- Title
- PCC Courier, March 23, 1989
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- Date of Creation
- 23 March 1989
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- Description
- Student newspaper published and edited for the Associated Student Body of Pasadena City College weekly during the college year by the journalism students.
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PCC Courier, March 23, 1989
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VOL 68, NO. 5
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
March 23, 1989
PCC One of Five Nationwide
Telcom Teaching Praised
By Michael Rocha
Staff Writer
The Society of Broadcast Engineers
(SBE) recently certified PCC for its
“outstanding teaching methods” in the
telecommunications program, making
it one of five recipients in the nation
and the only one in the state to receive
that certification.
SBE representatives said, however,
that PCC’s equipment is outdated,
compared to lab facilities of other
schools in the area.
Harvey D. Hetland, associate
professor of communication, said
“With our present equipment, you can¬
not get a technologists’ certificate. The
equipment we have here is really out¬
dated.”
Communication Department Chair¬
man Michael Bloebaum said, however,
that “One of the problems of teaching
radio and television in a college en¬
vironment is that it is expensive to keep
up with the technology. It is a major
capital investment for any institution.
“Not only that, with modern
technology being developed at a fast
rate, equipment becomes obsolete
rather fast. It is hard to catch-up and
update every single piece of equip¬
ment,” Bloebaum said. That is one
reason PCC’s telcom equipment has
not been updated.
“The instructors work miracles with
what we have. That is not to say that we
don’t have reasonable equipment. The
equipment we have here has been kept
in operating condition. Advanced
technological classes, however, have
relied on equipment that is now
becoming obsolete,” Bloebaum said.
The current trend in television
programming is the use of video
graphics computers. Telecommunica¬
tion students at PCC, however, do not
get the chance to work on that modem
equipment. Learning computer
graphics is important, “and our stu¬
dents should have that experience,”
Bloebaum said. But with rising prices
for top-notch equipment, updating
PCC’s telecommunication program
creates another problem. “A single
piece of telcom equipment with
modem computer graphics ability may
mn as high as $100,000. We just do not
have that amount of money” to finance
a major refurbishing of PCC’s telecom¬
munication program, he said.
Bloebaum added, however, that the
communication department is currently
applying for a $60,000 Employer
Based Training Grant from the Voca¬
tion Education Association(VEA)
which will be used to update the depart¬
ment’s equipment. A response from
VEA is expected as early as the end of
April.
Grants, however, are only one way
of solving the current dilemma.
“Because we have a good reputation of
putting out well-trained students, we
are asking stations and production
facilities throughout the state to donate
or sell their equipment at discount price
rates,” Bloebaum said. If these stations
see that there is potential in the students
who go through PCC’s telecommunica¬
tion programs, they might agree to our
proposals, Bloebaum added.
“There are plans to pursue the idea
of an industry-education partnership
which will help people in the television
and film industry realize the value of
technical education,” said Bloebaum.
“Hopefully,” he said, “the industry
responds by giving us equipment or
allowing us to use their facilities for
educational purposes.” Bloebaum also
hopes for a more active internship pro¬
gram for PCC’s telecommunication
students.
With PCC’s good reputation comes
the certification as one of only five stu¬
dent chapters of the Society of Motion
Pictures and Television Engineers
(SMPTE) in the country. SMPTE,
which sets all the technical standards
for television and film, is one affiliation
the telecommunications program is
proud to have, said Bloebaum.
John Quintanilla/ The Courier
The Society of Broadcast Engineers recently commended PCC’s telecom¬
munications program, but said that the equipment is outdated.
A.S.B. Endorses Campus Cuisine; Conflict Seen
By Tim Frank
News Editor
A motion was introduced at a recent
Associated Student Body (A.S.) meet¬
ing to endorse Bob’s Campus Cuisine
in his bid to take over the campus
cafeterias. Campus Cuisine is one
several who are attempting to secure
the food contract to run the cafeteria.
The current contract, which lasted five
years, expires June 30. Connie
Hurston, Student Activities Adviser,
advised the A.S. not to endorse Bob’s
Campus Cuisine.
