PCC Courier, February 27, 2014

VOLUME 109 ISSUE 6 ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT PCCCOURIER.COM February 27, 2014 COURIER EDITORIAL Was this realignment plan thought out? The independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena PASADENA CITY COLLEGEl PAGE 4» since 1915 @pcccourier tumblr.com/ pcc-courier Crummie pleads not guilty to murder Charles Winners/Courier Jose Ortiz of PCC's Herald Trumpets plays at Temple City's Camellia Day parade on Saturday. This is TCC's third year participat¬ ing in the festival. Senate announces election candidates John Peters II Asst. News Editor The Academic Senate an¬ nounced the nominees for their Executive Board at its meeting on Monday, and three out of four Board positions are uncon¬ tested, including the race for board president. Eduardo Cairo is running un¬ opposed for President, Patricia Rose has no challenger for Sec¬ retary and Manuel Perea faces no opposition for Treasurer. Two faculty are running for the Vice President position: incumbent Earlie Douglas, a business instructor, and Kiris Pi- Ion, who teaches career technical education. When Senator Gloria Horton asked if there were any other nominees, silence filled the room. “I am a little surprised that we are not running against anyone,” said Rose, who teaches English. This will be Cairo and Rose’s second year on the Executive Board. Cairo, a social sciences in¬ structor, said he is running for reelection because he believes there is a path that the campus should take and he hopes to be part of that process. He added that a second term will allow for continuity. “I think it takes a year to really learn what’s going on,” Rose said. “I think next year (the board) will be far more effec¬ tive.” This will be Perea’s first term on the Executive Board. He said the current Academic Senate leadership has done some great things this year and he’d like to be more involved in Senate activities. “I believe in shared gover¬ nance and think a strong and unified Academic Senate is essential for faculty to maintain ELECTIONS page 3 ^ Christine Michaels and Raymond Bernal Staff Writers Photo Courtesy of Pasadena Police Deprtment An 18-year- old Pasadena man pleaded not guilty this week to a murder charge after prosecu¬ tors alleged that he shot a PCC nursing student to death earlier this month, according to a court official. Jonjon Crummie surrendered and was arrested on Feb. 17 at a medical center after Pasadena Police announced that he was a suspect in the slaying of 19-year- old Irais Acosta. Crummie faces one count of murder with the^pecial allega¬ tion that he used a handgun. He was charged last week and entered his not guilty plea on Tuesday. Close friends and family som¬ berly waited for the arraignment at the Pasadena Courthouse on Tuesday. Eva Acosta, Irais’s mother, insisted that Crummie was guilty of killing her daughter and said she believes Crummie will try to use an insanity defense. “He is trying to put forward the story that he is not mentally stable,” said Angel Olvera, who was translating for Acosta. “Obviously he was mentally stable enough to know what he was doing and to run away and turn himself in.” Alexandra Kazarian, a public defender representing Crummie, would not comment on her client’s plea when reached by the Courier Wednesday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Crummie on March 19, according to a court official. PCC transfer rates drop 20% Paul Ochoa Staff Writer Transfer rates this year for PCC students to California universities have dropped by nearly 20 percent compared to last year, according to Dina Chase, director of degree and transfer services. PCC only transferred 1,475 students to the University of California and to the California State University’s in the 2012-2013 year. “The school sent 572 students to UCs and 903 students to Cal States,” said Chase. As for the transfer data for the 2012-2013 to independent and out-of-state institution, the numbers have not yet been released. PCC, which transferred 1 ,834 students in the 2011-2012 year, dropped from fourth in transfers to fifth in the state. The decrease in transfer rates is not some¬ thing only affecting PCC but other Commu¬ nity Colleges as well, said Chase. The decline in transfer rates can be attributed to a number of things, according to Cynthia Olivo, dean of counseling. The admission preferences of the CSU system, which gives students applying from desig¬ nated service areas preference and enforces higher admission requirements for students applying from outside their service area, have contributed to the decline, she said. “Our local CSUs are Cal State LA and CSU Northridge. Our students have to meet TRANSFER page 3 ^ Photo Illustration by Daniel Valencia/Courier PCC triumphs at Camellia Festival SPEAK OUT! Do you think animal testing should be banned? Vote at PccCourier. com THE GREAT SKY LIZARD ARE YOU IN GOOD COMPANY? Discover the PCC student behind an up and coming children's book.