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Pasadena City College
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Volume 107, Issue X
The Independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena Since
1915.
January 17, 2013
New chief of police is selected
Philip McCormick
Staff Writer
The Board of Trustees was
scheduled to approve the hiring
of a San Bernardino County
Sheriffs captain as the new cam¬
pus chief of police on
Wednesday.
Don Yoder, a 28-year- veteran
of the department, has served as
the chief of police for the City of
Victorville, which contracts with
the sheriff's department for law
enforcement services.
"The [administration] had me
on the short list the first time
around," said Don Yoder, refer¬
ring to the selection of a new
chief less than one year ago. "I
was one of the top three candi¬
dates selected for the job.
"I was notified in November
that the position could be open¬
ing up," said Yoder in an inter¬
view on campus Jan. 10. "I'm
looking forward to continuing
[former Police Chief Stanton]
Perez' great work that he has
done with the department.
Yoder is set to replace Perez,
who left the position late last
year due to eligibility issues with
his retirement program. Yoder
will be the fourth head of the
PCC Police Department in the
past two years.
"I plan on being here for at
least five to 10 years," said
Yoder. "First, I plan to get to
know the campus and communi¬
ty and after that, we'll have to
see.
Yoder said that he had just
given notice to the San
Bernardino County Sheriff's
Department, but was still acting
as captain until getting replaced.
"I'm going to officially be start¬
ing on Jan. 26," said Yoder.
According to the Victorville
Daily Press, Yoder formally
announced his retirement from
the San Bernardino Sheriff's
department at a meeting on
Wednesday.
www.VVDailyPress.com
Newly selected chief, Don Yoder.
'.ГТРТП
Buren Smith
/
Courier
A gathering of student protesters makes its way towards campus during a demonstration on Jan 10.
Group protests against administration's actions
Emily Chang-Chien
Staff Writer
A crowd of students and faculty
protested on Jan. 10 against campus
mismanagement and complication of
student education plans because of cal¬
endar changes, expressing anger at
what they saw as a climate of fear on
campus.
Social science Instructor David
McCabe said that PCC has adopted a
culture of people being fearful of the
administration.
"There are a lot of unhappy students
[and] there are faculty that are not
tending to family issues at home
because of their commitment to the
students here," said McCabe. "[The
faculty] all are here; we're happy to be
here, but it's not without cost. There
are consequences."
Languages Instructor Melissa
Michelson expressed her concern with
the college work environment. "I am
sad to say I work in a climate of fear
and distrust," she said in a speech.
According to Michelson, colleagues
had informed her that they would
attend the rally, but would not speak.
Psychology Instructor Julie Kiotas
echoed this sentiment and solemnly
admitted that faculty members were
petrified. She added that this fear
Continued on page 7
Hearings held
in two bribery
case lawsuits
Nicholas Saul
Editor-in-Chief
An initial lawsuit filed against the district con¬
cerning two fired school officials' bribery scandal
was dropped on Jan. 10, but it could be amended
and refiled.
The complaint stemmed from allegations of
bribery solicitations in excess of $250,000 against
former Vice President of Administrative Services
Richard van Pelt and former Facilities Director
Alfred Hutchings. The two men are currently
being investigated by the District Attorney's office.
They were fired in June after the investigation was
announced.
District representatives challenged the legal suf¬
ficiency of the complaint, with the court agreeing
and giving the plaintiffs, LED Global, LLC, 10
days to amend their complaint. The complaint
alleges breach of contract as well as negligence
relating to the bribery scandal.
"In simple terms, we won this morning and
knocked [the plaintiff's] entire complaint out of
court," said Gail Cooper, the school's legal counsel.
"They get a second chance and we will go back to
court to move to knock it out again."
Separately, LED Global — a lighting firm that
lost a contract to install energy efficient lighting on
the campus — and it's two principles Robert Das
and Saila Smith filed a similar lawsuit against van
Pelt and Hutchings in which they claim the two
men solicited bribes, made a host of hedonistic
requests and demanded a first-class excursion to
India in exchange for the $5 million lighting ."
Continued on page 7
Newly appointed Board president optimistic about future
Christine Michaels
News Editor
It was 1981, and PCC Trustee
John Martin had been elected for
his first term as president of the
Board of Trustees. At the age of
26, he had been an oddly young
candidate for the position. His
first meeting did not go com¬
pletely as he planned it, with his
eye on the Rose Court princesses
during the meeting's social hour,
and a sore case of laryngitis that
kept him from not only talking
to them, but also from speaking
loud and clear about his hopes
for his first term as the president.
But despite his sickness that
evening in '81, Martin kept his
goal of holding PCC up to the
high standards it carried during
his first term as president, and
the ones that followed.
Newly re-appointed Board
President Martin for 2013, now
in his fifties, sat with his hands
calmly folded on the table
recently, and explained why he
was looking forward to another
term as president.
Continued on page 6
Board of
Trustees
President
John
Martin
Speak out!
Should Lance
Armstrong be forgiven
for his alleged drug
use?
vote at
pccCourier.com
iWait
Students patient
over two hour line
to get bus passes
Page
2»
Recognition
Three Lancers are
awarded inaugural
Westerbeck scholar¬
ship
Page
6»
Wm
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