PCC Courier, March 23, 2006

Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915 March 23, 2006 pcc-courieronline.com Vol. 93, Issue 5 Student T rustee Wins By Landslide Dean Lee News Editor In a special election held for the office of student trustee, hundreds cast their votes online March 16 in what AS members considered a sur¬ prisingly large turnout, electing Connie Chung for the position with 235 votes. “I’m very happy with the election results,” said Stephen Juarez, the stu¬ dent body president. “I was very sur¬ prised that 352 students voted, espe¬ cially in a special election.” Before coming to PCC last year, Chung said she has always been active in both politics and journalism. She also said she “blamed” it all on her parents who intentionally named her after broadcast journalist Connie Chung, who has been on every major news outlet in the United States. “As an Asian-American woman, I really admire Connie Chung for her talent and diligence,” Chung said. “As successful as she is, I would real¬ ly like to establish the name ‘Connie Chung’ for myself as an activist deter¬ mined to make a difference in this world.” Chung made representing interna¬ tional students at PCC a main priori¬ ty in her campaign for trustee. She said she felt connected with foreign students after visiting the DMZ divid¬ ing North Korea and South Korea as an American student ambassador. “I think that’s what really sparked my interest in international relations, especially analyzing the tension between North Korea and the U.S.” Chung said. “What I find discourag¬ ing is the ignorance towards foreign¬ ers in the U.S. amongst many Americans and yet, in South Korea, Koreans idolize Americans like crazy." Among her other accomplish¬ ments in leadership, Chung has been a judge at local and national forensics tournaments. Recently she judged the Cal invitational at UC Berkeley and the Southern California Urban Debate League’s state-qualifying tournament. “I believe communication, whether it be writing or speaking to the public, is vital to social change,” Chung said. She has also contributed to the newspaper L.A. Youth, taking pho¬ tographs and writing articles ranging from gay rights to a recipe article on vegan oatmeal banana chocolate chip [see Trustee, PAGE 3] Orlando Pina / Courier Resident Genius: Musical artist in residence Jerome Lowenthal helped CSU Northridge piano major Sona Gevorgyan, one of 10 piano students visiting from various colleges, fine-tune their performances in his master class held in Harbeson Hall on March 18. -Story on Page 6 Campus Petitioners Abound Bike Theft Victim Accused of Crime Jorge Correa Staff Writer It was a long walk home for PCC student Klim O’Connor, 19, on Tuesday around midnight after he was questioned, handcuffed and arrested for “stealing” his own bike that morn¬ ing. noticeable cut on the lock that was halfway through and that wasn’t there before.” O’Connor was happy that at least his bike was still there, but could not find his key to unlock it. He attempted to free the bike without the key, but it was still securely fastened to the rack. As he searched for the key in his bag, a O’Connor himself had already suf- janitor approached and asked fered a bike theft last year when his O’Connor if anything was wrong, bike was snatched from the U building. When campus police Officer George PCC Police held O’Connor a little Ito appeared, O’Connor knew the jani- Adrianna Jones Staff Writer A question is currently circulat¬ ing around campus: why are there so many petitioners here trying to get signatures, and what for? “I’m tired of being stopped and forced to sign not one but seven dif¬ ferent petitions,” said student Rita Manoukian. “It’s driving me crazy.” Jesse Knor, another student at PCC, asked, “Who are these people and why are they allowed on campus?” Petitioners are abundant at uni¬ versities and colleges throughout Southern California. Petitioners who come on the PCC campus work for several different hiring compa¬ nies, depending on the petition to be signed. Some are paid hourly, work¬ ing eight-hour days, while others are paid for each signature they obtain. Anyone can be a petitioner, as long as they are registered voters and res¬ idents of Pasadena. “It’s easy money,” said one peti¬ tioner, who asked to remain anony¬ mous. “All you need is to get some¬ one to sign a paper.” Although not all petitioners felt the same, some felt that signatures were needed to make a difference in the community. “The petitions are developed by lawyers of different companies to get signatures to change a bill or law that has been or will be passed,” said another petitioner who also wished to remain anonymous. The first amendment allows peti¬ tioners to be on campus, but they still must follow PCC protocol. According to PCC Police officer Michael Despain, petitioners first Orlando Piiia / Courier jSEE pETm0NERS PAGE 7] Candy Men: Petitioners give out candy and snacks to draw potential signers to their table. Debate Team Places at Face-Off over two hours after suspicion