The
Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California
Vol. 74 No. 13
COURIER
Thursday
January 7, 1993
Reverse discrimination
Federal agency rules in favor of former professor
‘It’s not just how many
degrees you have as a
teacher that’s important.
The decision to hire is
based on different factors.
It’s not just stacking
degree against degree.’
Patricia Mollica,
dean of human resources
Student trustee
position filled
By ANISSA VICENTE
Editor in Chief
There was enough evidence of bias
in hiring practices in the reverse dis¬
crimination claim brought by a former
history professor, that the Equal Em¬
ployment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) found in favor of the teacher.
A spokeswoman for the federal
government agency said they believed
there was enough evidence of discrimi¬
nation to investigate the charges. The
commission just finished that investi¬
gation this week.
Aside from saying they have found
sufficient evidence of discrimination,
they declined to give details of their
ruling. The EEOC has yet to contact
the college about their findings.
Deanna Williams, 50, who waited
two years for the EEOC to process her
claim, said she feels “vindicated. It’s
step one, a major plus.
Г
ve always said
I’m coming back.”
Before filing with the EEOC, Wil¬
liams said she exhausted all grievance
procedures at the college all the way to
the Board of Trustees. Williams said
all in-house groups discounted her case
as having no merit.
But the EEOC ruling paves the way
for a conciliatory meeting between
Williams and college representatives.
Williams feels confident she will be
back teaching at PCC. “I think my
chances are pretty good,” she said. “Now
that the EEOC has taken up the case,
they will talk to PCC and attempt a negotia¬
tion on my behalf.”
She is seeking back pay and return of her
seniority rights. Williams said she will file a
lawsuit if negotiations fail, which, in her
opinion, is unlikely. “It would seem rather
strange if PCC sets itself against the U.S.
government.”
In 1991, Williams challenged what she
calls the “lousy hiring procedures” on cam¬
pus. Williams and another white history
professor, Leon Waszak, 38, protested when
a full-time, tenure track history position was
given to Richard Imon, 28, a younger, less
experienced Japanese American history
professor.
The job opening called for candidates
with master’s degrees who could “teach
classes in American history and European
civilization” and “work in a multiethnic
environment.”
Williams and Waszak said the college
not only extended the application dead¬
line for Imon but also subjected them to
a “hazing session,” questioning their po¬
litical correctness and sensitivity during
a preliminary interview.
“They were really rotten, implying that
it would not be appropriate for me to
teach minorities because I wasn’t one,”
Williams, who has three master’s de¬
grees — in Western European history,
art history and religious studies — said.
She was, however, called back for a
second interview. Waszak was not. Imon,
who received his master’s degree two
months before he applied for the job, was
the only other candidate to make it to the
second level interview.
Waszak filed a lawsuit in Pasadena
Superior Court last May 20 after the
EEOC declined to take his case.
Williams said it will be interesting to
See “DISCRIMINATION,” page 6
By PATRIA ABELGAS
Staff Writer
Lone candidate John Robinson , 36, won
the position of student trustee in a 6 1 - 1 0 vote
taken last month. Robinson, an architecture
major, assumes the post with the Board of
Trustees immedietly.
He steps into a position as trustee of a
student body seemingly embattled by apathy.
Out of the more than 29,000 students cur¬
rently enrolled at PCC, only 71 students
voted in the special election .
Alvar Kauti, associate dean of student
affairs, cited limited campaigning as the
reason for the small turn-out of student vot¬
ers. Since there was no opposition, a limited
effort was put into campaigning, Kauti said.
Kauti said that banners and flyers were
not enough to entice students to vote.
“It takes verbal requests for students to
respond,” Kauti said. “They don’t respond
unless asked.”
The Pasadena League of Women Voters
monitored the elections and counted the
ballots.
No protests were filed by the elections
committee.
Robinson assumed his seat on the Board
of Trustees in the wake of former student
trustee Tammy Ortega’s resignation in De¬
cember. The 7-member Board is an elected
governing body representing the seven trus¬
tee areas of Arcadia, a portion of El Monte,
La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, Rosemead,
San Marino, South Pasadena and Temple
City.
Ortega cited
family and health
as the reasons for
i © © ® 0
her mid-term res-
m mm mm
ignation.
Karen Koch,
president of the
Associated Stu-
Board of
dents (AS) was
Trustees
appointed by the
Board to serve as
interim student trustee before the election.
Robinson said that he ran for student
trustee because he wanted to become more
involved with PCC activities. “It’s a good
way to make change,” he said.
He aims to inform students more about
the administration’s and the Board of Trus¬
tees’ plans for the college in general and the
student body in particular. He plans to hold
special meetings with students and wants to
publish a student trustee newsletter.
“Basically, as student trustee, I will be
responsible for creating an avenue for the
students, the AS and the Board of Trustees,”
Robinson said.
A returning student, Robinson is also
active in the Inter-Club Council, where he
represents the American Society of Engi¬
neers and Architects. He is chairman of the
commissioners which attend all campus
meetings. Robinson, who is enrolled in 12
units this semester, is also spearheading the
reactivation of the Student Involvement Club.
He plans on to transfer to UC Berkeley or
use.
