PCC Courier, February 27, 2003

Courier Since 1QI5 Campus Welcomes Syd Mead see page 6 God s and Generals see page 7 B-Ball Playoff Bound see page 8 Credit Card Seminars Offered Whitney Porter Staff Writer More credit card offers come to college age students, 18-24, than any other age group in America. With the legislatures planning to increase tuition, students will be in need of funds, and many will turn to credit cards to pay the bill. “Nothing impacts you like your debt,” said Larry Gottlieb, from Consumer Credit Counseling Service, during his lecture last Thursday afternoon in the campus center lounge. When it comes to finances, Gottlieb says a little debt is not a problem, but the individual must know when it becomes too much for them to control. Credit cards are not to be used as money, stated Gottlieb. They’re not a supplement to income. Credit cards are merely future money spent. However, to create a credit report, people must have a credit card. Gottlieb’s response to this was to have two cards for the purpose of establishing a sound Fare Isaac Corporation (FICO) score. FICO is the company responsi¬ ble for selling credit reports to the Ф see CREDIT, page 3 Linda Rapka ' Staff Writer A PCC student was brutally beaten with an aluminum softball bat in the parking structure last week after a man accused him of looking at his girlfriend. y The 19-year- old male victim suffered several blows to the head during the ' ' Feb. 18 attack, according to Lt. Brad Young. “At one point he was knocked unconscious,” reporting officer Sgt. Steven i Lester said. On the first floor of the parking structure, a witness heard the suspect angrily ask the victim, “What are you looking at?” When the victim did not respond, a verbal altercation ensued. A witness heard the suspect tell the victim they should go to the fourth floor “and handle this.” On the fourth level of the park¬ ing structure, the victim stated that a vehicle driven by the suspect’s girlfriend pulled up from behind and stopped in front of him. The suspect got out from the passen¬ ger side. He was holding a metal softball bat and began striking him about the head and face. There were no witnesses to the Ш see VICTIM, page 3 courtesy photo Bruises were apparent. Senate Likes Smoking Rule Author Entertains a Packed House Measure P Right on Course Despite a massive budget crunch, Measure P construction will begin in the Spring www.pcc-courieronline.com - - i - FEBRUARY 27, 2003 Terrance Parker News Editor '<? On-campus smokers will have to back up 15 feet if a proposed amendment to current PCC policy takes effect. The academic senate agreed, without dissent, to support a propos¬ al by the health and safety commit¬ tee to extend the no-smoking zone. ы Currently, district policy pro¬ hibits smoking within five feet of any district owned or occupied building or any space where food is j being served.The new limit would be 20 feet. In another agenda item, faculty members discussed the current eco¬ nomic crisis and its effect on PCC 1 employees. > - Rita Vega-Acevedo Staff Writer Native American author . ’ Sherman Alexie delivered a pow¬ erful cultural message against intolerance, racial profiling, homophobia and political apathy tK> Thursday to a standing-room crowd of 300 people at PCC. Alexie appeared in the campus center lounge wearing a dark suit and tie and a long pony tail which fell gently behind his tall frame. The Spokane and Coeur d’Alene Indian proved his mastery as a public speaker and favorite on the i lecture circuit. Using non-stop humor, dead- Sherman Alexie entertained at the CC-Lounge. pan expressions, and perfectly- timed one liners, Alexie quickly abandoned the clunky podium to be closer to the audience. He sipped on bottled water and delighted students with his unorthodox and informal style. Students quickly discovered that Alexie was all business.” You’re watching “Survivor,” he said. He implored students, “Raise your f — g expectations! Expect excellence of yourself,” said the former debating student. To release the tension, Alexie smiled and ended his commen¬ tary on bad television by saying, “Anybody who talks about reality programming must be stopped.” The author moved on to the 9/1 1 terrorist bombings. He was en route to the Seattle airport when the attacks occurred. Expressing shock, but under¬ standing the quirks of discrimina¬ tion, he half-jokingly said a mantra: “Please don’t let them be brown. Please don’t let them be brown like me.” Weeks later in Seattle, Alexie recalls walking down the street and being passed by a 20-some¬ thing male Caucasian in a jacked- up pickup truck. The flag-waving driver yelled to him, “Go back to # see ALEXIE, page 4 Jaynita Carney Asst. Sports Editor Despite the statewide budget cuts and proposed tuition hike, Pasadena City College will still get the makeover it was prom¬ ised. Master Plan 2010 will con¬ tinue on as scheduled. PCC has already cut classes and is planning to cut even more. Some of the part-time staffers may even be let go next semester. Gov. Gray Davis is also adding to PCC’s problems by proposing a tuition hike from S 1 1 to $24 a unit. If this proposal is passed it will directly affect all communi¬ ty colleges starting next semes¬ ter. So why is the college build¬ ing a parking structure instead of using the money to avoid class cancellations, staff layoffs and tuition hikes? Money from Measure P can¬ not be used to offset the fee hike or to pay staff salaries. That is not an option and it never will be, said Dr James Kossler, PCC President. Pasadena Area Community District voters approved meas¬ ure P last spring. The bond measure passed 69.84 percent to 30.16 percent. The state cannot touch that money. “The voter-approved Measure P bonds are for construction only, and cannot be used to sup¬ port operational costs. Also the funds for classes and the funds for construction come from two different and legally separated sources of revenue,” Kossler said. The college needs to change to meet with the demands of stu¬ dent's, faculty and staff. Enrollment at PCC tends to increase each year. Normally the college would have had more students attend¬ ing this semester, but because of the class cuts there was a slight drop in enrollment. The difference was only 385 fewer students, which with the number of classes cut was not as bad as expected. “Each semester we have more students so there are more costs for the school, whether it is a higher water bill or more sup¬ plies needed. Also you have your normal wear and tear with age,” said Stuart Wilcox, dean of planning and research. “Just think about what the buildings would look like if they were never repaired or painted. You must remember that at least a few thousand students come onto the PCC campus each day.” Measure P, which will pro¬ vide up to $150 million in con¬ struction funds, will bring a new parking structure, two new class buildings, a new Campus Center, and the remodeling of existing facilities. VOL. 88 NO. 19 # see AS, page 3 Future Plans call for a garage in Lot 5 The current plan was approved in 2002. The board of trustees has gone on record at recent meetings supporting a policy of no layoffs for full-time employees during this period. The school administration is working to carry out the board’s wishes. It has asked the faculty union for permission to reassign instructors if necessary. The faculty union (СТА) and the other employees’ unions are dis¬ cussing a memorandum of under¬ standing (MOU) with the adminis¬ tration. This MOU would guarantee no full-time layoffs for the next year in return for the flexibility to reassign employees to other areas. For Student Battered in Lot 4