“I would caution you against it
because you have an interest to serve
all of the students and to find out what
all the options are from every possible
food service provider. You’ve only
been exposed to Bob’s and you’ve
benefitted personally. I think it’s a con¬
flict of interest to do that,” she said.
No one on campus yet knows who all
the contenders are for the food service
contract. The food service committee
has not finished writing the contract
guidlines that the applicants will use to
bid for the job said Dr. James D
Kossler, vice president of administra¬
tive services and a member of the com¬
mittee.
The food service committee is now
deciding what kind of service it wants.
It will then solicit bids from various
vendors. It will evaluate vendors who
respond and finally recommend that the
Board of Trustees sign a contract with a
particualr vendor.
All of this has to happen before June
30 to avoid an interuption of serice,
said Kossler.
The Board of Trustees, not the A.S.,
awards the campus food service con¬
tracts. However the A.S. does advise
the the board of its preference and three
A.S. board members, Greg McLemore,
Tami Abe, and Lamoe Dungca sit on
the food service committee. The other
committee members represent the staff,
faculty and administration.
Hurston suggested that it is prema¬
ture for the A.S. board to consider en¬
dorsing any vendor before considering
each of its competitors.
“You haven’t been exposed to
Mariot or to other off campus services”
said Hurston.
“I think you can say to the extent
that we’ve been served by Bob and
Campus Cuisine we’ve been very
pleased. We’ve had no problems. He’s
always been eager, “ said Hurston. “He
wants to you him,” she added.
Bob’s Campus Cuisine provides the
refreshments at the AS meetings each
Friday. At last Friday’s meeting there
were fresh donuts and juice avaliable.
A.S. members say Bob often brings
cookies, muffins and bottled juices that
are not available to students. One mem¬
ber noted that the price he charges the
A.S. may be less then he would charge
students for the same products.
“The stuff he brings up here and the
stuff he has down there are different”
Cynthia Wagner, A.S. member, said.
“We’ve paid for that’’ said
McLemore.
Bob’s also has recently catered other
A.S. events. A few weeks ago the AS
hosted a meeting with student leaders
from the Los Angeles Community Col¬
lege district on a Saturday. The A.S.
asked PFM, the current vendor who
provides the food service in the
cafeteria, to cater the event. PFM
refused on the grounds that it was
unreasonable for them to pay its
employees overtime to cater an event
on Saturday.
Bob’s Campus Cuisine agreed to ca¬
ter the AS event. According to
McLemore, Bob’s service was very
good.
Alumna Chosen For Court
By Tim Frank
News Editor
Governor George Dukemejian
nominated Pasadena City College
alumna Joyce Kennard to the
California Supreme Court last week.
If confirmed, the 47-year-old Ken¬
nard will be the youngest member
and only the second woman ever to
sit on the court.
“Justice Kennard is superbly
qualified, and she has had a remark¬
able life of achievement and
triumph over adversity,” said the
governor. She “has proved that hard
work, skill and intelligence, com¬
bined with the promise of the
American dream, can lead one to
great achievements.”
Kennard was bom in what is now
Indonesia. Her dad died when she
was an infant. During the Japanese
occupation of World War II, Ken¬
nard and her mother spent time in an
internment camp run by mercen¬
aries in West Java.
Photo Courtesy of AP
Joyce Kennard
After the war, they moved to Ho-
land where as a teenager Kennard
lost a leg to a life -threatening infec¬
tion. The illness kept Kennard out of
school for two years.
While in Holland, Kennard
learned to be a Dutch-English in¬
terpreter. When she was 20, she
moved to the United States. In 1967
she became a U.S. citizen.
Janice Kamenir-Resnik, president
of California Women Lawyers, said
“This is an unusual woman, one
who embodies the Amerian dream.
She’s endured a lot of adversity and
beaten the odds to come out on top.”
Kennard began her college
studies and PCC when she was
twenty-seven-years-old after work¬
ing as a secretary for seven years.
Her mother had just died and left her
$5,000.
She transfered to USC after earn¬
ing a scholarship, and graduated Phi
Beta Kappa. She stayed at USC to
earn a law degree and passed the
California Bar in 1974.
