PCC Courier, February 26, 2004

) Steady ilfogo&dl Trade in your pencils for SPF 30 Add Another to the Win Column Softball team ahead of the pack in the South Coast Conference ттшт Mwmte The Courier has been SERVING THE PCC AND Pasadena community since 1915. On this date... A United States Congresswoman INTRODUCED A BILL TO PROHIBIT THE DISTRIBU¬ TION OF "OBSCENE, LEWD, LASCIVIOUS OR FILTHY" RECORDINGS IN 1954. Ш College Pays Expenses fop Two Officers Mitchell Wright Editor-in-Chief Almost a year after student protesters claimed they were beaten in the C building on March 20, 2003, Pasadena City College has voted to reimburse the attorney fees for Lt. Brad Young and former Police Chief Philip Mullendore. At the board of trustees meet¬ ing on Feb. 18, Dr. James Kossler, college president, announced the $ 3,054.50 fee would also save the college from any legal action by Young and Mullendore. "The payoff is for the attor¬ ney's fees for both Mullendore and Young," said Peter Hardash, vice president of administrative services. "It is split in half — half going to Mullendore and half for Young. It's for full compensation and relief." Young and Mullendore sought legal counsel after being put on extended leave while an outside investigator conducted eyewit¬ ness interviews concerning the alleged beatings. After the investigator handed off his report to an outside facilita¬ tor, the college brought Young and Mullendore back to active duty. Mullendore worked a couple of months as PCC's chief of campus police, and then retired on Nov. 18, 2003, after 22 years of service. Hardash said Mullendore and Young "pushed the college for the reimbursement months ago." However, it wasn't until recently that PCC decided to grant the request. -*ee Pa9e " W e then told Club Week is Here X David Arenas/Courier Campus clubs gather out in the Quad to recruit new members for their organizations. The last day will be Friday. For more information on the clubs at PCC contact Cynthia Gonzalez at (626) 585-7905. Campus Night Safety Jessica Pirkle Staff Writer Assaults that have occurred at other college campuses, such as West L.A. and Oxnard, have raised concerns about student safety here at PCC, especially at night when students leave their class¬ rooms well after dark and have to walk through sometimes dimly lit pathways to their vehicles. As recently as Feb. 18 there was an incident in the parking structure when three female PCC students were approached by a man who began asking them strange ques¬ tions. When a cadet arrived the man had already left the area. With coordinated efforts from officers and cadets the incident rates have been very low as com¬ pared to past semesters according to Investigator Steven Lester, con¬ sisting mostly of traffic and park¬ ing problems. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, patrols and cadets have been cut back. "There were four extra¬ duty officers the first week of the semester but now it's been cut back to two" said Lester. Cadets' shifts run until 10 p.m. in the evening while there are police in campus 24 hours a day. Rounds are made every 30 to 45 minutes around the campus in a continuous movement with vehi¬ cle and foot patrol. Lester said that police on the campus respond to safety con¬ cerns by listening to student and staff input and implementing it. If there is any concern for safe¬ ty there are a few tips for a safe trip to your vehicle, according to Lester. First, walk in groups; it is the safest way to make the trip. Second, find the best-lit route to your vehicle and use it. Dimly-lit areas are hazard spots. And finally, be aware of your sur¬ roundings. Escorts are also available to any student or staff who asks for one. Requests can be made two ways: You can fill out a request form in the police/parking office, which can be obtained at any time for any day, or you can request one in person. Gold Line a Parking Relief to Students Stephen Folan Staff Writer Jeremy Block, 21, used to have to take numerous bus lines to get to where he needed to go. Whenever he had to get to Hollywood from the campus and vice versa, it was never an easy task. Now, a convenient alterna¬ tive is available for him to use instead: the Gold Line. "I'm glad they have the train to go all the way down here," Block said. "You can get to Hollywood much quicker. It's more convenient hopping on the Metro's Red Line and the Gold Line than it was taking buses." This will be the first 16-week semester in which the Metro Gold Line will be available for students. While the Gold Line opened on July 26, 2003, service was unavail¬ able for much of the fall semester due to union disputes, barring it from being a viable means of transportation for PCC students. The Gold Line runs from Sierra Madre Villa in Pasadena to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, linking it to the Red Line subway and the greater part of Los Angeles. Both the college campus and Community Education Center are within a few blocks of its last stops, making the Gold Line an effective means of transportation for any students in Los Angeles County. Students departing for Pasadena City College will find the IpffJJl X ’ ' 5 : llffp ШШ Book Prices Cheaper in Student-to-Student Sales XjF Crystal Saniuelian/Courier This student checks out book ad posted on his class¬ room door. Diane Garcia Staff Writer At the beginning of each semester hundreds of homemade flyers are plastered all over PCC's bulletin boards to advertise used books. Most of the ads come from students seeking to make some money by passing on last semes¬ ter's books to new students. Some go directly to classes where students need their text¬ book. Several stand outside before or after class and usually find a buyer. The advantages to the seller is the ability to set the price and not settle for the meager amount bookstores offer for used books. Students tend to feel ripped-off when given $15 for a $70 textbook. The buyers of the books are also being money- savvy when answering the ads. Books are often priced $5 to $10 below those in the bookstore. If you do not need a recent edition of a book, older editions are avail¬ able for much cheaper, but are often difficult to come by. PCC student Dominique Flores said the price is not the only rea¬ son she buys her books from stu¬ dents. Long lines to enter the bookstore and longer lines to pur¬ chase books are obstacles she'd rather not deal with. This is Flores' first semester buying her books from other students, but she said she would definitely do it again. Flores said "$4 is $4 and you can use money for other things." Flores also said the only possible disadvantage of buying from students is the book might be damaged, but damage is also possible when buying from the bookstores. Kristine Tsaturyan and Anna Petrosian are both PCC students who bought their sociology books online but came away from very different experiences. Tsaturyan received her book after a week and a half and paid $10 less than she would have in a bookstore, Petrosian did not receive her book at all and was not charged despite entering all her credit card informa¬ tion. Both Tsaturyan and Petrosian said they would buy their books from the web again but only if they knew the books they needed before the semester began. Some students surf the Internet for new books and used books available at inexpensive prices. Websites like http://half.com, and http://ebay.com are key sources for See page thrifty stu¬ dents. The Books campus just four blocks away from the North Allen Avenue station. Similarly, the Sierra Madre Villa station is just around the corner from the Community Education Center. In addition, both the Sierra Madre Villa and Union Station stops offer parking, though the latter costs $10 a day to use. This service allows students to bypass time-consuming and over-crowd¬ ed parking situations. Tickets run $1.25 for a one-way trip, but unlimited monthly passes are available for $52. Discount passes for $30 are also available for college stu- dents. Discount See page applications Qo|d Ljne AS Hoping to HU Position Negin Kordbacheh Staff Writer For the third time since last year, the position of associated students vice president for campus activities is vacant. Israel Estrada resigned after only two weeks in office. He pre¬ sented his letter of resignation at the AS board meeting on February 23. The position of vice president has not been a stable one. Joseph Narvaez, who was approved for the position in February 2003, resigned in April for not having the amount of units required by the AS constitu¬ tion. Last October, Diana Elvarado was dismissed from the AS for excessive absences. See page Israel Estrada Position