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THURSDAY FEBRUARY XI, 1 999 VOL. 84 #18
Sports
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www.pcc-
-crom
Dance Student Found Murdered
Maria Isabel
Fernandez
Found Friday in
her home with 46
stab wounds
Johnny
Ortiz
Police have
issued a warrant
for his arrest.
Campus
Reaction
Art instructor Verna Wells
announces to her class that one
of their fellow students was found
murdered in her home.
17-year old freshman
found slain in her
home approximately a
block from campus
BY AUDREY ALLEN
Staff Writer
Police found the body of a 17-
year-old dance student in her home,
a duplex in the 100 block of N.
Harkness Avenue at 2 p.m. last
Friday.
The full-time PCC student,
Maria Isabel Fernandez, had been
stabbed 46 times, and at least twice
directly in the heart.
Earlier that morning, officers
knocked on her door in response to
a 15 second 911 call that had come
from a woman at the murder scene,
who reported hearing screaming.
“There were repeated attempts
to make contact with anyone inside
the residence,” Pasadena police
chief Bernard K. Melekin said.
After 20 minutes at the scene,
“there was no apparent evidence of
the commission of a crime, and officers left,”
Melekin added.
Police did not enter the house until they
received another call that “something was up.”
The second time, they discovered that the
home was “locked and secured.” Officers had
to obtain a key from the apartment manager.
Officer Wayne Hiltz said, “The crime may
have been committed in the residence.” He
added that the “victim died instantaneously, so
it is extremely unlikely” that had officers
entered they would have been able to prevent
her death.
Johnny Ortiz, 27, of Chino Hills, who is
“believed to be the girl’s boyfriend,” was the
last person known to have seen the victim
alive. An arrest warrant was issued Monday
for Ortiz.
A relative of Ortiz made the 2 p.m. call to
GRAPHIC BY DANIGL ARCHULETA
/
THE COURIER
the police department that “recommended we
check it out,” and that “Johnny was very upset
about an incident that may have happened,”
according to Pasadena police Lt. Keith Jones,
who was quoted in the L.A. Times and Star
News.
The girl shared the house with only her
father, who was at work at the time of her mur¬
der. The body was found in her father’s bed¬
room.
Police are “continuing to try to make con¬
tact with her boyfriend,” said Hiltz. Ortiz,
who isn’t a PCC student, was known to
accompany Fernandez to her dance rehearsals,
and was “quiet and well-mannered,” said Juan
Talavera, a flamenco teacher of Fernandez.
Ortiz drives a 1994 black Mustang with the
license plate 3NGA772. Anyone with more
information should call Pasadena police at
(626) 744-4501.
Students, teachers
react to brutal slay¬
ing with shock
BY ERICK RUIZ
Staff Writer
Life on this campus can be
quite tedious and mundane. A
quiet person can go unnoticed for
a whole semester without anyone
truly knowing anything about
her.
Maria Isabel Fernandez was a
quiet 17-year old freshman who
was doing her best to cope with
college life until she was mur¬
dered last Friday.
She was here every day taking
six classes, majoring in dance.
Being a dancer, this girl was a
wonderfully creative individual
who seemed destined to express
herself through her chosen art.
She had an elegance about
her. Professor Ricky Magec-
Baker, who taught her for the last
two semesters, remembered her
with tears in her eyes, as she
said, “Maria Isabel was extreme¬
ly beautiful. She had a lovely
countenance about her and car¬
ried herself with a statuesque ele¬
gance.”
Remembering the last time
she saw her, Magee-Baker said,
MURDER, page 2
FACULTY SENATE
Sexual
Policy
Reviewed
BY GAU RAVAL
Staff Writer
Keeping up with ever-changing
laws, a consultative committee has
drafted a new sexual harassment pol¬
icy. The committee consists of fac¬
ulty, administration, students, and
classified senate that have come
together to revise the sexual harass¬
ment policy that was last updated on
Dec. 18, 1983.
The chair of the committee is Dr.
Sandra Lindoerfer, dean of human
resources. She hopes that the policy
will build awareness and help pre¬
vent sexual harassment on campus.
The Associated Student board has
approved the draft, while approval
from the other consultative bodies is
still pending.
Harassment is defined as unwel¬
come sexual advances, requests for
sexual favors, and other visual, ver¬
bal, nonverbal, or physical conduct
of a sexual nature, according to the
document.