Robinson’s term will end on May 31,
1993. He plans to run for re-election.
Rainy weather
Photo by Nathan Wood/ The COURIER
Shadows in the rain
An anticipated big storm trumpeted by weather watchers
everywhere made a belated appearance Tuesday night. A small
waterfall formed in a stairway to parking lot no. 1 as the first
winter storm of the new year arrived on campus. About two to
four inches of rain is expected to fall on the Southland until today.
AIDS Awareness Week slated
By ALFREDO SANTANA
News Editor
For Elizabeth Contreras, Inter¬
club Council vice president, there
are several options a person can take
to avoid being infected with the vi¬
rus that causes AIDS. Not to have
sex is one of them.
“But, let’s be realistic. We are
humans,” Contreras said. “The sex¬
ual element is a difficult part to get
across to some people, and we can’t
avoid it. There are some sexual be¬
haviors that are safe and some that
there are not.”
Knowing the
importance of letting
PCC students know
about the HIV virus
and how it is trans¬
mitted to human
beings, Contreras, along with 40
student volunteers have organized
AIDS Awareness Week on campus.
The drive is planned for Monday,
Jan. 11 to Friday, Jan. 15.
“There are a lot of misconcep¬
tions about the disease,” Contreras,
who took an AIDS education course
in a Pasadena medical clinic last
year, said. “One way
to fight it is to raise
awareness among our
students.
Display booths with
informative literature
will be set up in the
Quad from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every
day of the event. Among the several
organizations participating in the pro¬
gram are Act Up Los Angeles, the
Pasadena chapter of the American
Red Cross, Project Angel Food, and
Pasadena All Saints AIDS Service
Center.
Several lectures will be given about
Club welcomes ‘93 on
By EDWIN FOLVEN
Special Correspondent
During the holiday vacation,
PCC looked more like a recreational
vehicle and outdoor exposition than
a college campus. That’s because
hundreds of people travelfWgipjfjpf
than 400 recreational vehiclp&pU
shapes and sizes converged::
campus for the 104th annuaT
nament of Roses parade.
/
Members of Good Sum, in tub lor
recreational vehicle enthusiasts an¬
nually rent space on camping part
of their Rose Parade “Sam'bnftv ” ,
This year, approximately 650 people
attended, said Philip Mullendorc, di¬
rector of campus police and safety.
The number of Good Sam members
visiting is down from last year -
when attendance was nearly 800.
However, thousands of people
crammed the stands in front of the
college on Jan. 1.
“Students leave here in mid-De¬
cember and return in January, not
realizing that thousands of people
have used the campus in the mean¬
time,” he said.
Good Sam is an international club
with members across the northern
hemisphere and the New Year’s cele¬
bration is one of its biggest events.
Several college departments co-
or^naU^wttfe- Qq()d Sam organizers
to
ассояийОШМ
i
к
imgratioriT
-$p<aeial~sem inar&and-^meminment
events a*: hole 0* campus iuri
their UsjL and
m|bsl <&0bd/ Sam rented out
АиоШЙгйт
and several class¬
rooms for shows and seminars cen¬
tering around recreational travel. A
musical show featuring Frankie Lane
highlighted entertainment festivities
leading up to New Year’s Eve.
The annual bandfest featuring a
special PCC band as well as many
other bands participating in the pa¬
rade was once again moved to an
indoor facility in downtown Pasad-
иш
ucuduj>c
ш
lain.
No other problems were report
however. “The campus was pre
much secure,” Mullendore st
“There’s the occasional drunk t
wanders in every year, but sii
we’ve been fencing off most of
area, every th ing was kept under c
"ST
fmented that if
ШШ
re no incidents of theft this yi
guest paokaje Usually
id from of the college for parade
wed a varietv of gienc
>od Sam people
|o thefts from tl
motor homes, bulthis year was qui
During recenucelebrations,
о
cers have had to coordinate cn
-^fncyqne^katservices for the ■
tc v.
vc had them die,” Mul
dore said. Three people have (
during the past 12 years he has t
involved, one suffering a heart
tack while viewing the parade fi
the grandstands in front of the
lege.
Mullendore was surprised thi
went so smoothly during the ]
two years. He explained that m
Good Sam members are senior <
the deadly disease by community
experts on AIDS . They will focus on
how the HIV virus develops within
the human body. They will also
emphasize the consequences of being
afflicted with the disease. AIDS trends
among minorities and women will
also be discussed.
A demonstration aimed at teach¬
ing students how to correctly use
condoms will be presented by Gab¬
riel Arreola, a medical assistant at
Act Up L.A., an organization cre¬
ated to give counseling services about
AIDS.
Please see, “AIDS,” page 6
campus
zens.
Good Sam members rent the cam¬
pus facilities for around $30,000,
and are allowed to use restroom and
shower facilities. The college also
generates approximately $30,000 to
$40,000 from leasing the space along
Colorado Boulevard to Sharp Seat¬
ing, Inc.
Sharp Seating erects grandstands
capable of accommodating more than
10,000 people, said Sindee Ander¬
son, vice president of the company.
Some campus parking lots are also
opened for spectator parking.
Mullendore said the college used
to completely organize the seating
and met with some difficulties. “It
wasn’t working real well. A number
of years ago, the district and the stu¬
dents tried to put up the stands and it
was a mess.”
This year’s festivities went off
without a hitch, he commented.
“Because of extensive planning and
years of experience hosting the events,
we are able to provide a safe, secure
environment for everyone to enjoy
the holiday.”
t,
i