The Courier has been
SERVING PCC AND THE
PASADENA COMMUNITY
SINCE 1915.
VOL. 90, NO. 1
Summer 2004
) LIBRARY
2006
During the summer
lorado Blvd.
CA 91106 OF 1776
In Philadelphia, The Declaration of
Independence was read to the public
FOR THE FIRST TIME FOUR DAYS AFTER IT
WAS SIGNED.
Cell phones
Are pre-pald options
worth your money?
“Fahrenheit
9/11”
Michael Moore
torches Bush
— — Courtesy of campus police
4
Only ashes remain of a large stack of athletic mats after being torched near the football field on June 1.7.
Pasadena Fine Department investigator deems the torching of athletic
mats on campus football field to be an act of arson; suspect at large
Linda Rapka
Editor-in-Chief
Billowing clouds of thick black smoke
flowed from the football field when a six-foot-
tall stack of athletic mats stored near the rest¬
rooms caught fire after an alleged act of arson,
according to Lt. Brad Young.
During football team practice the evening
of June 17, witnesses noticed a large fire in the
southwest corner of the field at approximately
6:20 p.m.
Campus officer Russell Ruetz arrived on
scene minutes later and found the area fully
engulfed in flames. He requested an immedi¬
ate emergency response from the Pasadena
Fire Department. Campus officer Leroy
Henderson then arrived and confirmed that a
stack of athletic mats used as landing devices
by pole vaulters was the source of the blaze,
according to the police report.
Huge clouds of dark smoke quickly filled
the surrounding area. Young said. Campus offi¬
cers evacuated students from the football
field. Pasadena police blocked east- and west¬
bound traffic on Del Mar from Bonnie to Hill
streets. Two cadets assisted with pedestrian
traffic control. The fire department extin¬
guished the fire 10 minutes after it started.
The fire department's arson investigator,
Gregory Kealey, determined that the blaze was
purposely set. "There was nothing in the area
to start it accidentally, " Kealey said.
The area where the fire started is surround¬
ed by 13-foot-high block walls. The only possi¬
bility for an accidental fire would have been
electrical, he said. One electrical outlet is locat¬
ed in the enclosed area. However, upon inves¬
tigation by Kealey and a PCC official, it was
found that the outlet was acting normally and
did not spark the fire. "The most probable
cause is that it was lit with a cigarette lighter,"
Kealey said. However, no lighter cases were
found at the scene.
Police are still searching for a suspect.
Although the area is equipped with security
cameras, none were pointed at the direction of
the fire at the time it started. Three witnesses
were questioned, but none were able to pro¬
vide any suspect information, according to the
police report.
PCC Lieutenant
One Step Ahead
of Terrorists
Lt. Brad Young receives anti-terrorism
training to help keep the campus safe
Priscilla Wright
Contributing Writer
The college's Lt. Brad Young
was one of 120 police and law
enforcement officials selected
from around the state to receive
anti-terrorism training.
In May, officers spent one week
in Ontario learning how to
respond to terrorist acts. Agents
from both the Department of
Homeland Security and the
California Department of Justice
co-instructed the anti-terrorism
classes. While most attendees were
from city police departments,
Young was one of a handful select¬
ed from a college campus.
The Senate passed a bill shortly
after Sept. 11, 2001 stating that
municipal law enforcement agen¬
cies were to be educated in anti¬
terrorism tactics and knowledge.
Only officers in executive and man¬
agement positions were selected
for training. Young was formerly
stationed in downtown Los
Angeles when he worked for the
L.A.P.D.
These classes also made them
eligible to provide the same type
of training to officers in their juris¬
diction, which came as a surprise
to the officers.
"All any of us knew
was that it was anti-ter¬
rorism train- see page
ing," Young
said Terrorism
Attend Cal State tor
PCC tuition Cost
Dean Lee
Contributing Writer
The Cross Enrollment
program, virtually
unknown to students and
faculty here at PCC, offers
any community college
student the chance to take
courses at a California State
University campus while paying
the community college fee of $26
per unit.
To qualify, a student must have
completed at least one term at
PCC with a grade point average of
at least 2.0 and be a California res¬
ident. As part of the program, stu¬
dents must
enroll in at
least six units
at PCC and may
take any num¬
ber of addi¬
tional units at
Cal State.
Participants must
also have completed
appropriate academic preparation
as determined by the Cal State
campus and have no out¬
standing debts with PCC.
Students
considering See page
transferring
to a Cal
csu
Locker
Burglar
Convicted
Stephen Folan
News Editor
A former PCC student
charged with burglarizing 150
lockers in the W Building last
October was convicted last week
and sentenced to pay the college
$3,000 in restitution, Lt. Brad
Young said.
Andrew Eckard was convicted
in Pasadena Superior Court on
July 1 and was placed on proba¬
tion for five years. While await¬
ing sentencing, Eckard complet¬
ed his mandatory jail time in the
county jail, said Lt. Young.
Eckard pried open men's and
women's lockers using a 12-and-
a-half-inch screwdriver to snap
the locks open. When not able
to break the locks, he broke
open the latches. He
was enrolled at PCC at
the time
of the See page
burglary Convicted
Get Acquainted With PCC
During Welcome Day
Linda Rapka
Editor-in-Chief
The college's second annual
Welcome Day will take place for
new students and their families on
Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in
the Quad.
Newcomers to PCC wi
enjoy live bands and
free food while get¬
ting acquainted
with the campus.
Many workshops
for students and
parents will be
held, such as
"How to Be a
Successful Student
and "How to Support
Your College Student."
Students will be able to take
guided tours, buy books and get
their Lancer ID cards. Financial aid
services will also host several work¬
shops to assist those seeking infor¬
mation about paying for college.
Attendees will also be able to
learn about PCC's several special
programs, including scholars and
study abroad.
While Welcome Day is an
informative event, it also aims to
be fun. KISS-FM's weather fore¬
caster, Commander Chuck, is
expected to make a repeat appear¬
ance this year, landing his helicop¬
ter on school grounds. Several
clubs are expected to set up
booths and exhibits in the Quad.
Every department on cam¬
pus plans to partici¬
pate in the event.
Campus tours
will be given in
English, Chinese,
Spanish and Sign
Language.
Limited informa¬
tion may be avail¬
able in other lan¬
guages as well. Staff
and volunteers will wear a
large button with "Ask Me" print¬
ed in the language they speak.
Last year's attendance sur¬
passed the college's
expectations, with more
than 2,000 students
attending
the first
Welcome
Day, said
Krista
4
See page
Welcome
Day
ЩШ
Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltixlt
Riotous cheers filled Sexson Auditorium the evening of June 30 as the Cassini-
Huygens spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit after a nearly seven-year, 2.2 billion
mile journey. Over 1,400 mission crew members, their friends and family gath¬
ered together during the intense 96-minute countdown as the spacecraft sur¬
vived a dangerous passage through two of Saturn's rings. The $3 million interna¬
tional space mission now begins an extensive 4-year study of Saturn, its majes¬
tic rings and 31 known moons. Cassini will release the Huygens probe on its
journey toward Saturn's moon Titan on Dec. 24, making it the first probe to
descend to the surface of a moon of another planet.