There are two types of harass¬
ment: A hostile work/learning envi¬
ronment and “quid pro quo” con¬
duct, meaning do for me and I \vill
do for you. An example of this is
receiving advancement in employ¬
ment or a better grade for sexual
favors.
Visual conduct such as leering,
making sexual gestures and display¬
ing objects depicting sexually graph¬
ic material fall between the lines of
misconduct.
The revised document states that
POLICY, page 3
ASSOCIATED STUDENTS
She’s Running for Mayor
AS vice-president of student affairs uses PCC to throw her hat in open election.
MATT ROBINSON
/
THE COURIER
Fellows (Left) discusses with board members.
BY FRED ORTEGA
Staff Writer
AS vice-president for Student Affairs Eleta Fellows has
declared her candidacy for mayor of Pasadena, joining a grow¬
ing list of candidates in what will be the city’s first ever open
mayoral election.
Up until now, the mayor’s post has been filled using a rotat¬
ing system among standing city council members. Last year,
Pasadena voters passed a measure which created a new posi¬
tion, that of citywide mayor, setting the stage for public elec¬
tions on March 9.
Fellows is one of 10 candidates running for the new posi¬
tion, a list which includes local political heavyweights such as
the current mayor under the old system, Chris Holden. Former
mayor Bill Boggard and Councilwoman Ann-Marie Villicana
are also running, and are considered strong contenders.
One major criticism of the previous system that has been
voiced repeatedly by Pasadena residents is that only estab¬
lished council members had access to the mayor’s seat, limit¬
ing the influence of political outsiders and city residents who
might aspire to the position. Fellows agrees with this view,
saying she “strongly believes that City Hall needs some new
blood that is not part of the status quo.” This is one of the cen¬
tral themes of her campaign.
“As mayor, I shall support limiting the position to two
terms to avoid cronyism, nepotism and to deter career politi¬
cians from making City Hall their hereditary kingdom,” said
Fellows. She believes that the current crop of city politicians
in the running are in the race only because of their high profile
positions, despite what she describes as “dismal past perfor¬
mances as city council members or former mayors.
“Pasadena needs new energy, new blood to compete in the
year 2000 and beyond.”
Besides serving as AS vice-president, Fellows is also the
president of the Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society. And she
serves concurrently as a board member on the ICC’s financial
committee.
A former public relations supervisor at Sanyo-Fisher,
Fellows gave up her position in corporate America to pursue a
college degree. She says she picked PCC because of its
FELLOWS, page 2
POLICE BEAT
Board Approves New Car Alarm Policy
Police will
start citing
cars for
noise in
parking
structure
BY TIM ALVES
Staff Writer
The Board of Trustees unanimously approved an
amendment to the parking policy that will enable the
campus police department to fine owners of car
alarms that activate in the parking structure.
Citations for violation of this new policy will
begin on April 1 , and will carry with it a standard $25
fine per offense. However, it will still be legal to
activate car alarms in the “surface lots,” the paved
parking areas located at street level, denoted as lots
one, three, and 10.
The amendment was approved as a means of con¬
trolling the excessive noise generated by car alarms.
The structure has a certain amount of flexibility that
aids in its survival of an earthquake. However, the
vibrations caused by passing cars and motorcycles
can set off car alarms.
Prior to the April 1 citation date, the police depart¬
ment plans to erect signage detailing the policy
amendment. They do plan to distribute informational
fliers at the entrance to the parking garage and to the
students directly.
During the month of March, written warnings will
be issued to cars with alarms that have sounded.
Once the March grace period elapses, citations will
be regularly issued in the garage. However, some car
alarms activate and then reset, only to activate again;
in such cases, cadets will cite such offenders only one
ticket per day regardless of repeated violations.
“This is stupid,” said Pasadena City College stu¬
dent Matthew Ozaki. “People like to feel secure, like
the car is safe and protected.”
“It only takes 10 seconds to steal a car, maybe an
alarm would stop it,” commented PCC student
Dennis Le. “But I guess I have no choice.”
Phillip Mullendore, director of police and safety
services, discouraged concerns that inactivated car
alarms could increase the number of thefts, and
emphasized that “a thief needs motive and opportuni¬
ty.” He stated that car owners can reduce the likeli-
ALARMS, page 2
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