OPINION
INSIGHT
PRO/CON:
Is the use of
children in a
nude photo
book wrong?
STUDENT INVESTMENT:
Is the Internet the best
way to play the market?
Young people have more
choices then ever
SPORTS
FAREWELL GYM:
After years of
use, the old
building is slated
for demolition
Visit us on the World Wide Web @
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
http://www.geocities.com/~pccnewscourier/
VOL. 83 NO. 22
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
Courier
THURSDAY
MARCH 26, 1998
Counterfeit Money Found:
JOSE MANCILLA
/
THE COURIER
“We notified all entities that receive money on
campus and advised them to use counterfeit
detection pens , ”
John Corrigan,
campus police investigator
Security:
Measures have
been taken to
prevent similar
situations
By USA MENCHACA
Courier Staff Writer
A spate of counterfeit money
spending was reported on campus
prior to spring break. The phony
bills were received within days of
each other by the bookstore and
cafeteria, said Don Williams, gener¬
al manager of the cafeteria.
The fake bills were taken to the
central campus cashier, said John
Corrigan, campus police investiga¬
tor. The phony money was detected
when the cashier was counting daily
totals.
Counterfeits were all in small
denominations. Corrigan said that a
$5 bill was used at the bookstore as
well as four $20 bills and a $10 bill
which were used at the cafeteria.
There were no reports of large bills
being exchanged. Douglas Ferris,
manager of the bookstore, believes
that smaller bills were used because
the chance of someone noticing
them was minimal.
"All of the bills were obvious
fakes,” Corrigan said. The paper
that was used to print the bills was
less grainy than real bills, the ink
was excessively blurred and there
were no strips imbedded in the bills.
After the reports were taken last
month by campus police, "the case
was turned over to the secret ser¬
vice,” said Corrigan, who did not
think that the incidents were a prob¬
lem. "There are no suspects in this
case,” he added.
“We notified all entities that
receive money on campus and
advised them to use counterfeit
detection pens,” Corrigan said.
When a bill is marked by the
pens, the ink is supposed to turn
brown if it is fake and stays yellow
if it is real.
Though the pens are not fool
proof; however they do help to pre¬
vent the dissemination of counter¬
feit money.
“The bookstore, library, cafete¬
ria, student bank, and all other cam¬
pus entities that receive money
should be utilizing the pens,” added
Corrigan.
“We have trained our staff and
made photocopies of the counterfeit
bills,” said Williams. Sometimes it
gets so busy in the cafeteria that it is
hard to study all of the bills that
come through, but employees at the
cafeteria are now using the detector
pens.
Officials at the bookstore also
made copies of the phony bills to
show employees what to look for.
Detection pens are being used to
limit the risk of taking in hikes,
Ferris said. It is felony to use false
bills. Anyone convicted of using
them faces two years in prison.
DANIEL ARCHULETA
/
THE COURIER
Which bill is real? The $10 note on top is the authentic article. The one below has an
irregular border and its color isn’t consistent with the other. The use of phony bills
has prompted campus police to contact outside authorities to help deal with the situa¬
tion. (Right) Campus transactions may now have to be monitored with heavier scruti¬
ny now that fake currency has been detected at various locations.
ASSOCIATED STUDENTS
Students Approve Constitution
By CHRISTINE GOMEZ
Courier Staff Writer
The results are in and the majority of students voted yes. The
Associated Students have a new constitution.
Students voted on the document during a special election a week
prior to spring break. Only 132 out of 28,000 eligible students cast
ballots with 96 voting to approve.
AS president Aaron Schaefer began the re-write of the constitu¬
tion last summer. Yusef Robb, student trustee, and Mike Gorzynski.
vice president of external affairs, helped in reworking the document.
This task took more than six months, said Schaefer.
“After working on this project for so long, it has finally passed.
This is a really good constitution. It redefines student government
and it’s good for students and the school. The new constitution will
also make the AS look good in the future with accreditation points,”
he added. The last time the college underwent accreditation review,
tire committee singled out the old AS Constitution as something that
had to be rewritten.
The board next plans to rewrite by-laws that are now inconsistent
with the revised constitution. Schaefer also said after they finish the
by-laws, they will work on election codes. Schaefer hopes that stu¬
dent participation will improve in future elections.
“If 132 people voted and the trend is up, hopefully when we get
to student elections, that will come up as well. Considering the hard
Please see VOTE, page 4
Mike
Gorzyn¬
ski at a
recent
meeting.
JOSE
MANCILLA
THE
COURIER
CECILIO MURILLO
/
THE COURIER
Monetary problems have not plagued the various projects that are ongoing.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Budget Well Within Limits
By JASON KOSAREFF
Courier Staff Writer
Funding for campus construction has
remained within budget despite limitations
by the state. Unprecedented growth has creat¬
ed a huge financial demand that has been met
by college officials.
Work on the new physical education facil¬
ities, including the new stadium amounts to
$22 million, two thirds of the college’s entire
capital outlay projects fund of $33,922,359.
State money would not pay for items such
as scoreboards, an all-weather track and the
visitor section for the stadium. To raise tire
needed money, the college went to the PCC
foundation, which was successful in raising
$500,000 from the Pacific Athletic
Conference and the BIG 10.
Bidding was another potential setback.
All responding contractors came in over tire
planned budget. The situation was resolved
by hiring CW Driver, a consultant firm, to
divide the project into 43 separate contracts.
The construction budget hasn’t run into
any unexpected financial pitfalls. Rod
Fleeman, vice president of administrative
services, said it's impossible to go over-bud-
get because contractors sign a guarantee that
they will stay within the original figures.
The board of trustees recommends a
reserve of five percent of the total school
budget for emergencies or other items that
Please see BUDGET, page 4
Sex
Offender
Involved
in Fight
By JULIE DRAKE
Courier Staff Writer
A campus fight before spring
break that involved a student who is
a convicted sex offender was
referred to the city prosecutor’s
office.
A female student reported that
she was approached in the Quad by
the suspect who commented about
her breasts. Offended, she related
the man's statement to another stu¬
dent student who confronted him
about his remarks. A fist fight
between the suspect and the student
ensued and campus police were
called to break up the altercation.
The officer responding to the
call, Beatriz Samarano, heard the
suspect yell “I’m going to kick your
ass.” She ordered them to break up
the fight and attempted to detain the
man, who gave her a false name
when she asked for identification.
He jerked his arm away from
Samarano and fled with the officer
giving chase. She lost sight of him
after following him for several
Please see FIGHT, page 4