PCC Courier, February 28, 2002

Book Rates PCC as Hot Spot see page 4 tl Entertainment Careers Expo ЛИ ... , .f tecs’ ■ -.A V ' • . • - ■ 9т/ШВжшШШ' . * . Jj Today Playoff Bound jv 1 see page 3 see page 6 С о COURIER Since l£)15 VOL. 87 NO. 18 www.pcc-courieronline.com FEBRUARY 28,2002 Ш : 11s gtvv Monique Murad/Courier Chuck Champlin, PCC’s director of public relations, joined other volunteers at the phone bank soliciting support for Measure P. Staff Comments About $150 Million Bond Issue With voters set to go to the polls next Tuesday, the PCC administration and board of trustees are hoping that a majority of them will vote Yes on Measure P, the college’s $150 million bond issue. If passed, the bond measure would provide three new buildings, a parking structure and numerous upgrades for outdated classrooms. The college needs the support of the students, saff and community members who live in the Pasadena Area Community CollegeDistrict to pass Measure P. Residents in Pasadena, Arcadia, La Canada- Flintridge, Rosemead, San Marino, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Temple City and por¬ tions of El Monte will have a chance to decide whether or not to approve the bond. Because of the importance of Measure P to the college, many faculty members wanted to weigh in on the issue. Ф see page 3 Shorter Semesters, Intersession Inch Closer to Reality By Andrew Campa Assistant Sports Editor The PCC Academic Senate’s proposal to shorten the number of weeks in a semester is inching closer to reality. In a survey sent out in mid December last year, the Academic Senate tried to poll the entire faculty, classified staff and administration to find a consen¬ sus on a specific academic calendar they wanted. However, many staff members did not respond to the survey that was sent out too close to the holiday season. Some voiced their opinion about not having received a survey. “I am not against a compressed calendar, I just think it should be done right,” said Ramona Nale, scheduling technician for enrollment management. “Many faculty did not receive the forms regardless if they were sent out or not.” However, senate president Alan Lamson said he was pleased with the number of survey responses. “We sent a lot surveys out with ample time for a responses,” said Lamson. “We received responses from around 50 percent of the those surveyed. If you can get 50 percent back, you are doing pretty well.” Although individual responses to the survey var¬ ied, the overwhelming majority of pollsters selected some form of a compressed calendar over the status quo. The current calendar, (blue) compromised of two 18-week spring and fall sessions and two 6- week summer sessions, was found to be most desir¬ able among the classified staff and management. However, the sheer number of faculty votes out¬ weighed the small voice of the classified staff and management. The faculty found the (red) calendar with two 16-week sessions along with a six-week summer session and 10-week winter session very desirable. Overall some alteration to calendar was favored over the current one. “In the red calendar, the faculty will have the option to teach in the winter semester or take a vacation,” said Dr. Sabah Alquaddoomi, associate dean of the department of enrollment management. “It is beneficial to the faculty since it’s optional to teach in the winter. Some faculty can choose to teach without any problems since the staff here would be large enough to accommodate winter classes. Dorothy Burns, who sits on the calendar commit¬ tee, said that since the faculty is not required to teach in the summer, some instructors might rather teach in the winter. “Teaching summer for a faculty employee is not a requirement in their contract. It is voluntary. They may decide to teach in the winter so that ihey can enjoy 10 weeks of summer vacation,” stated Burns. The only calendar option that had no support amongst those surveyed was the green calendar. That option offered two 1 6-week semesters and two eight-week semesters. That was not popular for # see CALENDAR, page 3 District Team Puts Salary Offer on the Table The faculty union’s refusal to endorse Measure P in an attempt to force the administration to come to the bargaining table with a salary offer may have paid off. ^ The district’s bargaining team offered the California Teachers Association a 4.87 percent raise yesterday, an increase that totals about $2 million. * The СТА has been withholding support for the college’s $150 mil¬ lion bond issue because, union officials say, the administration T had been dragging its feet on con¬ tract negotiations in failing to put any offer on the table. The lack of an endorsement for Measure P obviously did not go unnoticed by the administration, said David Uranga, an observer of the negotiating process. “The district’s offer has defi¬ nitely given us a place to start,” he said. However, Ernestine Moore, vice president of instruction and head of the school’s negotiating committee, denied knowing about any connection between the offer and the faculty’s coolness toward Measure P. “They (the trustees) are not negotiating Measure P,” she said. Moore said the district’s $2 million offer is a package deal and, while she expects teachers will want most of it in cash, it remains to be negotiated how much would show up in paychecks. Moore said that until yester¬ day’s meeting the district negotiat- Tyler School of Arts, studied in Rome, Italy and worked as a New York artist