Since 1915
VOL. 86 NO. 28
www.pcc-courieronline.com
May 3, 2001
"1 - H
Щ
A Different View
*The AS elections are
over and multi-award
winning columnist, Jon
Heller is disgusted.
*After a promising start
with lots of student
interest, this week's
elections prove that the
.body electorate, not the
'candida'-es. are full of
SEE PAGE 2
'Congressional Visit
Representative Adam Schiff
dropped by campus to
jneet-and -greet with stu¬
dents and instructors in a
cutting-edge language pro¬
gram.
SEE PAGE 3
Striking sets
Students aspiring to
work in the entertain-
.nent industry, but not
necessarily in front of
the camera, are getting
a chance to shine and
(jrab the spotlight in
their own right. They're
building the sets for the
theater productions.
SEE page 4
sFoOT FETISH
"Hacky Sack" has long
been a staple on college
campuses. Don't be left
/aut, get in on the fad, the
"Courier" gives you step-
by-step instructions and
tips on honing your skills
to footbag fun.
?Sut remember to bring
your sack.
SEE PAGE 4.
Election results in: no one cares
Angela Ortiz and her RTD slate wins the two-day AS election,
but only 656 out of nearly 29,000 students turn out to vote
By Kristen Glover
Managing Editor
In a scene reminiscent of the
vote counting in Florida just a
few months ago, a small group of
women poured over ballots last
night-counting and discussing.
Candidates’ ears were to the door,
waiting impatiently for the
results, quietly bantering with
each other. And after all of the
drama, we have an Associated
Student (AS) president-and
unlike the American electorate
the student body didn’t need to
wait three months for the final
count. Angela Ortiz of the
Restitution Through Democracy
(RTD) slate won by 191 voles.
Echoes of congratulations and
sympathy reverberated in the
small room. Cheers exploded out
of winning candidates’ mouths.
And then there were some win¬
ners who looked like losers.
Keenan Bernard Gosset, who was
elected to hold the office of vice
president of campus activities,
was disappointed with the win¬
ning candidates’ rapport, “It’s not
really cool to cheer with out¬
bursts in front of the candidates
who lost. I’m happy, but 1 don’t
Matt Robinson
/
The Courier
The “Tonight Show” host tests the nursery-rhyme knowledge of students on location at the Sculpture Garden.
Live from PCC it’s
By Mike Cervantes
Staff Writer
Welcome back JafiMno. It was only JjisVN ovember that Leno and his crew
made it out to PCC for his “Jaywalking” segment on “The Tonight Show,” so his
return to campus on Monday caught some people off guard.
Especially the scholars at PCC that were put on camera
and asked about something as easy as little kids stories.
“We’re going to be asking them about nursery rhymes.
We got easier questions this time. The last ones were
apparently too hard,” Leno said when he got on campus.
Leno arrived at about 9 a.m. with his crew.
With camera man, boom mike operator and writers,
Leno and company set up camp at the Sculpture Garden
looking for some smart-looking PCC students.
As so.on as Leno situated himself, a crowd followed to
shake hands with “The Tonight Show” host and watch
students get in front of the camera and reveal what their
knowledge, or lack of it.
Last time “Jaywalking” was at PCC, some students
weren’t able to answer simple questions about
Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims and what they ate.
So it was time for PCC’s best and brightest to make up
for it.
Well, they didn’t make up for anything. As a matter of
fact Leno left with another comedy segment that ran on
Tuesday.
The most popular questions were these: What is por¬
ridge? What is a tuffet? And who was the man that turned straw into gold?
Second-year PCC student Jonathan Smith said a tuffet is a hiney.
Ryan McLauhlin, a music major, was somewhat confused with the rhyme
Courier file photo
Jay Leno has become a regular figure on campus.
see Leno, PAGE 8
feel that 1 need to show it.”
Оце
candidate, Manuel
Rangel, proclaimed victory before
results had been released, yelling
“I WON!” in the hallway of the C
Building. Rangel did win, and
was elected to the position of vice
president of internal affairs.
However, with only 656 stu¬
dents voting, less than 1 percent
of the student population, candi¬
dates didn’t really have much to
cheer for. This low of a turnout
has been common at PCC in
years past.
>- see Election, PAGE 5
Cesar Macias/ The Courier
Volunteers from the League of Women Voters, Pasadena area oversee the 2001
AS election where only less than 1 percent of eligible voters participated.
