PCC Courier, March 24, 1994

PASADENA CITY COLLEGE Pasadena, California Vol. 78 No. 9 COURIER Serving the PCC Community for 76 years THURSDAY March 24, 1994 Just visiting... ANITA NARDINE/The COURIER Students from Osaka, Japan recently visited PCC’s dental lab to share experiences and learn more about the program offered by the college. Asian clubs band under one group By GILBERT RIVERA Staff Writer The Asian Student Interclub Alli¬ ance, ASIA, PCC’s first ever um- brellaclub, was formed lastmonth to increase unity among Asian stu¬ dents as well as Asian clubs on cam¬ pus. With membership of seven clubs including the Chinese Student Asso¬ ciation, the Pasadena Korean Bible Study , and the Filipino Student Coa¬ lition, ASIA’S goals are to build bridges with other races, break ste¬ reotypes of Asians, and to increase Asian student involvement on cam¬ pus. “Since Asians are a major part of the student population, we have a responsibility to participate fully in campus activities,” said Paul Kim, president of ASIA which is a non- political club. “One of the stereotypes of Asians is that we are known for our high academic performance, but are pas¬ sive on issues that affect us. That needs to change. “I also think that cooperation be¬ tween different ethnic groups is lack¬ ing in society today. ASIA’S ulti¬ mate goal is to build bridges with other groups so we can understand our differences and our commonali¬ ties,” he added. Not unlike the continent, the club encompasses a broad diversity of Asian groups. Issues concerning Asian students are discussed during Please see “ASIA,” Page 4 Act assures open meetings □ Revised Brown Act rules that all meetings of the Board of Trustees, AS and all publicly- elected bodies must be open to the public. By ANDREW McDIARMID News/Feature Editor For the Board of Trustee mem¬ bers, Associated Student Board mem¬ bers, and any other public elected bodies in the state making decisions for the public at large, the signifi¬ cance of April, 1 1994, April Fool’s Day, is not a laughing matter at all. Legislation will go into effect next week that will change the way public meetings can be held. The legislation, called the new Ralph M. Brown Act, has been doubled in length and tripled in its effect. It forms the new ground rules for public meetings. The effects on PCC will be seen in the future weeks as the AS and the Board of Trustees meetings take on new changes to adhere to the new guidelines. Rebecca Cobb, adviser to the ASB, says most of the changes are already being followed. “There has been extensive talk about the new Brown Act. Things have to be tightened for the ASB and they are working to tighten the meet¬ ings they hold,” Cobb said. The parts of the newly revised Brown Act that will affect the stu¬ dent organization are: “Legislative Body” has been added to the act to include any stu¬ dent government meetings. Any¬ thing from AS including club board meetings, all must be open and pub¬ lic meetings. Out of town meetings are no longer legal. “Regular and special meetings of the bodies shall be held within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency has ju¬ risdiction.” While there are exceptions, the AS retreat that was held this past month, would no longer be accept¬ able. Discrimination in any form is also addressed, indicating that meetings cannot be held in any facility that discriminates. “No body shall cor.- ductany meetings in any facility that prohibits the admittance of any per¬ son, on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ances¬ try, or sex.” This also includes facilities inac¬ cessible to those with disabilities, or where a fee must be paid to attend the meeting. Criticism is also something that many bodies do not appreciate. “Bodies of a local agency shall not prohibit public criticism of the poli¬ cies, procedures, programs, or ser¬ vices of the agency or of the acts or omissions of the body.” Bodies can no longer prevent the press from recording proceedings. Also, posting of details to be dis¬ cussed in closed meetings must be included in the agenda. “Any person attending an open and public meeting of a legislative body shall have the right to record the proceedings.” It also states that bodies cannot “prohibit or otherwise restrict the broadcast of its proceed¬ ings.” Another rather unique aspect of the new act is the fact that when a person goes before a legislative body with informationthat material must be made available to the audience. “Writings which are made public during a meeting, and which are distributed during a public meeting How the revised Brown Act will affect the college: ▼ All meetings must be open and public. ▼ Out of town meetings are no longer legal. ▼ Discrimination is not allowed. ▼ Criticism shall not be prohibited. ▼Meetings can be recorded shall be made available for public inspection at the meetings.” Until now, it was difficult to sue bodies for infringements of the Brown Act. “The district attorney or any interested person may commence an action by injunction for the pur¬ pose of obtaining a judicial determi¬ nation,” the act states. Organizations all over the state, including those at PCC, have been preparing for the new act to take effect. All of the agencies know, that with the legal ramifications of the newly revised act, there will be many watching to make sure they comply. Georgilas wins Faculty Senate seat □ Communications professor beats counselor Harry Kawahara for president. By JACKIE LEg Staff Writer PCC ’ s Faculty Senate Board now has four newly elected members. Anthony