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■ What is going
on in this pic¬
ture? Just ask
Jon Heller,
e-mail him at
jonis5i50@eart
hlink.com. Read
his column, see
why he is stuck
in bed with. . . ?
Eye-Witness Investigation
Custodial ‘super sleuths’
collar graffitti menance
By Tim Alves
Courier Staff Writer
Two college custodians turned
detectives have used dogged deter¬
mination, cold, calculating logic and
a little fortuitous luck to track down
and nab a serial vandal in a fashion
that any dyed-in-the-wool gumshoe
would be eminently proud of.
Swing shift facilities employees
became a modern-day Sherlock
Holmes and Doctor Watson team
following months of frustration at
the seemingly endless stream of
“tagging” done by an individual
whose calling card became a large
eye scrawled on everything from
bathroom walls to concrete pillars all
across the campus.
“I’ve been here eight years and
he’s one of the worst taggers. It was
just constant. You’d clean up the
graffiti one night and come back the
next and it was back in the same
spot; the same spot! This guy was a
menace,” said Leo Larsuel, custodi¬
an and amateur sleuth. “One night I
was so frustrated, I went home and
prayed to God he’d be caught.”
Fed up with the incessant tagging,
Richard Caldwell and Larsuel kept
an eye out for the scribbler, hoping
for a break.
“About a month and a half ago, I
was working outside the R building
and this guy was hanging around. It
made me kind of suspicious, so I
thought that maybe he was the guy
who was drawing the eye,” said
Caldwell.
Sure enough, Caldwell said an
eye appeared and the mystery man
vanished. Caldwell and Larsuel
were convinced they had their man,
but they needed proof.
“This guy also covered entire
bathroom stalls with large drawings,
so we figured that maybe he was an
art student,” said Caldwell.
Acting on their hunch, the
dynamic duo began an exhaustive
search of the art classrooms in the R
building.
“We narrowed it down to R518
because an easel had markings and
distinctive flourishes that were simi¬
lar to the style being seen in the ele¬
vators and bathrooms with that eye,”
said Larsuel.
When the pair figured out when
and where the tagger had class, they
were on the stakeout for the person
Caldwell had spotted nearly two
months ago.
Like all good crime novels, there
was a break in the case. On March
14, around 10 p.m. Caldwell got his
man.
“I started on my regular routine
and Richard called me and said,
‘Leo! The guy, I’ve seen him, he’s
Photo Courtesy of Richard van Pelt
Custodians/detectives Richard Caldwell and Leo Lausuel helped nab a tagger.
here,” said Larsuel.
An eagle-eyed Caldwell saw a
gangly young man with glasses loi¬
tering near the support pillars for the
R building. He surreptitiously
watched the suspected vandal as he
pretended to do his job. He ducked
into an open classroom and waited.
“When I came out, there was that
eye drawn real high up on the pillar.
He just hopped up on the trash bin
and put it there,” said Caldwell.
Not wanting to let his quarry
escape, Caldwell barged his way.
onto the elevator the suspect was
taking up to the fifth floor. With the
suspect now back in his Art 20A
class, Larsuel called campus police.
See SLEUTHS on pg. 6
Amanda Bernero
/
The Courier
Octavia Butler, acclaimed novelist, spoke to students about the writing
process and explained her recent book, "The Parable of Talents.
‘The parable
of her talents’
Octavia Butler shared her struggles
with life , writing with students
By Jim Lindsay
Courier Staff Writer
In a speech to students last
Wednesday, science fiction writer
and PCC graduate Octavia Butler
revealed a behind-the-scenes look
at the writing of a novel and in the
process told how she overcame
adversity to become an award-win¬
ning author.
Speaking on International
Woman’s Day at an event co-spon¬
sored by the Cross Cultural Center
and AWARE (Association for
Women’s Actions and Resolutions
for Equality) seemed a particularly
apropos time for her talk in the
Student Lounge.
