OPINION
| FEATURES
I FEATURES
War or Peace?
Campus survey reveals students’
feelings about Gulf crisis Page 2
Future Checkers
Students cash in on CSC’s Supermarket
Technology program Page 3
lilt §
Risser Winner
PCC staff member Lois O’Connor
receives the Risser Award Page 3
Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California
Vol. 72 No. 16
COURIER
Thursday
January 10, 1991
NEWSLINE
DANCE FEVER
The Alpha Gamma Sigma
Honor Society is hosting a
“Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay
Sock Hop’ ’ on Friday, Jan 1 1 ,
in the campus center lounge.
The dancing begins at 8 p.m.
and will last until midnight.
The event promises to be
filled with excitement, with hula
hoop contests, lip-sincing,
couple’s dance, and costume
judging. Wearing 50’s and 60’s
apparel is optional.
A table will be set up in the
Quad for advanced ticket pur¬
chases on Jan. 10 and 1 1 . Tick¬
ets cost $5 for singles and $8
for couples, prices at the door
on the evening of the event
will be $6 and $9. A portion of
the proceeds will be used to
purchase textbooks for home¬
less students
ART EXHIBIT
The PCC Art Gallery pres¬
ents an exhibition of drawings
entided “Vertices” by New
Mexico artists Gendron Jensen
and Christine Taylor Patten
from January 23 to February
22.
Jensen’s graphite pencil
drawings are derived from the
relics of wild creatures. Pat¬
ten’s crowquill and ink draw¬
ings are investigations of physi¬
cal forces and movement. Pat¬
ten constructs her works using
small crosshatching ink strokes,
creating huge areas of form.
The density of lines builds up
the illusion of a form in three
dimensional space.
The Art Gallery is open on
Mondays through Thursdays
from noon to 4 p.m., and 7
p.m. to 9 p.m. On Fridays the
gallery is open from noon to 4
p.m.
JANUARY DATES
Adjustment days for stu¬
dents who used mail-in regis¬
tration are January 16 and 17.
Walk-in registration for con¬
tinuing students is from Janu¬
ary 17 to January 23, and for
new students from January 23
to the 31st.
On Monday, Jan. 21 the
college is closed in honor of
Martin Luther King Day. Final
exams for the fall semester will
be held from Tuesday, Jan. 22
through Tuesday, Jan 29.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Orientation training class
for volunteers at Haven House,
the Pasadena shelter for bat¬
tered women and their chil¬
dren will be held January 26
and 27, and February 2 from 9
a.m. 5:30 p.m.
People interested in volun¬
teering should call Petite
Konstantin or Nancy Lesky at
(818) 564-8880 as soon as
possible to arrange for a screen¬
ing interview before the train¬
ing begins.
INDEX
Opinion
2
Editorial
2
Features
3
Sports
4
Community colleges go to court
By BECKY ROUSE
Editor-in-Chief
A temporary restraining order
was issued in Oakland on Jan. 2,
1991 by the United States District
Court preventing new federal regu¬
lations directed at community col¬
leges from taking effect in Califor¬
nia. The new rules require students
to have a high school diploma or the
equivalent, or for students to pass an
independently administered exami¬
nation approved by the U.S. Depart¬
ment of Education before gaining
admission to community colleges.
The legislation stems from attempts
to trim the federal deficit by reduc¬
ing the number of student loans that
are not repaid by students who drop
out of school.
Colleges who don’t comply with
the law would lose federal aid, not
only for student loans, but for other
programs as well. The temporary re¬
straining order granted by U.S. Dis¬
trict Judge D. Lowell Jensen pre¬
vents the law from taking effect in
California. A new hearing will be
held on Jan. 14, to determine whether
a preliminary injunction to further
restrain enforcement will be granted.
According to Dr. Jack Scott,
superintendent-president, there has
been no specific information sup¬
plied by the Department of Educa¬
tion as to what kind of test would be
given to college applicants, or how
the test would be administered. Fur¬
thermore, it is not clear what con¬
nection there is to such a test and the
ability of students to repay loans.
“We just have to wait and see what
the court’s decision will be on Janu¬
ary 14,” said Scott. “It’s unfortu¬
nate that no attempt was made to
better inform community colleges
so that we could get prepared," he
said.
Ann Reed, public information
office of the Community College
Chancellor’s office, hopes that a
permanent injunction will be granted
to keep the law from going into
effect in California. Reed staunchly
defends community college’s state
mandated policy of “open enroll¬
ment. ” Reed said the most remedial
students who go back to college do
so to complete their high school
education, and become successful
citizens. "We don't see any connec¬
tion with a) having a high school
diploma and being a successful col¬
lege student, and b) passing an en¬
trance test and the paying back fed¬
eral loans. There are approximately
90,000 currently enrolled students
in the state sytem do not have a high
school diploma.
I ♦ CHURCH
A message from heaven?
шш
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о
Howard Berger
/
The COURIER
Unknown protesters strung a banner from palm trees on the front lawn of Calvary Baptist Church across
the street from thecollege. Calvary Baptist Church called the city officials to have the skyward statement
removed. See the opinion poll on page 2 for how students view the Gulf crisis.
Financial aid office could be hard hit
By VICKI GARCIA
Staff Writer
The millions of dollars adminis¬
trated by PCC ’ s Financial Aid office
could be affected by a ruling in favor
of the U.S . Department of Education
at a District court hearing on January
14 in Oakland. Community colleges
that comply with the new law requir¬
ing entrance testing for applicants
who have no high school diploma or
equivalent will not be penalized, but
colleges who don’t comply could
have federal | aid discontinued.
Ernestine Moore, dean of student
services, has stated that PCC stands
behind its “open enrollment” pol¬
icy, but she stopped short of saying
that the college will defy the new
law if it is upheld at the District court
next week. The legislation is de¬
signed to reduce the number of loans
that are not repaid by students who
drop out of school.
