Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915
Courier
- PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
Border Bill
Stirs
Students
Page 8
March 30, 2006
pcc-courieronline.com
Vol. 93, Issue 6
Fight For Your Right: Students from Pasadena Unified School District high schools protested the HR 4437 bill on
the Colorado Boulevard stretch on Monday. -See
раде
8
Staff" Defends Feral Cats
Identity Theft a Growing Concern
Christina Bustamante
Staff Writer
Identity theft is a growing crime
here in the United States. Last year
alone, more than 10 million
Americans, including students, were
victims of identity theft, a crime
that cost them roughly $5 billion.
For the past two years scam
artists pretending to be government
officials have contacted students
from PCC and other colleges, offer¬
ing them $5,000 or more in unused
state grants. All the students need to
do is provide their bank account
number and pay a fee of $289.
Not only is federal and state
financial aid free, but government
officials don’t call students.
Authorities have been able to deter¬
mine that cell phones have been at
least one common denominator in
these scams, as well as email, home
phones and regular mail.
“We, are not able to ascertain
where these people get their infor¬
mation in order to contact the stu¬
dents,” said Kim Miles, assistant
dean of financial aid. “Some stu¬
dents have given out this informa¬
tion and luckily others have been
wise to the scams.”
It is still unclear where these
calls are coming from. Government
officials believe they are made from
L.A., Las Vegas, India and
Pakistan. Officials do not know
who the scam artists are or how
they are using the money they
receive.
Recently, scam artists have
begun trying to obtain credit card
information because it’s an easier
and faster way tb get the money.
Most students are informed about
the basic rules of protecting their
physical well being and possessions,
such as walking in well-lit areas,
traveling in groups and locking
doors and windows. But too many
students don’t know the basics of
protecting their identity. The U.S.
Department of Education is warn¬
ing students to never give out their
personal information, not even to
best friends. They are also launch¬
ing an intense effort to reach college
students and graduates about how
they can guard their identity
If these scam artists have con¬
tacted you, first contact your bank.
Then report the scam to the U.S.
Department of Education at 1-800-
MISUSED or oiqhotline@ed.gov.
Also be sure to report this to the
Federal Trade Commission at 1-
877-FTC-HELP or www.ftc.gov.
Last but not least, notify the police.
“There are a lot of scams out
there,” Miles said. “I just want stu¬
dents to be aware of what they are
doing when they line up to sign a
petition just for a free gift, or sign a
credit card application just for a free
meal. They have to take more
responsibility; this is a changing
world.”
Bugs Infest
D Building
Rickie Carbajal
Staff Writer
Over the past two weeks, an infes¬
tation of subterranean termites has
emerged in the Learning Assistance
Center, located in D105. The prob¬
lem was minimally noticeable until
the termites began to spew out from a
crack in the room’s wall.
The labs were temporarily shut
down for a preliminary extermina¬
tion on Wednesday after students
began to complain. The final exter¬
mination is scheduled to take place
over the Cesar Chavez holiday. D105
and the adjoining rooms will remain
opened until then.
The termite infestation was, at
first, not a major issue, mainly
because the termites had not yet
matured or dispersed throughout the
structural wooden frames of D 105.
The most likely cause of their inhab-
itance in the building is the recent
surge of rain in the area, which
could have created a viable source of
moisture that attracted the termites.
However, last Wednesday stu¬
dents began to complain about flying
insects distracting them from work¬
ing on their assignments. “It’s nasty,”
said student Quiana Adams. “You
can’t even concentrate. You put so
much money into computers, but
you can’t have a good building to
work in? It’s crazy.”
When the problem was reported
to Hollis Stewart, the center’s techni¬
cian, he called facilities services to
conduct a preliminary extermination
after taking a look for himself and
noticing that a colony of termites
had been seeping out from a wall
towards the back of D 105
The labs were temporarily closed
in order to investigate the infestation
later that day. “I certainly wouldn’t
want to be in there myself if there’s
something like that in there,” Stewart
said.
The main problem with the ter¬
mites, aside from their annoyance to
students, is that they can devour util¬
ity poles and other structures within
the building, causing power failures
as they chew through electrical
wires. This would create a pending
issue for an entire floor with comput¬
er facilities or perhaps even spread to
other building and cause more dam¬
age throughout the campus.
For now, the issue is under con¬
trol by facility services and a thor¬
ough extermination will take place
this weekend. “They’re working on
it,” stated a representative from facil¬
ity services. “We haven’t received
any other complaints, so as far as we
know it hasn’t spread.”
However, if there are any other
signs of insect infestations through¬
out the campus, they should be
reported to facility services at (626)
585-7277.
Daniel Lottes
/
Courier
Field of Dreams: Construction on the Robinson Stadium
field is estimated to be completed by May of this year.