Faculty meet to
plan
СТА
challenge
Candidates get ready to take on union leaders
By Bethany Johnson
Staff writer
Full-and part-time faculty members fed up with the current ruling
board of the local teacher’s union are meeting today to plan their attack
to oust the board.
Tensions have been mounting as two coalitions running in the local
СТА
election continue to inundate the campus with fliers and try to
influence faculty members’ votes.
For the first time in approximately a decade, a slate of full-and part-
time faculty members are challenging the current governing California
Teacher’s Association
(СТА)
board and may possibly have the strength
to unseat it.
They are holding the meeting in the Forum at noon. “This meeting
is an opportunity for union members to
meet pro-faculty candidates, find out
what union members want and try to
expand representation. We will present
our platform and gather what ideas,
views, complaints and opinions union
members have,” said Karen Carlisi
instructor in the division of English and
foreign languages, who is running for
vice president.
Mike Riherd, professor of English and
a directorial candidate on the chal¬
lenger’s slate, says that there are “under¬
lying feelings of anger and frustration”
that have fueled both campaigns.
Whether or not this is a part-time
takeover of the
СТА
by the challenging
coalition has been argued back and -
forth.
In a recent “Courier” article, Bill Cushing, a part-time instructor,
said, “This is to take the union back, not over.”
Up for re-election are president Gary Woods, professor of business
education, vice president Elvio Angeloni, professor of social sciences,
secretary Mabel Duncan of the Community Education Center (CEC),
and director Daniel Petta instructor in the division of physical educa¬
tion.
The challengers are John Jacobs, professor of art, for president,
Suzanne Anderson of the division of social sciences for secretary,
Carlisi, Riherd, and part-timer Preston Rose.
Fliers advertising the intentions of the new slate contradict the
claims made on leaflets distributed by the current board.
One of the major issues they address is how involved the faculty is
in decision-making within the union.
“They make less and less effort to represent the faculty,” said Riherd
of the current board members. “One of our criticisms is the great dis¬
tance between the board and faculty."
The challenging coalition says on one of its fliers that it wants “reg¬
ular and open meetings of the union membership,” insinuating that
the
СТА
does not currently hold such meetings.
A two-page document given to the “Courier" by Woods said that the
СТА
currently holds regular open meetings.
>> SEE
СТА,
PAGE 4
“This meeting is an
opportunity for union
members to meet pro¬
faculty candidates, find
out what union mem¬
bers want and try to
expand representa¬
tion.”
Karen Carlisi, instructor
in the English and foreign
languages department
AW i
А'&Л
валух
4 “to»
Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at PCC
Matt Robinson
/
The Courier
A microfiche copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls are accessible for viewing at PCC.
By Peter Mason Hauge
Courier Correspondent
Why did God ask Abraham to
kill his only son Issac? What
were Moses’s father's last words?
Where would a student have
to go around here to read and
find the answers to some of the
oldest biblical questions in the
world? The answers have been
right here in PCC’s Shatford
Library for more than four years
now, and you probably didn’t
even know it.
Since 1996, PCC has had a full
and complete copy of the Dead
Sea Scrolls on permanent loan
from The Huntington Library.
That makes this campus one of
only 40 institutions in the world
to possess a copy. Before that
only a small group of biblical
scholars had the chance to study
the scrolls.
“When the Dead Sea Scrolls
were first discovered, they were a
major scandal in Biblical
research. A lot of people thought
it would debunk Christianity, so
no one wanted anyone to read
and translate the scrolls,” said Dr.
Robert Zeuschner, associate pro¬
fessor in the social sciences divi¬
sion.
Zeuschner said the debate died
and the scrolls have become read¬
ily available to scholars.
However, this isn't the first time
PCC has housed a copy of the
scrolls. Nearly 15 years ago, a
Northern California woman
willed a copy to the Huntington
Library. Huntington officials
decided to give scholars easier
access to the scrolls by housing
them at the college’s library.
We were honored to be offered
the scrolls, said Mary Ann Laun,
director of Shatford Library. “It’s
wonderful to have the access for
the students.”
When the Huntington was in
search of a depository for the
scrolls it was former PCC reli¬
gious studies instructor, Joseph
Di Massa who was instrumental
in the acquisition.
“It really didn’t take much
>- SEE Scrolls, PAGE 3
t,