On a yearly basis, PCC receives
2.5 to 3 million dollars of federal
funding for financial aid, said Carla
Henderson, assistant dean of schol¬
arships and financial aid. Hender¬
son, who began her position at PCC
this fall, stated that approximately
3,000 students receive financial aid
or some form of assistance while
attending the college. Henderson said
that the college does not have a
default rate problem. She believes it
is unfair and unreasonable for the
government to assume that a stu¬
dent’s prior academic record would
affect their ability to repay a loan.
Students receive financial assis¬
tance from a combination of pro¬
grams. These may include loans,
grants, and even a college work study
program. In the Nursing program,
the default rate on repaying nursing
loans is under five percent. The
Perkins loan, a national direct stu¬
dent loan has approximately a 3.3
percent default rate.
But Henderson said that the law
doesn’t just target financial aid. “The
institution is eligible to loose all
federal funds ,’ ’ she stated, ‘ ‘includ¬
ing funds for vocational programs
and Title Three funds,’ ’ (a program
starting next semester for disabled
students.) “A response to the law is
one that should be made from the
insitution, not the financial aid of¬
fice,” remarked Henderson.
According to Dr. Jack Scott, super¬
intendent-president, the college has
adopted a “wait and see” position
until at least January 14, when the
case goes back to court. The full im¬
plications of the law are not com¬
pletely understood, and the Califor¬
nia Community Colleges system
obtained a temporary restraining order
while it attempts to get specific guid¬
ance and interpretation of the law
from the U.S. Department of Educa¬
tion.
How will the new
ruling affect PCC?
By ROSEANN RENZULLO
Staff Writer
With four more days left until the final decision is made regarding
the implementation of the federal law requiring students to pass a high
school equivalency exam before being admitted to a community
college, Ernestine Moore, dean of student services, is firmly backing
the community college’s “open door” philosophy.
“The community colleges have been a second chance for about
900 PCC students who are not high school graduates, but are admitted
to the college and are given the opportunity to start over again,’ ’ said
Moore.
If PCC does not comply with the law, we stand to lose about $4
million in federal funding, according to Moore. Although the loss of
funding will have a devastating affect on PCC’s budget, Moore is
highly concerned about the human impact it could have on students.
“If the law passes, starting Jan. 15, anyone who comes to PCC and
is not a high school graduate will not be admitted until they pass a
test,” said Moore. She fears that such a test will scare away students
Please see Testing, Page 4
CSC officials don't
anticipate changes
By DEBBIE BEYER
Features Editor
Even though many of the students attending PCC’s Community
Skills Center (CSC) do not have their high school diplomas, adminis¬
trators are uncertain if the students would be required to take the
federally enforced admittance test However, they felt it would be
unlikely because the short term vocational courses and General
Educational Development program (GED) offered at the center are
non-credit courses, and federal financial aid is only available for
students enrolled in accredited curriculums. Also, since admission to
CSC is free, the students have no real need for financial aid, and
therefore, wouldn’t be a financial risk.
But even if they aren’t tested, skills center students may feel the
crunch from the ruling in other areas. If PCC continues to fail to
comply with the recent ruling, the federal government threatens to
withhold Vocational Education Act (VEA) funds from the college.
While this could affect the CSC in the long run, there doesn’t seem to
be a fear of any immediate devastating results.
“None of our programs are strictly funded from VEA,” said Dr.
James E. Crayton, associate dean at the skills center. ‘ ‘That is really
just supplementary funding - a little help from time to time.” Dr.
William E. Goldmann, dean of educational services, said that if VEA
funds were diminished, they would move to ‘ 1 hope to develop stronger
bonds with local industries, to get some equipment donated.”
Library groundbreaking delayed until September
By EDWIN FOLVEN
Staff Writer
Construction of the new PCC
library has been postponed from
spring to September because the
project was running a million dol¬
lars over budget, and awaiting ap¬
proval from the Office of the State
Architect (OSA). In order to stay
within the allotted budget, a major
change in the design of the entrance
rotunda has to be incorporated.
To help meet the budget, the
rotunda will be changed in three
main ways. The stairway and en¬
trance facing Colorado Boulevard
on the north side of the building will
be completely eliminated. The dome
skylight will be greatly reduced in
size and the outside walls will be
squared, instead of rounded. All of
the rotunda’s interior will remain
the same.
Dr. James Kossler, assistant
superintendent of adminstrative serv¬
ices, said that roughly $400,000 will
be saved by the redesign of the ro¬
tunda. An additional savings of
$400,000 will come through the
redesign of many minor structural
details in what Kossler called “value
engineering.” Another $200,000 will
be saved in a redesign of the land¬
scaping surrounding the building.
Kossler said, “The architect went
back and redesigned the rotunda to
the Board of Trustees’ recommen¬
dations.”
Upon the Board of Trustees’
approval of the new plans, the re¬
vised version will go to the OSA for
approval, which Kossler expects to
easily go through “in a couple of
weeks.” “We’re at the mercy of the
OSA,” he added.
After OSA approval, the plans
will go for review and approval by
the Department of Public Works
(DPW). “The Department of Public
Works wants to know if this is the
project the college proposed to build
and is it under budget, said Kossler. ’ ’
Before the bidding for construc¬
tion can begin, the plans have to be
approved by both the State Depart¬
ment of Finance and the California
Community College Chancellor’s
office. Kossler said the bidding should
begin in June if all agencies approve
the plans on schedule.
Several construction companies
have expressed interest in bidding
information. Kossler estimates the
construction costs to be roughly $12
million. He hopes to have the Board
of Trustees approval on a bid by
August
Groundbreaking is scheduled for
September, 1992.
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