that stuff,” said
Donovan Lopez.
“It’s extremely embarrassing when
something like this happens,” said Dale
Pittman, director of management informa¬
tion services whose department was
responsible for printing the erroneous
1098-T forms.
Educational institutions are required by
the federal government to print the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form
1 098-T, complete with name, address and
Social Security number. Colleges must
mail the 1098-T to all students enrolled in
a minimum of 12 units during the course
of a calendar year.
“We don’t know how many were
incorrectly printed. We just don’t know.
But it is large enough to concern me.
That’s why we’re going ahead and
reprinting another 31,000, which should
be done and sent out in about a week’s
time,” said Rod Fleeman, vice president
of administrative services.
“They should be concerned. I’m con¬
cerned. Nobody knows you by your
name, they just know you by your Social
Security number. That number is more
important than anything, how could they
let something like this happen,” said
Maria Gonzalez.
The printing error has been traced to a
fairly new, high-speed printer that pro¬
duces the registration forms mailed to stu¬
dents at the beginning of semesters and
the mid-term progress reports.
“We break the 31,000 names down into
10 files, so it’s easier to manage, and
we’re finding errors sprinkled throughout
all 10 runs. We don’t know if the errors
are in one percent, two percent or 20 per¬
cent of the total number printed,” said
Pittman.
“It’s my understanding that at some
point or several points the forms slipped.
So what you get is your name printed on
the -
See SSN on Page 3
, Tuitlor,
“foment
PRESORTED
FIRST CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PASADENA. CA
PERMIT NO. 1794
RETURN
SERVICE
REQUESTED
Cashier L1 1 3
Pasadena City College
1570 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91106-2003
ог
3 0 03 2.-7^2.713
Photo Illustration by Fred Ortega
/
The Courier
Thousands of student's personal information, including Social Security numbers, were printed
incorrectly and mailed to the wrong person, raising fears of identity theft and financial ruin.
Student leaders
sharpen skills
V.P. for Instruction 4
By Jon Heller
Courier Staff Writer
Four weeks past the halfway
point of the 1999-2000 school year
and the report card grade for the AS
is. ..busy. The Associated Students
(AS) is the student elected, student-
run governing body on campus,
comprised of a president, eight
vice-presidents, and three other
members.
Operating with an overall budget
of $108,000, taken from student
fees and bookstore and cafeteria
sales, money is allocated to the 12
AS offices through open discussion
and negotiation as part of weekly
meetings in the student center. The
1 2 board members represent the
colleges 28,000 students, and team¬
work is required to successfully
plan, organize and execute the large
number of events and activities that
take place each year.
“Carrying out programs and
using leadership skills to the benefit
of all students is the goal of AS,”
said Stephen Johnson, dean of stu¬
dent services and AS adviser.
“This board has shown a good level
of leadership and they’re getting
the job done.”
The events and programs put on
by the AS have been diverse, such
as the PCC 75th Anniversary, The
Holiday Angels Giving Tree,
Turkey Night and various quad
activities.
“The combined efforts of the
board and the student clubs during
Louis Astroga
/
The Courier
Every Wednesday, the AS makes decisions that effect every student.
the anniversary celebration was
extraordinary,” said Johnson. “And
the quality of the effort benefited
the institution.”
Turkey Night especially stands
out for Alex Flores, vice-president
for campus activities.
“We wanted to provide a holiday
activity for night-time students and
for those who may not have had a
place to go,” said Flores. The event
attracted and fed over 300 students.
As the chairperson for activities, he
helped put on eight first week of
See BOARD on Page 2
Are trustees out of loop?
By Audrey Allen
Courier Staff Writer
After Joyce Black abruptly
resigned from her role as vice presi¬
dent of instruction, it created a
vacancy that top administrators
called an emergency situation. In a
hurry to bring in a interim vice presi¬
dent of instruction, normal hiring
practices were skirted over, and as a
result, the board of trustees felt that
they were not consulted until after
the deal was done.
Black officially retired on Dec.
31,1 999, and at the beginning of the
spring semester, there was an interim
already sitting behind the desk of the
vice president of instruction. Dr. Sam
Schauerman, former president of El
Camino College, was apparently
offered the job before he submitted a
resume or was hired by the board.
Board members were surprised
over this new development, since
they were not informed about the
interim position and knew nothing of
Schauerman ’s credentials.