Artificial Field
May Be Safer
Chris Awad
Staff Writer
The project currently underway to
give Robinson Stadium a facelift with
artificial turf may also provide a safer
environment for sports. During the
Jan. 18 board of trustees meeting,
several faculty members spoke in
favor of the new field.
Dr. James Arnwine, interim divi¬
sion dean of the performing and com¬
munication arts department, said the
old grass field was difficult for the
marching band to practice in and, at
times, was a safety hazard to students
and visiting athletes. This could pos¬
sibly be due to a combination of the
rigorous use of the field and the
weather, which has created divots and
dirt patches along the uneven terrain.
Dr. Hilary Bradbury-Huang, a
member of the board, remarked that
the new field would have a positive
effect on the environment by elimi¬
nating water waste, mower emissions,
fertilizers and insecticides.
Mr. Alberto Juarez of the social
science department stated that stu¬
dents are in favor of the artificial turf
because many take RE. classes and
use the facilities regularly. The new
field would provide state-of-the-art
amenities for track and field athletics.
Juarez went on to say that the new
turf would provide a much safer envi¬
ronment for extracurricular activities
such as football and pep squad.
Earlier this year the board
approved the turf project, which has
taken much planning, funding and
evaluation over the last three and a
half years. The new field is being
funded by three sources: the district’s
Capital Projects Fund, the
Tournament of Roses in support of
their annual Bandfest, and Mike
Brown of Sharp Seeding, who gener¬
ously donated $300,000 for this proj¬
ect. Although the artificial turf is cost¬
ing approximately $1,000,000 the col¬
lege estimates it will save $50,000 a
year in maintenance and water that
will no longer be needed.
The board has chosen Sprinturf,
an ultra-blade, synthetic turf field.
The life expectancy of a Sprinturf
field is approximately ten to fifteen
years. However, the contractor guar¬
antees full replacement for eight
years.
The board originally estimated
[see Field, PAG E 3 1
Dean Lee
News Editor
Several staff members have
become outspoken in defense of the
feral cat population on campus, stat¬
ing that the current problem stems
not from the cats, but from an email
sent by the president’s office during
the winter.
Patricia Krause and Susan
Wagner, both in fiscal services, said
they received an email from campus
president Dr. James Kossler’s office,
formally ordering faculty, students
and staff to immediately stop feeding
the cats.
“The feral cat issue is now being
handled by Mr. Peter Hardash, vice
president for administrative servic¬
es,” wrote Kossler in an email dated
Tuesday. “Mr. Jorge Aguiniga, dean
of human resources is assisting Mr.
Hardash.”
Kossler also said that Hardash is
in charge of any future direction the
issue takes.
“I really can’t talk about this
because it’s now a personal issue,”
Hardash said. “We have contacted
health services because some of our
maintenance workers feel that their
heath is at risk. That’s all I can really
say.”
Krause said she had personally
been feeding the cats for over two
decades without any problems. She
has even gone so far as to adopt eight
cats from PCC over the years.
Kris Calnon
/
Courier
Weary: Cats on campus watch students and faculty in
hopes of a free meal.
“The cats are championed by
many people on campus,” Krause
said. “It surprised me that this got so
suddenly blown out of proportion.
There was a fund set up and people
contributed for food and litter. They
were well taken care of.”
Other PCC campus employees
explained that the reason students
are seeing more cats, most noticeably
along side the L building, is because
they are not being fed and are now
coming out looking for food.
Staff members in fiscal services
also mentioned that Richard Van
Pelt, director of facilities services,
had the shrubbery around the L
Building cut down. This further
exposed the cats, which like to hide
in the bushes.
“It seems like there are a lot more
cats, but actually the number is about
the same,” Krause said. “What we
do have is a new family of cats and
most of them are very young.”
Through research, Krause and
Wagner said the solution lies in
implementing SNIP, a program
within the Humane Society.
According to the Humane Society’s
website, just leaving food out for
feral cats can cause more harm than
good. However, a responsible care¬
giver can stabilize the population,
reduce wandering, limit possible
conflicts with cats outside the colony
and keep the cats healthier.
“Both the PCC administration
and the people caring for the cats
have contacted us in the last two
weeks,” said Ricky Whitman, vice
president of the Pasadena Humane
Society. “We did offer our services,
but for us to get involved there has to
be a caretaker. We have to know that
the population is being looked after.
If someone wants to trap the cats, we
will spay or neuter them at no cost.”
Whitman also said that even
though the cats need a caretaker
there is a potential health issue for
anyone that handles the cats. Feral
cats can have diseases and there is no
true way to tell.
“We can actually make a differ¬
ence, but we need cooperation from
the administration,” Kraus said.
Most college campuses have feral
cat populations. The highest popula¬
tions are at four-year schools, such as
Caltech, where students temporarily
adopt cats and than abandon them
when they leave.