PCC Courier, January 20, 2000

Thursday, January 20, 2000 Vol. LXXXV, No. 1 1^ГШТьёши^оо!^ Pasadena City College ■ The Courier changes its look for 2000. Watch for next week’s full eight page issue! ■ New and updated pages include: Viewpoint, La Nouvelle, Profile, and a photography page called Still Life. bumper to b u m p e r 4 Longing to just ‘park it’ New faculty lot stays empty, meanwhile, students keep circling around and around By Tim Alves Courier Staff Writer At the beginning of each semes¬ ter, students can count on a few things. Classes are full, long lines at the bookstore, and a‘ snarled mass of cars clogging the college’s park¬ ing lots. Opposite the Child Develop¬ ment Center (CDC), the newly opened, 117-space Lot 11 is help¬ ing ease the parking crunch. However, to the dismay of some students, the spaces are easing it for faculty and staff only. “I’ve got to circle and circle to find a spot to park. I’m always late for class. They should let us park there; it’s always open and we need it more than they do,” said Dave Foster, student. The college Parking Committee decided to make the new lot avail¬ able to only staff after instructors raised concerns at the Dec. 6 Faculty Senate (FS) meeting Initial proposals included con¬ verting Lot 1, a larger student lot into staff parking and moving the students to Lot 2, where there are “The structure fills, people panic and emotions can make for some problems.” -Phil Mullendore, director of safety services fewer spaces. “The committee decided to study that and get input from all the groups on campus. What was ulti¬ mately decided to do was to make Lot 11 a staff lot,” said Stephen See PARK IT Page~3 Jennette Dewey died in a car accident on New Year's Eve A nursing student’s tragic death By Audrey Allen and Mike Cervantes Courier Staff Writer Just a few months ago she was sitting in the sun. She was softly smiling, posing for her picture with her nursing class. Her clean white uniform looks as if it was glowing in the after¬ noon light. Her hair was pulled up out of her face and soft ringlets of light blond strands cascaded to her neck. In this photograph, Jennette Dewey, 21, had just completed her first semester in PCC’s nurs¬ ing program. No one ever thought that this was Dewey’s last semester. Dewey’s car tipped over in the rain on New Year’s eve and she died in the accident on the 710 freeway. Her 2-year-old son, Ivan, was also in the car; howev¬ er, “He was saved by the grace of God. He got out with a few scrapes and bruises, said Dewey’s friend, Jennifer Wratten, a nursing student. “She was really strong- willed. She wanted to make things really good for her son. She was a single mom,” said Wratten, who admired her friend’s determination. Her instructor, Lois Douglas, remembers Dewey as being a very smart student. “She wanted very much to finish. She would be the first in her family to go to college. I believe she wanted a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She was very determined.” “Jennette touched the hearts of all who knew her,” wrote her mother for the funeral on Jan. 11. Most of Dewey’s graduating class attended to honor their classmate. At the funeral, a song was sung in memory of Dewey and her son. “There is talk about incorporating that into the grad¬ uation ceremony,” said Mary See TRAGEDY Page 3 Ian Oosthuizen / The Courier A familiar scene: rows and rows of tightly parked cars and disgruntled drivers honking their horns. T В P r e v e n t i о n 4 More money for ТВ awareness, testing A $3000 grant unites nursing division and health services By Gia Scafidi Courier Staff Writer In an effort to raise awareness about tuberculosis (ТВ), the col- legeis student nurses and health center staff are broadening their learning experience in a joint pro¬ ject providing health education out¬ reach to the entire campus commu¬ nity. The collaboration, funded by a $3000 grant from the Patron Saints Foundation last summer, was orga¬ nized to provide ТВ education, in addition to ТВ testing, chest x-rays, if necessary, and follow-up counsel¬ ing, all at no cost to PCC students. “The project is fairly unique in that we [nursing and health ser¬ vices] are working together on it,” said Mary Wynn, division dean of “The primary goal in organizing such a project is to pro¬ tect our students.” -Mary Wynn, dean of nursing nursing. Jo Buczko, college health nurse, explained that, ironically, these departments usually remain separate on most college campuses. For the majority of colleges, the nursing division is intended to pri¬ marily provide instruction, while the health center exists to separate¬ ly provide services. The project, started in the fall semester of 1999, has a multifac¬ eted design. Together, the nursing staff and students provide the edu¬ cation and skin tests to students in health education classes, while the health center provides the supplies, the testing locations, chest x-rays to those students with positive test results and referrals for any neces¬ sary treatment. The students are also benefiting from this project. Buczko noted that, in addition to the knowledge, free testing and chest x-rays avail¬ able to them, many students are being offered extra credit from their instructors for being tested. “Everybody wins,” said Buczko. Though ТВ is not presently on the rise, according to Buczko, test¬ ing and awareness is still important. According to Janis Kuby, author of Immunology, “Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death in the world from a single infectious agent, killing about 3 million peo¬ ple a year and accounting for 18.5 percent of all deaths in adults between the ages of 15 and 59.” ТВ, an infectious bacterial dis¬ ease, is characterized by the forma¬ tion of tubercles (especially in the lungs), which are lesions containing the causative bacterial agent. The disease is easily spread, and pul¬ monary infection results from inhalation of droplets of respiratory secretions containing bacteria. Once thought to have been elim¬ inated as a public health problem, the disease resurfaced in the early 90s. Kuby writes, “...for every diagnosed case of tuberculosis, experts estimate that there arc more than 600 infected individuals who have not yet developed symptoms.” Tuberculosis symptoms include, but are not limited to, night sweats, coughing up blood and sputum, weight and appetite loss, chest pain and fever. Though ТВ is treated with antibiotics, intracellular growth of the bacteria makes it difficult for drugs to reach and destroy the organisms. According to Kuby, some ТВ bacterial strains exhibit resistance to nine of the 1 1 antibi¬ otics used as treatment of the dis¬ ease. Wynn noted that those at partic¬ ularly high risk for ТВ are foreign- bom immigrants and those with immunological disorders. Based on institutional research, PCC present¬ ly has over 1000 foreign students. The project to promote the pub¬ lic’s awareness has been a success thus far. In 1999 62 ТВ tests were administered in nifte classes, including the mini health fair held in October. Of these tests, 34 stu¬ dents returned for their skin read¬ ings, and four turned out positive. “These results were pretty much what we expected,” said Buczko, who explained that ТВ testing has consistently yielded about 12 to 13 percent of positive results. Wynn noted, “The primary goal in orga¬ nizing such a project is to protect See NURSING Page 3 news Speei S let/iif Briefs Dates to Remember: Jan. 21 is the last day to drop and be eligible for a refund of the enrollment and health fee. Jan. 28 marks the last day to add or drop a class without a record of enrollment. In the art gallery: A photography exhibit blending the past, pre¬ sent and future togeth¬ er is currently being presented in the gallery. Using a combi¬ nation of digital and turn-of-the-century photography, the show, “Alternatives,” will continue through Feb. 11. Professor’s Death Retired math profes¬ sor, Frank Baum, died on Dec. 18, 1999, at the age of 79. Baum taught for 28 years at PCC. Walter Cronkite Appearance: On Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Cronkite, a reknowed journalist will present the “Legacy of the 20th Century.” ■Turn the page over to a debate on the benefits and the detriments of Indian gambling between two staff writ¬ ers. Would “Native Americans” really pros¬ per, or would they suffer by operating casinos? SEE VIEWPOINT PG 2 Basketball, see page 4 Tough defense leads the men’s team into a record-breaking eight-game winning streak.