Questions regarding who hired
Schauerman , how long he would be
the interim and when would the
position be filled permantly, have not
been answered.
Schauerman said that when he
was offered the position, his initial
response was, “I’d rather be playing
golf.”
He was in fact on the golf course
when Rod Fleeman, vice president
of administrative services, asked him
to come to the college. While “golf¬
ing, in a setting of fruit trees and gar¬
dens at Schauerman ’s Pauma Valley
home, Fleeman told him of the “sud¬
den retirement and an emergency sit¬
uation.”
Both Fleeman and James Kossler,
president of the college, had worked
with Schauerman. “Kossler gave him
a strong recommendation,” added
Fleeman.
However, the board didn’t discuss
who Schauerman was until he was
hired at the Jan. 1 9 meeting.
“I haven’t seen any kind of docu¬
ment as to what his qualifications
are,” said Jeanette Mann, board pres¬
ident. “I put it on the agenda [as an
item to be discussed] with Kossler,”
continued Mann, saying that while
she knew that Schauerman would fill
the position, other trustees did not.
“The board didn’t know he was
hired until after the fact. We weren’t
consulted, or given advance notice.
The board didn’t appreciate being
ignorant as to who the interim for the
position would be.
While the board says that they
knew almost nothing regarding the
details of Schauerman ’s employ¬
ment, he, feels his employment was
made clear from the start.
“I was asked to come here .with
the understanding that there was
going to be a search that would find
a permanent vice president for
instruction around July 1,” he said.
Wells-Miller felt surprised when
she found out that there was a date
set for when he would leave.
Rich McKee, assistant professor
of physical sciences, who has been
in a legal battle with the college, and
has filed several lawsuits alleging
Brown Act violations by the board,
says there is a “lack of communica¬
tion” among the people who run the
college.
“Nobody knew anything about
the interim filler, nobody knew he
would be hired until after he was
already in the position,” he said.
This lack of discussion about
Schauerman, raised concerns of the
communication between not only the
board and the president, but also
within the board itself.
“I feel that there are some things
they leave me out of in the board.
Part of it is my fault, maybe I should
ask more questions,” said Luyani
Fong, the student trustee. Fong says
he briefly met the interim, “but I
haven’t really talked to him. I hear
he is really qualified.”
Officer files
suit against
campus police
An African American 18-year veteran
of campus police , claims bias
By Fred Ortega
and Gali Raval
Courier Staff Writers
In a case that mirrors height¬
ened racial tensions evident in
police departments across the
country, a campus police officer
has filed a lawsuit against the col¬
lege alleging he was discriminated
against by fellow officers and his
superiors.
The suit, filed last month on
behalf of Leroy D. Henderson by
attorney C. Brent Scott, claims that
the officer has been the target of
constant harassment because of his
race. An African American and 1 8-
year veteran of the campus police,
Henderson is seeking an unspeci¬
fied amount of money in compen¬
sation for the. unfair treatment,
which he claims ranged from
defamation of character to false
accusations of theft.
Court documents served on the
college last week named several
members of the campus police as
having taken part in the alleged
discrimination, including Chief
Philip Mullendore and Officer
John Corrigan, as well as retired
Sgt. Vincent Palermo.
“His rights have been greatly
compromised... especially given
the many years he has worked for
the college,” said Scott, a civil
rights lawyer from San Clemente,
in an interview with the Pasadena
Star News last week.
Mullendore had no comment
on the case, saying only that the
college’s legal counsel handles all
claims against the district. “This is
a matter for the courts,” he said.
“Statements will be made under
oath in a court of law.” Corrigan
was unavailable for comment.
Mullendore did confirm that
Henderson was sworn in as a cam¬
pus police officer in October of
1982, and that the college had
employed him as a security guard
for some years before that.
Henderson has not lost his job and
is expected to stay with the college
regardless of the outcome of his
suit.
Most of the administration is
following Mullendore ’s lead and
remaining tight-lipped about the
See "SUIT on Page. 3
The story of a Quilt:
Find out how a visiting guest
artist weaves her colors into
a blanket of beauty!
SEE NEWS PG. 4
Are they‘hooped out?’
The Lancers’ famous 12-
game winning streak, was
out of luck with LACC.
SEE SPORTS PG. 8
I