arose that he was about to steal a bike that was locked up on a bike rack next to the GM building on campus. O’Connor works late evenings help¬ ing out a paraplegic who lives in an apartment within walking distance of PCC. Like many other PCC students, his bike is his primary means of trans¬ portation. After getting off work around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, O’Connor walked back to campus to retrieve his bike and go home. “I noticed immediately that some¬ one already tried to steal the bike,” O’Connor said. “The cable had a tor had reported him. O’Connor said that after he was handcuffed and placed in the back of the police car Officer Ito repeatedly asked O’Connor, “Where are the bolt cutters?” By losing his key, O’Connor also lost his proof that the bike belonged to him. “The only way I can prove that the bike is mine is by bringing in the friend whom I bought that bike from,” he said. Campus police later determined that the bike in question belonged to O’Connor. The bike was returned to him yesterday afternoon. We Are the Champions: Lisa Obermeit and Mazer Barakat won the bronze and silver awards, respectively, at the competition on March 22. Richard Quinton / Courier Chinese Language Proficiency Exam Offered Rickie Carbajal Staff Writer For the third consecutive year, PCC will offer the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), the only standard¬ ized Chinese language proficiency exam recognized by the People’s Republic of China. The exam in the only one of its kind to offer a wide range of profi¬ ciency levels with sections on listen¬ ing, speaking, reading and writing. Students who pass the exam on May 13 will receive official certification of proficiency in either basic, begin¬ ning-intermediate or advanced lev¬ els. This can be useful for various educational and employment pur¬ poses, and qualifies the test taker for an HSK scholarship to study in China during the summer. As China rapidly globalizes, the HSK proficiency exam is used as a general standard to measure compe¬ tency in Chinese. Students can choose from basic, beginning-inter¬ mediate, and advanced levels in pro¬ ficiency, and have either traditional or simplified character versions of the exam. Though the exam is the only one of its kind offered throughout Southern California, it has gained international credibility since its development in 1998. “This test is offered around the world in more than 100 countries,” said Chinese language professor Dr. Cathy Wei. “Ever since it was estab¬ lished in 1998 there have been nearly 400, 000 test takers, so you can see this is a really popular and important test.” Passing the exam opens up a number of qualifications for the test taker, as they can use their certifica¬ tion for either school or the job mar¬ ket. “The proficiency test can cover the foreign language requirements for PCC and can carry over when you apply to a four-year institution,” said Wei. Along with meeting the foreign language prerequisites, this [see Chinese Exam, PAGE 7] Caroline Ikeji Managing Editor The forensics team returned Sunday from Concord, where they had a strong performance at the California Community College Forensics Association State Championship. Mazen Barakat received a silver in the parliamentary Lincoln Douglas debate, in which he argued about sev¬ eral different socially significant top¬ ics. “English is his third language, so he’s had to work twice as hard,” said team coach Rita Gonzalez. Lisa Obermeit received a bronze in informative speaking with her speech on human chimerism, a genetic condition in which one per¬ son has two sets of DNA. “It’s awesome [to place],” she said. “It’s a privilege to go, and mak¬ ing finals is amazing. It’s exciting.” Students earn awards when they advance to the final rounds of the events. The finalists are then catego¬ rized into gold, silver and bronze based on their point total. PCC fielded a team of nine at the tournament. Almost 30 schools com¬ peted at the event. “We’re very proud of the students that were successful,” said team coach Stephanie Hood. “It shows that hard work pays off.” Obermeit added, “Everyone did such a great job. We have a very good team.” The team also did well at the Pacific Southwest Collegiate Forensics Association Spring Championship Tournament, which took place from Feb. 24 to 26. Obermeit advanced to the finals with the same speech, while team mem¬ bers Marshall Roe and Charles Huang took third place in the junior division parliamentary debate, in which they argued about Iranian nuclear warfare. At the tournaments, students compete in a variety of events at four different levels. The events range from impromptu speaking, in which speakers are only given a few minutes to prepare, to platform speaking, which includes informative and per¬ suasive speaking, to readers theater, which is sort of like a play in which speakers engage in dialogue. Most students compete in several events at these tournaments. Students are placed into the levels - rookie, novice, [see Debate Team, PAGE 7]