PCC Courier, February 20, 2014

VOLUME 109 ISSUE 5 ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT PCCCOURIER.COM February 20, 2014 WHAT'S INSIDE: DOG THERAPY Pet your troubles away with these furry friends. r T SPEAK OUT! Do you like the new PCC website ? r BjpY' Vote at PccCourier. com i -7л PCC STUDENT SLAIN Friends, family mourn the loss of ira is Acosta Christine Michaels and Raymond Bernal Staff Writers Friends, family and neighbors grieved Tuesday a the memorial site of 19-year-old PCC nursing student Irais Acosta, who was fatally shot inside a Pasadena home over the weekend. Acosta’s boyfriend Jonjon Crummie, 1 8, allegedly killed Acosta early Sunday morning in his apartment in the 1 500 block of North Raymond Avenue in Pasadena. Crummie surrendered to Pasadena Police Monday af¬ ternoon with out incident and is custody, according to a Pasadena Police Department press release. Crummie was charged with murder using a handgun on Wednesday and will be arraigned on Thursday, according to a press release from the Los Ange¬ les County District Attorney’s office. Shots were reported around 8:45 a.m. on Sunday and police arrived on the scene to find Acosta dead on the ground, according to the Pasadena Star- News. The college released a state¬ ment on Sunday regarding the shooting of Acosta and extend¬ ed its condolences to her family. “Irais was a first year student who dreamed of becoming a registered nurse,” the statement reads. “The college extends its Charles Winners/Courier Bethany Martinez sits by her friend Irais Acosta's memorial on North Raymond Avenue in Pasadena Tuesday. deepest sympathy to the Acosta family, friends, and the entire PCC community in this time of loss. Pasadena City College is a family and this impacts us all.” At Acosta’s house, merely blocks away from the crime scene, a memorial was held on the sidewalk. Members of her family stood quiedy fixing pictures, sweeping leaves and dirt away from lit candles in her memory. A water jug filled with dollars and coins stood near a picture of a smiling Acosta. “We’re trying to raise mon¬ ey for her funeral,” Esmeralda Acosta, a member of the family said. “Any donations, any help we can get. Laura Fernandez , a PCC student and friend of Acosta, visited the memorial and lit a candle. “I knew her since middle school. I was shocked when I found out. We hadn’t seen her in so long . . . she was taking up a lot of classes,” Fernandez said. “Her life was shining and all of a sudden she was gone.” Acosta’s older brother Juan wanted to thank PCC for their support in this time of grieving. “I would like to say to her classmates at Pasadena City Col¬ lege to remember her for how joyful she always was and how she was always the life of the Photo Cnnrtp<;y of Pasadena Police Suspect Jonjon Crummie was charged with murder on Wednesday. SHOOTING page 2 College against Chick-fil-A Website facelift Justin Clay Online Editor A year of development and the installation of a new IT sys¬ tem has culminated in the launch of a new version of the college’s website that will be improved upon over the next year. The site has been improved visually with a photo slider on the homepage depicting photos of campus life. The site also has improved graphics, with larger and more colorful banners. The menus are also easier to navigate compared to the last design and it takes fewer clicks to find what the user is looking for. However, some students have complained about the search engine not allowing for more than one-word searches. Select members of the PCC community, mosdy students, but also Trustees, faculty, assistants and student leaders, were invited to become “beta testers,” mean¬ ing that they had a chance to try out the site and give feedback as - START Y*C N f 3 C ; XT . t yt‘l Lf -.f'r-v. -- •Vpiy ■ Ks lac*.."' ЬЧ.'С Sits* c. Image of the new PCC website well as identify any issues that might be problematic before the site went into general use on Feb. 13. In all, more than 1 ,000 people were selected as beta testers. Valerie Wardlaw, PCC’s Public Relations Director, helped devel¬ op the new design. Wardlaw says that the previous design was outdated and needed to be more user-friendly. “The students say that it looks new, cool and fresh and those are all things we like to hear from students,” said Wardlaw. BETA page 2 Christine Michaels and Kristina Wedseltoft Staff Writers The college opposes the plans of a restaurant with a history in supporting anti-gay groups from opening near the campus. Chick-fil-A, which in the past admitted to donating money to anti-gay organizations, plans to open up shop on the corner of Bonnie Avenue and Colorado Boulevard across the street from campus in the empty building that formerly housed a Burger King. Robert Miller, Senior Vice Presidnet of Business and Col¬ lege Services, said in a statement that the college “is not in favor of” giving the restaurant per¬ mission to open across from the campus. “As a corporation, Chick- fil-A has not shown itself to be supportive of |LGBT| commu¬ nities,” he said. The restaurant was originally OK’d by Pasadena to start up in December last year, however District 7 trustee Terry Tornek appealed the approval, according to Annabella Atendido, the As¬ sociate Planner for Pasadena. A second look to approve Chick- fil-A’s opening wih be held on March 19 this year according to Atendido. However, many community members at the December hear¬ ing strongly opposed its open¬ ing, according to Atendido. Along with city members, PCC constituents are disheart¬ ened the restaurant wants to come here. Student Trustee Simon Fraser aired his dislike to Chick-fil-A coming near PCC. “I would not think that Dan Cathy [the CEO of Chick-fil-A] and his homophobic band would be welcome here and I would be very disappointed in all people who consider themselves LGBT allies who would go and eat there,” Fraser said passionately. “When a business makes a point of making its public views part of the public record, then by eating there you are implicidy supporting the idea that gays are significandy lesser people than everyone else.” A second hearing to consid¬ er Chick-fil-A’s request will be held on March 19, according to Atendido.