Georgilas, communica¬ tions professor, was elected Faculty Senate president by 25 votes. He was opposed by counselor Harry Kawahara. Georgilas won 124-99. Other new members of the Fac¬ ulty Senate Board include Ellen Reynolds, assistantprofessorof busi¬ ness, who was elected vice presi¬ dent; Philip Ricards, assistant pro¬ fessor of social sciences who was elected secretary; and Keith Oberlander, mathematics and com¬ puter sciences instructor who was elected treasurer. “Percentage of voters was 66 per¬ cent,” said Georgilas. “That shows the faculty iS interested in getting involved, and that they aren’t apa¬ thetic.” According to Georgilas, informa¬ tion was furnished to all faculty members, and every member re¬ ceived at least five pieces of infor¬ mation urging them to vote, to get out there and show that the faculty supported the Faculty Senate. Georgilas’ campaign encouraged faculty members to show support, to get involved and show an interest in voting. He also promised expanded shared governance, which was a most ap¬ pealing aspect to the voters, accord¬ ing to Georgilas. “Our goal is to be more involved with the community ,” said Georgilas. “PCC is asking for involvement, and we’ve got to get into helping the community. We must adapt also to the changing demographics of the college.” The senate will be working on developing faculty seminars which reflect the demographics of the stu¬ dent enrollment. Other goals, according to Georgilas, include fighting to keep the tuition down against the $20 tuition hike that the governor wants. “We will be working with the ad¬ ministrators to further the better¬ ment of the college. “We also need to work with other groups besides the Board of Trutees,” said Georgilas. “We must have closer ties with the Community Skills Center, and reach out to the high schools in thecom- munity.” There is also the CSEA, the California State Employees Asso¬ ciation, and ISSU, the Instructional Support Services Union, that the senate plans to get involved with. OSCAR CHAVEZ/IRC Georgilas, communications professor, assumes his post next semester. Having served at PCC for 26 years, Georgilas believes he has worked for his po¬ sition. His experience includes being Faculty Senate vice-president for four terms, and Faculty Senate represen¬ tative for eight. He has also been active on com¬ mittees such as the Academic Poli¬ cies Committee and the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. “I am most pleased with the sup¬ port, with people calling and con¬ gratulating me,” said Georgilas. Reynolds, a faculty member for 17 years, also feels honored, “I’m very excited,” she said. “I’m looking forward to partici¬ pating in shared governance. I plan to support the president in perform¬ ing work for the Faculty Senate. I will recognize the wishes of the fac¬ ulty and see that their concerns are properly addressed.” La Raza affair stresses importance of higher education □ Chicano students relate experiences in universities. By JOSE INOSTROZ Staff Writer The Cross Cultural Center and Muvimiento Estudiantii Chicano de Azltan (MEChA) sponsored a Raza College Fair Tuesday which offered Chicanos information on prospec¬ tive universities. Students from the University of Southern California, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Cal State Los Angeles were on hand to provide a first hand account of the Chicano experience at the university level. Speaking to an audience of about 30 students made up of mostly Chicano’s, USC students Valerie Cuevas and Tomas Duran, who are also in USC’s MEChA chapter explained the benefits of the univer¬ sity experience. “If the opportunity presents itself, you shouldn’t say no,” said Cuevas, a political science major. “It is easy to get in, but hard to get out,” she added. Although USC doesn’t have a Chicano Studies department, there are resources to help students. Both mentioned that about 60 percent of USC Chicano students drop out because they don’t take advantage of the resources and be¬ cause they aren’t clear about what they want to do. “Don’t let PCC be the only place you are going to strive for. Start working so you can have a place you can go after PCC,” Duran advised. “Allow PCC to be a stepping stone,” the sophomore civil engineering major added. He also said if students aren’t prepared to go out and find the resources, they are not going to get anywhere. Richard Reynoso, a PCC gradu¬ ate who went on to UCLA is cur¬ rently a graduate student at Cal State LA. “Don’t expect anybody to moti¬ vate you, motivation should come from yourself,” he said. “You don’t fail until you stop trying, you fail and you quit,” he added. Reynoso’ s parents were bom in a small town in Mexico. He is the first to reach the graduate level in his family. “I could have transferred to Harvard, but I didn’t want to go there. It’s not important what school you go to, you’ll get the same edu¬ cation anywhere,” said Reynoso, who is running for the Rosemead City Council. Saul Figueroa, representing Cal State Dominguez Hills and its MEChA, offered an energetic and powerful speech which became the apex of the two hour event. Jennifer Delcampo, a business major who plans to attend UC Berke¬ ley was particularly inspired by Figueroa’s speech. “Resources are out there and stu¬ dents should take advantage of it.” said Delcampo. History major and MEChA coor¬ dinator of external programs worked with Cross Cultural Center director Carrie Afuso in getting the speakers. “It was really good despite the short notice. We’re pleased with the turn¬ out.”