PCC Courier, March 15, 2001

) Pas a d e n a С I T Y С O L L E G E штшшшшшшшш VOL. 86 NO. 22 the Since 1915 www. p cc-courieronline. com March 15, 2001 A Different View Multi-award winning columnist Jon Heller reflects on tortured days on the playground and comes out swinging. Think you can take him? SEE PAGE 2 Mid-term Relief It's that time of the semester again. Feeling the weight of mid-term examinations on your shoulders can be daunt¬ ing. PCC's psychologist gives advice on how to handle the overwhelm¬ ing pressure. >• SEE PAGE 3 Track teams get fast and furious at the sec¬ ond home meet. The team came in second in their last home meet of the season. ]► see page 8 8588888$© IMPEACHED! George Magdaleno, AS vice president for internal affairs, had 14 articles of impeachment filed against him by the AS board. By Jon Heller and Kristen Glover Amid charges and accusations that included neglect of duty, inappropriate behavior and viola¬ tions of the Associated Students (AS) governing bylaws, the AS board voted yesterday to impeach vice-president for inter¬ nal affairs George Magdaleno. During the regular Wednesday meeting, complete with emotional comments, resig¬ nations and a near-fist fight, the board, presented with 14 articles of impeachment by AS President Daniel Loh and vice-president for external affairs George Davidson, voted 7-2 in favor of impeaching Magdaleno. The deciding vote to get the required 2/3 majority was cast by the AS president. David Pagan, vice president for campus activities abstained in the vote. He had no comment regarding the matter. The process of impeachment now heads to the student run Supreme Council, who will hear evidence and speak to witnesses in order to determine whether to remove Magdaleno from office. The decision of the Supreme Council is final, and would require no further action from the board. Among the articles of impeachment were charges that Magdaleno changed dates and times of Inter-Club Council meetings by hand, a direct viola¬ tion of the Brown Act. He is also accused by Davidson of causing “irrevocable and irreparable Matt Robinson / The Courier George Magdaleno, vice president for internal affairs was impeached by the Associated Student excutive board at yesterday’s explosive meeting. harm” to the AS board. The articles of impeachment, authored by Loh and Davidson, accused Magdaleno of “ inacces¬ sibility to club members, fre¬ quent cancellation of ICC meet¬ ings, yelling expletives in and around the AS offices and threat- Р» SEE AS, PAGE 4 йамяг тешь Щ Former РСС coach L u q i n b i II , *§"*{"** Students show support for Zarate By Vincent D'Orazi Staff Writer Students, upset with the way their teacher was portrayed in a recent news story in The Courier , have rallied in support of history instructor, Eloy Zarate. The story detailed the complaint filed by John Patton and a classmate, about Zarate’s teaching methods. Since then, at least 68 students have signed a let¬ ter of support for the professor. Mary Fitzgibbons and Nick Papic, both students of Zarate’s, took it upon themselves to compose the letter. The letter stated, “This is our attempt to show our overwhelming support for Professor Zarate and to refute the allegations stated in the article.” It also said, “As far as we are concerned, if any of us had a problem with Professor Zarate, we had the option of taking another section of the class with a different teacher. Because of this we find John Patton’s complaint to be without merit.” “People should know that he is a good teacher, and shouldn’t think about the negative comments made in the paper,” said Michelle Davidson, who is enrolled in one of Zarate’s world history courses. Fitzgibbons could not understand why the newspaper would print the story in the first place. “Would every complaint processed get this kind of attention?” stated Fitzgibbons. “That’s what 1 have a problem with, because what created the news was the story.” Fitzgibbons went to all three of the instructor’s daytime courses to speak to the students before class. She also said that she did not ask for Zarate’s per¬ mission to do so. “Г didn’t think that it was right for him to be a part of it. I didn’t want to make it look like it was coming from him, because it was not,” said Fitzgibbons. >- see Zarate, page 4 Writer’s forum brings esteemed authors to campus By Torin Miller Staff Writer Have you ever dreamed of becoming the next Quentin Tarintino? Or how about becoming the next J.D. Salinger? Regardless of what you want to do, the 47th annual Writers’ Forum on Saturday, March 17, offers a bevy of workshops intended to help up-and-coming writers hone their craft and achieve their goals. The eight-hour conference will open with a keynote address by critically acclaimed novelist Carolyn See, author of nine novels including the “L.A. Times” best seller, “The Handyman.” “1 try to pick guests that are successful in their own field so they can pass along their knowledge,” said Meredith Brucker, conference coordinator. Other guests include popular “L.A. Times” columnist A1 Martinez, self-publishing expert Dan Poynter, poet Don “Kingfisher” Campbell and chairman of the UCLA screenwriting department Richard Walter. Brucker stated that two things are essential when picking guest speakers, one that they are good teachers and the other that they are successful in their craft. Workshops on novel-writing, self-publishing, poetry, screenwriting and genre writing including: mystery and children’s, have been scheduled at the forum. The workshops scheduled have been broken into three sessions each with three different sections. If you want to hear two speakers appearing in the same session, audiocassettes will be available in the lobby at the end of each session. Between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Vroman’s book¬ store will have a booth offering books on writing techniques as well as books written by the guest speakers. “It’s really a great opportunity to give something back. Everyone who is published today was unpub¬ lished yesterday; the conference gives them an opportunity to learn,” said Jerrilyn Farmer, guest speaker. A working writer’s panel consisting of various published authors, newspaper columnists and tele¬ vision writers, has been be planned for the final ses¬ sion, at which attendees are encouraged to ask any¬ thing they want of these writers. Questions may be posed in person or written and submitted in advance at the registration desk. “You get more out of picking these peoples brains rather than writing workshops,” said Brucker. Aside from learning the “how-to’s” of the craft, the workshops also assist in learning the tricks of the trade in the industry. Brucker also states that it is possible for aspiring writers to make important contacts within the industry. “They’re [editors] looking for writers: they don’t’ want to keep you quite. They’re dying for writers. The trick is you can’t take up too much , of their time. Don’t talk about your material, ask them where you can write them. Most of them pass out their cards so you can contact them,” said Brucker. Brucker stated that it is possible to become pub¬ lished from the tricks and information that can be learned at the conference. “A man who has been coming to the conference for about five years has been published in about 50 magazines. The trick is he always has material sent out. If you’re going to send out that much stuff, you’re going to get published,” said Brucker. He states that that those who come to the con¬ ference benefit greatly from the experience as well as from the information that they receive. “The most exciting part is when people come up to me and say ‘this conference has changed my life,’ it really gets their batteries charged. I think if stu¬ dents went to this, it might get them started on writing careers, ” said Brucker. Advanced registration for the entire program is $85 and includes a box lunch. For those who just want an individual workshop and the opening keynote address, it’s $30. Pasadena City College and high school students receive a 20 percent discount with proof of enroll¬ ment when they register at the Extended Learning Center in D 1 0 8 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. today and Friday. To register by phone, call (626) 585- 7608 for Visa, MasterCard Richard Walter and Discover orders. If you wish to register by fax, you may fax the completed registration form with credit card and expiration date to: Pasadena City College, Extended Learning Center, fax number (626) 796-5204. Writers’ Forum attendees are allowed to park on campus. However, they must pay a $1 parking fee. Parking permits must be purchased on the day of the event from the dispensers located throughout the student parking lots, unless a spring 2001 park¬ ing permit has already been purchased.