PCC Courier, March 07, 1997

OPINION With the recent cloning of sheep and monkey embryos, man has gone too far The rapid increase in genetic technology has to be checked before scientists unleash something they'll regret. FEATURES SPORTS Students to travel to Florence, Italy as part of "Study Abroad" program PCC will sponsor a semester of study in Italy in the fall. Weekend trips will also be planned to Rome, Venice and other locales. л Lady Lancers squeak into the second round of the state playoffs last week with a one point victory The Women's Basketball team qualified for the second round of the playoffs with a 75-74 overtime win over Rancho Santiago. The PASADENA CITY COLLEGE PASADENA, CALIFORNIA VOL. 82, NO. 20 http://geocities.com/ ~ pccnewscourier THURSDAY March 6, 1997 Since 1915 Some faculty criticize inquiry By RACHEL URANGA Courier Staff Writer A Faculty Senate special com¬ mittee that brought forth allegations of professional misconduct against two administrators, called on PCC faculty to give direction to a plan which would give them direction. But the faculty’s dissatisfaction with the committee’s failure to de¬ tail its allegations became apparent at an informational meeting on Tues¬ day as audience members were openly critical of the committee. “I’d like to vote no confidence on this committee,” said Bob Doud, associate professor of social sci¬ ences. Doud called the committee, known as the Board of Inquiry, a “hanging committee” composed of individuals who have predetermined judgments about the administrators, Joyce Black and Patricia Mollica. The committee is made up of union representatives who are nego¬ tiating a contract with these women and by faculty members who have filed grievances against them. Al¬ though the committee skirted Doud’s accusations by saying they would be addressed later if there was time, the need for the union representatives was addressed later in the meeting. Robert McLean, committee spokesman, said many of the griev¬ ances deal with contract issues and the board needed clarification from the union representatives. After a six-month investigation into faculty complaints against Black Please see INQUIRY , page 4 PCC staff members participated in emergency response training at theJS Training Institute last Saturday. The institute specializes in preparing organizations for earthquakes. See story on page 3. PHOTOS BY SCOTT BODE/ THE COURIER AS Board accepts Poindexter's letter of resignation By YUSEF ROBB Courier Staff Writer Forrest Poindexter, Associated Students president, submitted a let¬ ter of resignation to Stephen John¬ son, assistant dean of student affairs last Wednesday. But Catherine Hazelton, coordi¬ nator of external affairs, announced at Tuesday’s AS Board meeting that Poindexter had notified her on Mon¬ day that he did not want the board to accept his resignation. Subsequent to Hazelton ’s an¬ nouncement of her discussion with Poindexter, Levi Jackson, coordina¬ tor of campus activities, objected to the motion to accept Poindexter’s resignation. A vote was then called for, in which the board eventually accepted Poindexter's resignation by a vote of three to two, with Ben Bushnell, executive vice president, abstaining. In the letter, Poindexter cited sexual harassment allegations against him along with “constant attacks” from the administration as the major factors that contributed to his deci¬ sion to step down from his post. Poindexter was accused by mem¬ bers of the AS Board of having made several inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to board members last week. Poindexter maintains in his letter that the allegations made against him are “just another attempt by the administration to discredit... and in¬ validate my presidency.” He also stated that dealing with the administration has given him “a nerve condition which is being con¬ trolled by medication. But in a telephone interview on Tuesday, Poindexter denied any knowledge of ac¬ cusations of ha¬ rassment against him and stated that his motiva- tionfor resigning was to “be more involved in my studies. He said that “I was happy that I [resigned].” He did confirm, though, that he had requested a “vote of confidence” from the board, but not a reconsid¬ eration of his resignation. He also said that he believed that the admin¬ istration did not support him during his presidency. Frank Fernandez, vice president of academic affairs, said that Poindexter’ s alleged comments were “totally out of line.” “He’s off the board, so that is pretty much all I wanted,” he said. Hazelton believes that Poindexter had problems in dealing with the AS Board. “Forrest has a certain leader¬ ship style that was very effective, but it turned off a lot of people,” she said. Poindexter has recently been in the spotlight due to a Nov. 3 con¬ frontation with campus police, in which he was detained for failure to comply with a police order to vacate his office. Poindexter alleges that he was brutalized by police during the inci¬ dent. Police maintain that Poindexter was acting erratically and used pro¬ fanity and racial slurs towards the officers. Per the order of succession in the constitution, Bushnell then ascended to the presidency. Food service fund transfer complete By DANIEL ARCHULETA