THURSDAY 1VIARCH 18, 1999 - VOL. 84#23
■■■■ Sports
Bmmrnis
After
в
great start tlte lancers have fallen
into a six-game losing streak Page 8
OPINION
Is birth control the best option for people
who want safe sex? Page2
iwww.pcc-courieronline.com i
No Alarms, Higher Theft?
ADRIAN LEDESMA
/
THE COURIER
A sneaky male looks at a car on campus.
BY ROGER CHENG
Staff Writer
Despite a car theft rate lower than most
colleges, the campus police’s actual effec¬
tiveness is superficial, according to an
investigation conducted this week to test
campus cadets in the parking structure.
With the implementation of a new “no
car alarm” policy, some flashy automobiles
may be more vulnerable to theft. After sev¬
eral Courier staff members simulated an
auto theft on various cars in the parking
structure, they found that campus police
response was almost nonexistent.
On the fourth and second floor of the
structure, one member spent over five min¬
utes sticking a long, metallic stick that
resembled a car thief’s tool, commonly
called a “slim-jim,” into the side of a car.
This is more than enough time for a real car
thief to break in and either steal the radio
and inside valuables, or take the entire car.
“[Car thieves] get real fast. They range
from two seconds to one and a half min¬
utes,” said Detective Pete Hetteman, a
Pasadena Police officer in the auto-theft
division.
The test on the fourth floor was done
twice in the morning and once in the after¬
noon on Monday. Another one conducted
on the second floor was held on Tuesday
afternoon. Similar methods were used on
the other levels, revealing the same results.
No cadets attempted to stop the would-be
thief.
During the simulated thefts, many
cadets were even seen “hanging around,”
congregating near the daily parking permit
dispensers and casually chatting with each
other.
The investigation started on the first day
the new policy was implemented, the first
day Philip Mullendore, campus police
director, promised an increase in the num¬
ber of cadets.
“We will look at our deployment and
adjust accordingly so more will be added
[to the parking structure],” said
Mullendore.
The campus police chief refused to dis¬
close the actual number of cadets
assigned to patrol the structure,
only saying that there will be “an
appropriate number.” However,
several cadets were willing to
admit anonymously that there are
roughly 13 officers watching the
structure most of the time, although
they did not know how many more
would be added. There are a total
of 100 cadets working for PCC.
“We are not going to stop all
break-ins. That’s not possible. If a
thief is intent on stealing a car, he’s
going to get the car,” said
Mullendore. “What you’re not
looking at are all the car thefts we
prevented.”
He was also quick to point out
the college’s low theft rate, one of
the fewest among the surrounding
colleges. Also, he said that the
parking structure was just as safe as the
other lots, if not safer.
“Ours is very low, and we are consider¬
ably safer than the surrounding Pasadena
PANNING SAFETY
A comparison of auto related
crimes and cadet presence.
1998 Total
Response time
Auto Crimes:
of cadets:
Vandalism: 13
First Floor: 5+
Burglary: 26
minutes
Stolen Auto
Second Floor: 5
Parts: 18
minutes
Grand Theft
Third Floor: 5+
Auto: 6
minutes
Thefts from
Fourth Floor:
Autos: 5
5+ minutes
Incidents: 68
Roof: Not
Total Value
available
Loss: $50,591
Test days:
1997 Value
Mon., Tues.,
Loss: $26, 654
andWeds.
area,” said Mullendore.
In 1997, El Camino College had 30 cars
stolen, Los Angeles City College had 15
THEFTS, page 3
POLICE BEAT
Man Attacks
Admissions
Employee
Wild confrontation ends in arrest
BY FRED ORTEGA
AND
ALEX VALLADARES
Staff Writers
The scene at the L
Building during registra¬
tion time can get pretty
ugly, with long lines and
mountains of paperwork
causing fits of rage
among students. But
nothing could prepare
the registration staff for
what occurred yesterday
afternoon.
That was when a
black male suspect in his
late 20s jumped over the
admissions counter and
assaulted an employee
after attempting to regis¬
ter in the college.
The suspect, who ini¬
tially identified himself
as Jeremiah Jessele,
became enraged after
admissions employee
Martin Escarcega
refused to return his reg¬
istration forms.
According to Sgt.
Vince Palermo, once the
admissions office scans
the forms, they become
property of the college.
Since Jessele did not
have his transfer docu¬
ments, Ecarcega
informed him that he
could not complete the
registration process.
At this point Jessele
asked for his registration
form back. When
MAN, pagE 4
Start Me
№
г
Runners start the
tortuous 26-mile L.A.
Marathon on Sunday.
Several employees and
students were part of
the crowd in last
weekend’s contest,
including vice presi¬
dent of student affairs
Alex Flores.
See story, page 5
PHOTO BY MARLENE
MARTINEZ
/
THE
COURIER
SMART CARD BEAT
ASSOCIATED STUDENTS
More Card
Controversy
BY AUDREY ALLEN
Staff Writer
Some students missed the big sign strapped to
the second floor of the R Building announcing
“LANCER CARD DEBATE!”
Other students were able to catch a glimpse of
the sign before it was torn down, because only
about 20 students showed up at the meeting at
noon yesterday in R122. According to protestors,
those students, and teachers who are concerned
about the privacy issues of the new student ID, the
smart card, will not be silenced. They claimed that
the reasoning behind this new-high-tech card is
invalid and does not offer convenience for anyone
other than corporations.
The Lancer Card debate resulted in exposing
the “unmentionables,” the unsaid facts that the
college administration has kept “under lock and
CARD, pags 4
What Have They Been Doing For Us?
We all know that they exist, but here is chance to see what they have and have not done so far this year
MATT ROBINSON
/
THE COURIER
Dean Johnson, talks to Alex Flores and Robert DeOcampo.
BY GAU RAVAL
Staff Writer
The Associated Student Board is supposed
to be the voice of students on campus, yet
many don’t even know whom their representa¬
tives are, or what they do.
The objective of being an AS officer is to
represent students on campus and to address
their problems and concerns. These elected
officials are supposed to attend important com¬
mittee meetings on campus and make sure that
students’ rights are being protected and at the
very least being considered. Reports of
these committee sessions are then supposed to
be presented at AS board meetings for discus¬
sion. Many of the members are not completely
fulfilling their duties. AS representatives are
routinely absent from key meetings including
faculty senate and Lancer Card steering com¬
mittees.
To inform the general student population
about their representatives, previous AS boards
planned weeks to introduce themselves to the
campus. Loera has an AS awareness week
planned, but “we are waiting for the weather to
clear up before we can plan it,” said Loera. It
is ironic, however, that applications for next
year’s board are already available, but this
year’s elected officials have not introduced
themselves yet.
Robert DeOcampo, president of the AS,
said, “We plan to have it one week after spring
break.”
In addition, campus activities organized by
student government officials help promote
school sprit and unity, and are a vital responsi¬
bility of the AS, but the average student does¬
n’t know that.
“I don’t know who they are,” said Axle
Moreno, engineering student. “There haven’t
BOARD, pagE 4
What’s on the Web?
www.pcc-courieronline.com
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