in Tribeca. His paintings have been displayed in Europe and the United States. On Monday evening, Reice presented slides of his work to a standing room only crowd of students, faculty and the general public. The diverse crowd was then' invited to a courtyard reception and exhibit opening. The painter’s canvases will be on display in the Art Gallery until March 29. The World Trade Center tragedy is a strong theme of the exhibition. Reice, a native New Yorker, did not plan the show this way. “After Sep. 11, I creat¬ ed a triptych to mark the univer¬ sality of grief.” His major work in the exhibi¬ tion, “The Rubble, September 11, 2001”, began in response to ing team did not have authoriza¬ tion from the board of trustees to make an offer, adding that the dis¬ trict wanted to deal with the part timers and the CEC issues first. Although progress has been made, the details still need to be worked out on how to distribute special state funding meant to bring part time salaries closer to what full-time faculty make. Moore said the negotiators have also worked to close the pay gap between faculty at the Community Education Center and their counterparts on the main campus. Prior to Wednesday’s break¬ through, СТА president John Jacobs felt the administration had just “written us off. I really don’t IRA bombings. The canvas changed after Sept.l 1. Reice will complete the final 5 percent of the canvas this week. The charcoal and oil on can¬ vas contains powerful images of twisted steel, cracked eyeglass¬ es, broken torsos and a clear plastic bag of rubble (not from Ground Zero). Reice includes symbols and figures that can be interpreted by the viewer. The remaining two canvases of the triptych are titled, “The Hope” and “The Watching”. The triptych measures 6 feet by 19 1/2 feet. Reice’s pieces in the gallery contain figurative elements with modern objects. “I have always been torn between modernism and the classical tradition.” Religion, history, literature and music influenced the artist. The Artist-in-Residence pro¬ think that they care anymore. It’s very evident by the way that they are not negotiating.” One of the CTA’s main con¬ tentions is that the college budget has a surplus of $9 million that the administration is improperly hold¬ ing back from faculty salaries. Peter Hardash, vice-president of administrative services, tried to explain some of the differences between how the СТА and the administration interpret the budg¬ et. Hardash said of the $9 million the СТА wants to use for higher salaries, only about $6 million is actually available. Furthermore, there are certain, “categorical pro¬ grams,” that are allotted funds that may not be used for other things, Students gram has a 16-year tradition at PCC. Former recipients have included Nathan Oliveira, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Wayne Thiebaud, Faith Ringgold and other renowned artists. PCC and the Pasadena Foundation funded the program. Art instructor Suzanne Bravender, who was one of the founders of the program, has raised $10,000 annually from other donors to maintain the pro¬ gram’s excellence. Although the current program has experienced changes and budget constraints, the Pasadena Arts Alliance, the Jameson Foundation, the Pasadena Foundation and private donors helped fund the 2002 program. “It’s terrific,” says Kritselis. The artist will present a new work of art to PCC at 1 :30 p.m. in the Art Gallery Courtyard. he added. “These are all public records and we have nothing to hide,” Hardash said. “Everything is in black and white. I focus hard on the integrity of numbers; it’s my charge.” Still, Jacobs insists that there is money in the budget for the facul¬ ty, and that the teachers are drasti¬ cally undeipaid. Last year, Jacobs said, salaries at PCC ranked 63 out of 72 dis¬ tricts. “That’s pretty poor for an institution with this reputation.” Roger Marheine, head union negotiator, echoed Jacob’s remarks by noting that the district is enthusiastically aggressive. . . and shows extraordinary creativity in procuring funds for new build¬ ings. Marheine cited an unofficial board of trustees survey that shows 70 percent of our students shun their local community col¬ lege to pursue a superior education at PCC. Because its refusal to endorse Measure P had not, until yesterday, borne fruit, the СТА has been looking for other ways to pressure the administration. The union will place ads in the Courier and the Pasadena Star- News, Marheine said, to explain why the faculty has not taken a position on what will be a massive rc-building of the campus if voters pass the measure. Compiled by Courier Staff Artist Shares Expertise with :V By Rita Vega-Acevedo Staff Writer Students have had a unique opportunity to interact with an * internationally acclaimed artist this week. As part of the Artist- in-Residence tradition, activities include a reception, student «workshops, and a gallery exhibi¬ tion. Milo Reice, this year’s Artist- in-Residence, answered ques¬ tions from aspiring artists and explained his technique during the weeklong series of programs. Students and staff still have two days to watch the artist at work *in the gallery. According to Alex Kritselis, interim dean of art, “Our pro¬ gram is unique. Students can see «how an artist works. It’s like being in a studio.” Reice, who is a graduate of Amir Van der Vliet/Courier Internationally renowned artist Milo Reice exhibits his work and interacts with students in variety of art classes.