Courier Staff Writer A reimbursement of $92,000 for capital improvements made to cam¬ pus food services facilities by the prior service provider was approved last Thursday at a special meeting of the Student Service Fund Board of Directors. The improvements included reno¬ vations to the cafeteria, the snack shop annex, and the construction of the Java Hut. Professional Food- Service Management Inc., the ser¬ vice that made the improvements originally, invested $125,000 into the projects just a year ago. As a stipulation of the contract with the college, PFM agreed to de¬ preciate the value each year over five years, with a clause stating that if PFM pulled out of it’s contract early PCC would be contractually obligated to foot the costs. And as a result, in the year since the upgrades, the value of the initial improvements depreciated by $33,000. Dr. Rod Fleeman, vice president administrative services, said that the college could recoup the payout when the next service provider is contracted. The college will use the same formula as in the previous con¬ tract. “The actual amount could be a stipulation of the contract,” he said. Funds used in the reimbursement came from the student service re¬ serve fund. It was estimated, before the reimbursement, by Stephen John¬ son, assistant dean of student affairs, to be near $300,000. Of the nearly $208,000 left in reserves, after the payout to PFM, the Student Service Board agreed to spend money on improvements to the food service area, some have been completed and some will be started in the future. Major kitchen equipment replace¬ ment, dining furniture, and cleaning and repair of existing equipment and facilities worth $100,000 were also OK’d. The replacement situation arose when the new food service company realized, upon receipt of the kitchen, that some of the food preparation equipment was either missing or in dire need of major repair and clean¬ ing. This year the state has set aside funds for instructional equipment. Because the kitchen facilities are used to instruct students as well as provide food service, the college will receive some additional fund¬ ing. Fleeman said that this is a bless¬ ing because, “for many years the college didn’t have instructional money and everybody was hurting.” The college will match up to $75,000 from the state toward the acquisitions. Mayor discusses PCC power proposal By DANIEL ARCHULETA Courier Staff Writer Aside from dealings with state and national politics, Pasadena Mayor Bill Paparian’s duties in¬ clude dealing with the adminis¬ tration at PCC. The ongoing deregulation of the electric utility industry ntay possibly strain PCC’s status as one of the city’s largest purchas¬ ers of power by allowing the col¬ lege to obtain its electricity else¬ where. Rod Fleeman, vice president of administrative services, fears that the temptation to buy elec¬ tricity from a more competitively- priced private source will become increasingly hard to deny in the years to come. Until now the city regulated the electrical prices, but now the deregulation will allow energy consumers to look to pri¬ vate industry for a cheaper price. “If the city doesn’t remain com¬ petitive, we’ll have to create a consortium with other area col¬ leges to purchase electricity at a lower price.” The college annually spends up to $ 1 .2 million a year on elec¬ tricity according to Fleeman. He also said that the city has informed the college that if PCC buys else¬ where the city will be forced to cut its budget or lay off workers. Paparian said that the deregula¬ tion “is not something I support.” He admits that if PCC goes elsewhere to acquire its electricity, the city may be forced to either lay off employees to streamline the city’s operations. “Deregulation is going to affect the way the city does business,” he said. The immediate impact of the de¬ regulation is not clear, but Paparian believes that the average consumer will not benefit from the breakup of the utility, but corporations will. He said that the city’ s only recourse is to become more efficient to remain competitive. “The city may purchase a larger block of electricity along with other municipalities to save money,” he said. Elected to the Pasadena city coun- ‘ cil in 1 987, Paparian has worked his way up through the ranks of city politics and was named mayor in 1995. While in office, he hasn’t been the type to shy away from the contro¬ versial issues. Paparian took on Proposition 209, the voter-ap¬ proved initiative aimed at ending affirmative action in California. In the months following the pas¬ sage of 209, Pasadena was among many cities that spearheaded a lawsuit against the implementa¬ tion of the proposition in Federal District Court, citing its unconsti¬ tutionality and unfairness. Ajudge in that court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Supporters of 209 have appealed the ruling and the case is now in litigation. He said that he believes the case will make it through the appeals process and be taken “all the way to the Su¬ preme Court.” In addition to his active role in state and local politics, Paparian Please see PAPARIAN, page 5 SAMUEL HERNANDEZ/ THE COURIER Pasadena Mayor Paparian spoke candidly with The Courier about PCC, and life as Mayor.