Kennard worked in the criminal
division of the attorney general’s
office from 1974 to 1979 when she
became a senior research attorney
for the state Court of Appeal.
Dukemejian appointed her to the
Los Angeles Municipal Court in
1986. He promoted her to the
Superior Court in 1987 and to the
Court of Appeal in 1988.
“She’s climbed the ladder so fast
that no one can know for sure what
she will be like when she settles into
the Supreme Court.” said UC
Berkley law professor Stephen R.
Barnett.
“Kennard obviously knows the
existing law well,” he said. “The
question will be how she will deal
with the ideological and philosophi¬
cal dimensions of making the law. It
will be very interesting for everyone
including the governor to see how
the turns out.” Legal authoritees ex¬
pect Kennard to be as tough on cri¬
minals as Dukemejian’s other ap¬
pointees on the court. But there is no
concensus regarding her inclina¬
tions in civil cases.
As a municipal judge in 1987, she
sentenced a man to seven years in
jail for firing at a car on the Golden
State Freeway. No one was injured,
but Kennard indicated that she
would not tolerate behavior that
represented such a serious threat to
public safety.
Kennard has no consistent record
of voting either for or against busi¬
ness interests. For example, she has
decided cases both for and against
insurence companies.
“She’s not a knee jerk person,”
said Kamenir-Resnik. “She’s an in¬
dependant person who will use her
legal knowledge and her reasoning
skills and reach her descisions on a
case by case basis.”
Kennard cannot be sworn into
office until she is confirmed by the
State Judicial Appointments Com¬
mission, a three member commis¬
sion comprised of the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court Malcome M.
Lucas, state Attorney General John
Van de Kamp and th senior presid¬
ing justice of the state Court of Ap¬
peal, Lester W Roth.
Kennard’s confirmation hearing
is expected to be held in mid-April.
Car Theft Sparks Safety Suggestions
Hugh Armel
Staff Writer
Roger Marheine, assistant professor
at PCC, found that his car had been
stolen out of parking lot five(by the
Forum) Tuesday, February 28, between
10a.m. and 10p.m.
Officer Lester of the PCC police
department completed a Highway
Patrol stolen vehicle report for
Marheine’s car, and immediately filed
it with the Pasadena Police Depart¬
ment.
Ralph Evans of the PCC police says
the report has been put on a national
computer system that all law enforce¬
ment agencies have access to. Evans
also says that all law enforcement
agencies are required to run each
recovered vehicle through this system
as soon as it’s found.
There have been seven other cars
stolen off the PCC campus since Sep¬
tember. Evans did not want to say how
many had been recovered because the
Pasadena police handle all follow-ups
unless the car is recovered on campus.
In most cases, the Pasadena Police
don’t call to inform the campus police
if a car has been recovered, to tell the
PCC police that a car has been
recovered. But Evans did feel that
many of the vehicles had been
recovered.
Evans did say that PCC is a lot better
off than a school like Cal-State
Northridge. “In the past Northridge
lost as many as five cars a day because
of their big lots. So relatively we’re in
good shape.”
Sgt. Barbara Keith, also of the PCC
Police, says that although PCC loses a
car about every other month Mt. San
Antonio College loses about 80 in the
same amount of time.
The biggest problem is theft and
burglary from cars says Evans. “People
leave valuables in plain view, and nice
cars with expensive radios are also
targets.”
Evans urges people hide their valu¬
ables, and if they purchase an expen¬
sive radio Evans advises them to get the
kind that can be removed and locked
up. Also Evans wants to remind people
of the importance of locking their cars.
The Brown Bag Book Bunch
Club Chats, Chews Over Books
By Tim Frank
News Writer
The Brown Bag Book Bunch crowd
will meet again Thursday, March 23 to
discuss Mel Donalson’s River Woman.
The Brown Bag Lunch is a book club
for students, faculty and staff. “It’s
something like a book club I joined
when I was in high school back in
Ohio,” said Bob Foreman, English
teacher and one of the founders of the
new club.
Its members meet once a month to
discuss a book which each has read.
This month’s author Mel Donalson will
be on hand to discuss his book. Copies
of the River Woman are available in the
bookstore, and there are a few in the
library.
