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Pasadena Oity College
Entertainment
Nima Collective
performs on
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Volume 101, Issue 5
"The Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915."
Thursday, March 25, 2010
54% tuition fee increase?
LAO proposal stirs debate among trustees
Catherine Sum
Staff Writer
With a recommendation to
increase student fees at communi¬
ty colleges to $40 per unit by a top
California budget watchdog
agency on the table, PCC officials
are looking for a position to take
on the issue.
The primary role of that agency,
known as the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO), is to be a nonparti¬
san oversight committee which
reviews and analyzes the "opera¬
tions and finances of state govern¬
ment," according to its website.
In its breakdown of Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's 2010-2011 state
budget, one of LAO's core recom¬
mendations for the higher educa¬
tion sector is to raise community
college enrollment fees by $14 per
unit.
"Any significant fee increase is
unfortunate," said Trustee William
Thomson. "It's just that the state is
in such an economic mess that I
don't know what options they
have. But I would hope that they
don't go forward with increasing
fees."
Raising the fee by $14 per unit
would result in cost of $40 per
unit, thus generating about $150
million in new fee revenue for
community colleges, said Steve
Boilard, LAO's higher education
director, in a public webcast.
"This would provide funding
for about 26,000 more full-time
community college slots," Boilard
said.
During its March 3 meeting,
Board of Trustees President Hilary
Bradbury-Huang introduced the
topic of the suggested increase and
the board voted 5-1 (with approval
from Student Trustee Brian
Abadia) to bring it back as an
agenda item.
The issue, said Bradbury-
Huang, is how the board of
trustees would "give voice" to
how it wants its position to be pre¬
sented. "I think as a board I would
want us to have that conversa¬
tion," she said.
California community college
students currently pay $26 per unit
Continued on page 7
Students
join in
anti-war
protest
Stephanie Guzman
Staff Writer
PCC students marched through
the streets of Hollywood on
Saturday to protest on the wars in
the Middle East. The demonstra¬
tion "March to Stop the Wars" was
organized by anti-war group
Answer LA.
The protest caused a few clo¬
sures including a huge stretch of
Hollywood Boulevard. The march
started at the intersection of
Hollywood and Vine and made its
way onto Orange Drive, where the
dosing speeches took place. Many
onlookers including visitors and
business owners went outside of
stores to see the rally.
The protest occurred on the sev¬
enth anniversary of United States'
invasion in Iraq, which started the
Iraqi war in 2003.
Seven years later, many people
who attended the march are still
angry with the government for not
ending the war and bringing the
troops back to the U.S.
At least 25 PCC students attend¬
ed the protest, less than the 100
students who protested at the
March 4 rally on education.
Campus clubs including Students
for Social Justice and MEchA
joined the rally.
Mayra Jaimes, history, was
Continued on page 5
Chi Hong Wong/Courier
PCC student Ahmad Kasfy carries a coffin in the anti-war protest in Hollywood on
Saturday.
New arts
building
is delayed
Sammy Zenner-Becerra
and Aubrey Quezada
Staff Writers
Construction for the new Center for the Arts
building has been delayed by up to a year because
plans are awaiting approval by the State Architect,
a college official said.
"We need to get their approval prior to going out
to bid," said Interim Vice President of
Administrative Services Richard P. van Pelt. "We
have had our plans in for review since December
2008. What should have been a four-month process
has now turned into at least a 15-month process to
date."
PCC has been expecting to be out of DSA for
months, but it is expected that within the next num¬
ber of weeks the bid will be approved said Van Pelt.
"We have been there for a long time."
Van Pelt called the services of the State Architect
not only horrible, but cynical as well. "While every¬
one is trying to jump-start the economy, and PCC is
ready, willing, and able to start on a $40 million
project, the DSA is sitting on its hands. We were
ready to begin construction six months ago, and yet
we continue to wait. It is very frustrating for all of
us."
Although construction of the building has been
delayed, van Pelt predicts the Center for the Arts,
which will house the Visual Arts and Media Studies
division as well as the Performing and
Communication Arts division, will take two years
to build. "Therefore we are now looking at moving
in during the summer of 2012," he said.
All the programs that will use the new facilities
are in either their current permanent space, or in
temporary space, said van Pelt.
Continued on page 2
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Lancers
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LA Harbor
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