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COURIER
Pasadena City College
ONLINE FOU
Do you feel safer now that
Osama bin Laden is dead ?
vote at
FccCoorieKcom
Volume 103, Issue 9
“The Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 191 5.“
Thursday, May 5, 2011
d,
Bin Laden dead
Campus reacts
Amrah Khan
Managing Editor
The killing of Osama bin Laden
has left students and staff at PCC
with mixed feelings over what his
takedown means for the nation.
Word of bin Laden's death
spread like wildfire Sunday night
as breaking newscasts interrupted
reality TV
shows, smart
PCC speaks phones
OUt, page 3 buzzed with
- news 'app'
updates, and
Facebook statuses and Twitter
posts informed the public that the
terrorist's demise was not just a
rumor.
Business major Anastasia
Nilssen was taken aback by the
unexpected announcement. "I was
shocked that they finally killed
him," she said. "It took a long
time."
Luke Andryans, electrical engi¬
neering, found out via social net¬
works. "Everyone kept putting it
up on Facebook," he said. But after
five minutes of reading his friends'
updates, he got really annoyed.
"[Bin Laden's death] made a dif¬
ference, but enough already!" he
said.
Earlier that night, two Black
Hawk helicopters carrying 25 US
Navy SEALs landed outside the
million-dollar compound in
Abbottabad, Pakistan where bin
Laden lived. After commandos
breached the 10 to 18 foot walls a
five-minute firefight ensued, con¬
cluding in bin Laden's death and
the culmination of the near
decade-long manhunt for the
mass-murderer considered
responsible for the Sept. 11, 2011
attacks on America.
"Everyone thought he was in a
cave," said TVR major and Marine
Corps Veteran Donald Williamson.
"But he was smart and knew peo¬
ple wouldn't expect him to be hid¬
ing in plain sight."
Abbottabad is also the home to
the Pakistans's premier military
academy. This close proximity
does not sit well with veterans at
PCC.
"The Pakistani government shot
themselves in the foot with this
one," said Marine Corps Veteran
Jeff Main. The history major was
frustrated that the US was unlikely
to take action against Pakistan
anytime soon.
Hrair Petrosyan, history, hopes
America will look deeper into the
situation. "The US needs to inves¬
tigate what Pakistan knew," said
Petrosyan, an Army veteran. "If
they knew [bin Laden's hideout]
the whole time, it may be best to
close ties with them."
Many are skeptical of bin
Laden's death because photo¬
graphs of his corpse have not yet
been released. US officials con¬
firmed that DNA evidence was
conclusive before they buried his
Checks and balances
Kari Kase
/
Courier
From left, Interim Vice President Lisa Sugimoto, Westerbeck Trustee Hermina Allen, President Mark Rocha
and Board of Trustee President William Thomson hold a check for $4 million presented to the PCC
Foundation on the steps in front of the C Building on Tuesday.
PCC receives largest donation in history
Robert and Adrienne Westerbeck
leave $4 million for scholarships
Mercy Fabila
Staff Writer
The largest donation in PCC history, $4 million was
announced and celebrated by President Mark Rocha
at a ceremony on Tuesday.
Robert Westerbeck and his wife Adrienne, who
died in April 2010, donated the money. The couple
met at PJC when Robert was attending school and
Adrienne was a faculty member teaching music. Bob,
as he was affectionately known, graduated from the
college in 1938 and Addie taught piano until she
retired in 1971.
Rocha was enthusiastic about the donation. "This is
a wonderful expression of confidence in the college
and it is going to make dreams come true," said
Continued on page 7
"I feel like
it was the
best thing
that could
have been
done.
Celebrate America!"
Araceli Perez
Anthropology
"America
shouldn't
be so
happy
about
someone's
death. Osama deserved
a fair trial.
Jordan Perreira, Business
body in the Arabian Sea.
English major Matthew Sanders
understands why people want to
verify the evidence with their own
eyes, but believes it may be best to
keep the pictures under wraps. "I
know [the Obama] administration
is a lot more respectful of Islamic
tradition and sensitivities, than the
Bush administration," said
Sanders. "There was a lot of back¬
lash when we showed Saddam
[Hussein]'s sons' dead faces."
Petrosyan sees it differently. "I
would like to see the body," he
said. "They should have kept it
longer."
In an interview with "60
Minutes" conducted yesterday,
President Barack Obama told the
public why the images would not
be released. "It is important to
make sure that very graphic pho¬
tos of somebody who was shot in
the head are not floating around as
an incitement to additional vio¬
lence or as a propaganda tool," he
Continued on page 7
Grievances voiced
during rally for rights
Natalie Sehn Weber
Staff Writer
More than 100 students and fac¬
ulty withstood the sweltering
afternoon sun to attend a students'
rights rally sponsored by a new
grassroots umbrella organization,
Students for PCC, in front of the C
Building on Tuesday.
Ten speakers, from various clubs
and the Associated Students
board, aired grievances related to
section cuts, administrative deci¬
sion-making and students' free¬
dom of speech.
The predominant theme: more
students must get involved in
order to save the quality of their
education. The unwavering objec¬
tion: considering the recent, dras¬
tic budget cuts, President Mark
Rocha's plan to hire new vice pres¬
idents was, at best, ill-timed.
Sociology major Humberto
Ortiz, 20, the first speaker and
informal rally emcee, set the tone
for the students' presentation.
"It's an exciting time. Maybe
some of you aren't aware of the
issues. Plopefully you will get
informed, motivated to participate
and [recognize] the power [stu¬
dents] have in shaping policies
and making the decisions that
affect our ... [and] the future of
other students."
Ali Oligny, a student and faculty
association intern, followed Ortiz.
Oligny outlined the struggles
both PCC students and faculty had
dealt with since the Fall 2010
semester. Increased class sizes
resulted in activist students hold¬
ing a rally near the end of the
semester and resulted in a meeting
with Rocha. It began a much-need¬
ed dialogue about administrative
decision-making between the stu¬
dents and the Associated Students.
She said the announcement in
spring that Winter 2012 would be
cancelled and 600 sections were to
be cut, "sparked a second wave of
activism on campus" and students
and Associated Students protested
the "abuse of the shared gover¬
nance system," Oligny said.
As a result of their concerted
efforts, she said, "Winter 2012 was
preserved and the school decided
to only cut 300 sections from next
year."
"We are in a crisis ... of priori¬
ties," Oligny warned students.
"Money is being allocated to
expand the highest paid adminis¬
trators on campus while students
are being told there's no money for
their classes."
With financial details, Vlad Viski
followed Oligny with charts that
showed the hiring of new vice
presidents could possibly cost the
students as many as 100, if not 200
sections.
Strong support for the delay of
hiring new vice presidents and a
powerful call to action came from
Continued on page 7