“We Hope that most members -will
have read the book before our meeting
so that they will have something to
discuss,” said Foreman. “Our purpose
isn’t to lecture our members but to give
them something to discuss.”
The members will break up into
discussion groups of around six or
eight people. In the smaller groups,
even the quiet people will have an op¬
portunity to say something, Foreman
said. “We don’t just want a few people
to participate. We want everyone to
participate,” he added.
At last month’s brown bag lunch
nearly every seat in the Circadian was
taken.
“I was very pleased with the tur¬
nout,” said Jane Hallinger, president of
the faculty senate.
This month’s event will take place in
the Library today from noon to 1 pm.
Nelson Green/ The Courier
Melvin B. Donalson
Lectures to Explore Asian Experience
By Michael Rocha
Staff Writer
As a part of the “Asian Pacific
Americans: Six Generations in Califor¬
nia” lecture series, Cabrillo College
history professor Sandy Lydon will
speak on “Chinese Pioneers in the
American West” in the Forum on
March 30 at 7:30 p.m., and USC history
professor Dr. Michael Robinson will
speak on “Koreans in America: Strug¬
gle, Survival and Prosperity,
1906-1989” in the Forum on April 4 at
7:30 p.m.
Lydon’s lecture will focus on the
plight of the Chinese from the shores of
China to the golden state of California.
The lecture is designed to portray the
Chinese as 49ers who came to Califor¬
nia in search of “Gam Saan,” “Moun¬
tain of Gold.”
“The Chinese have often been
regarded as ‘new’ immigrants,” said
Susie Ling, a temporary professor in
the social science department. “But
that is not true. The Chinese have been
in California since the 1840s.”
Lydon, in an attempt to break all
cliches about Chinese people, has done
extensive research on the culture. One
of the reasons for the lecture is to break
the myth that Chinese are “so¬
journers.” The Chinese, like other im¬
migrants, came to the United States to
settle and build their new homeland
despite the racist discrimination against
them.
Lydon, the author of Chinese Gold, a
book containing rich Chinese legends
and lore, has concluded in his research
that the Chinese have played a major
role in the development of agricultural
and fishing industries here in Califor¬
nia. Lydon also documents the begin¬
ning of abalone shell decoration and
the making of shark fin soup in the area.
Robinson’s lecture will concentrate
on the Korean experience. Robinson,
who was in Korea as a Peace Corp
volunteer, will explore the early
Korean pioneers and the influx of im¬
migrants after 1965.
He will also highlight the growing
By Hugh Armel
Staff Writer
A video cassette recorder valued at
close to $3,000 was stolen from the
Communication department.
According to PCC police records, a
student working in the equipment
room, left it unlocked.
Inspector Ralph Evans of the campus
police says that from the evidence
gathered, the machine was stolen bet¬
ween noon and 8 p.m. from the work¬
room that remained unlocked with the
alarm deactivated.
“The room is supposed to be
alarmed. For some reason that alarm
wasn’t working,” said Michael
Bloebaum, the chairperson of the corn-
relations between Korea, especially
South Korea, and the United States
since the days of Japanese imperialism
through the Cold War.
Though Koreans are a major ethnic
group in the United States, they are
often hidden behind the shadows of the
Chinese and the Japanese. Robinson’s
lecture is intended to help shed some
light on the often ignored Korean cul¬
ture.
Furthermore, his lecture will explore
and examine the consecutive waves of
politicale exiles, students, orphans and
war brides who emigrated to the United
States.
munications department.
“Unfortunately when you have ex¬
pensive equipment you have to find a
compromise between letting the stu¬
dents use it and locking it away. We can
only do so much,” he said.
As far as tightening security,
Bloebaum said that students cannot use
the room unless an instructor is avail¬
able to let them in and oversee the use
of the room. “New equipment is sup¬
posed to be bolted down to the stand on
which it rests. Apparently there was an
oversight when this machine was in¬
stalled. It was not bolted down,” added
Bloebaum.
“We’ve ordered another one but
that’s $3,000 out of our budget that
could be put to better use,” Bloebaum
said.
$3,000 Video Recorder Stolen