“I was going to speak about
something else, but when I realized
today is International Women’s
Day, I thought it would be particu¬
larly good to speak about my most
recent novel, “The Parable of the
Talents” because it was inspired by
the two most important women in
my life: my mother and grand¬
mother,” said Butler.
Her insights about her novel,
“The Parable of the Talents”
revealed that she is a woman of
determination, dedication and dis¬
cipline.
Her grandmother was particu¬
larly inspirational. Butler’s grand¬
mother was an orphan raised by
foster parents who treated her poor-
See BUTLER on pg 3
Retention Rate Uproar
Board to renegotiate evaluations
By Gali Raval
Courier Staff Writer
The next chapter in the continuing saga of fac¬
ulty members opposing the use of retention rates
has resulted in the board of trustees agreeing to re¬
negotiate the evaluation process.
The idea of using retention rates used as part of
a faculty member’s evaluations alarmed many staff
members. In a response to those concerns, Faculty
Senate and the California Teacher’s Association
drafted a joint resolution and presented it to the
board of trustees on along with a petition signed by
195 faculty members. “The number of faculty
members in support of the resolution was out¬
standing. We would have gotten more signatures,
but there wasn’t enough time to gather more,” said
Ellen Ligons, Faculty Senate president.
Dr. James Kossler, college president, notified
faculty about the board of trustees decision to
negotiate a new evaluation criteria in a memo. He
said the process for making the changes will take
place sometime during the spring semester.
“We are very happy to hear that the board will
re-negociate the contract, but we are hesitant
because the board members have not specified
what changes will be made,” said Dr. Ed Ortel,
СТА
liason.
“The quality of teaching and the knowledge to
perform is totally unrelated to the number of stu¬
dents who leave. There is no connection. There
are numerous reasons why students drop, none of
which can be controlled by professors.
Evaluations should be based on classroom perfor¬
mance. I feel that (retention rates) are a poor judg¬
ing criteria,” said Beth Wells-Miller, board of
trustees member.
Concerned faculty agree that their jobs should
not be put in jeopardy for things that are out of
their control. “Students drop classes for many dif¬
ferent reasons. I once had a student who suffered
from migraine headaches, and she had a tough time
dealing with that. I don’t have the ability to con-
See RETENTION on pg 3
Master Plan 2010
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A peek at the
future campus
By Gia Scafidi
Courier Staff Writer
Editor’s Note: The following is the
second story in a three-part series of
the structural changes proposed by
Master Plan 2010.
Future needs, space and adjacency
issues have lengthened the list of
concerns sparked by Master Plan
2010. Along with new parking
structures and a renovated Campus
Center, the plan proposes construc¬
tion of a new art/music building, as
well as a new industrial/technology
building to house some of the col¬
lege’s vocational programs.
Among those not-so content with
the proposals as they stand are Sue
Brown, assistant professor of art, and
Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, interim divi¬
sion dean of the engineering and
technology division.
At the March 1 board of trustees
meeting, Brown, who is also chair of
the art division space committee,
took the podium voicing her con¬
cerns. “We feel the master plan does¬
n’t meet current or future needs,” she
said.
Computer Image of Master Plan 2010
Though the proposed art/music
building, to be built where the
К
and
T buildings presently stand, will pro¬
vide an 80 percent space increase for
the music and art programs, Brown
is concerned that the plan does not
allot space for additional labs, an art
gallery or future growth. She is
pleased, however, that the master
plan’s proposals provide faculty
office space, a conference room and a
See PLAN on page 3
Lancers scoreboard
Badmiton team is tearing up the
competition with aggressive play.
SEE SPORTS PG. 6
ROBINSON LEGEND
Mack Robinson, a celebrated
alumnus of PCC, sadly passed
away last Sunday.
SEE SPORTS PG. 6
THE JAM
New “beat generation” musicians
pay homage to punk-modernists
The Jam.
SEE LA NOUVELLE PG. 5
HOT WHEELS!
Inexpensive auto repairs are
available to students and staff at
the campus’ service center.
SEE NEWS PG. 4
