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See Page 6
Softball Team
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See Page 9
A D E N A
С О
E G E
COURIER
Since 1915
MAY 9, 2002
On Campus
Computer Error Stalls Count
Low Pay
By Terrance Parker
and Rita Vega-Acevedo
Staff Writers *
Swarming to the sound of beat¬
ing drums and impassioned voices,
an animated throng of over 200 fac¬
ulty, staff, and students marched
through C building at noon
Thursday, May 2. As the group
traveled down the main hallway
past the office of PCC president
James Kossler, the chant
/
“Hey hey
/
Ho ho
/
Lousy wages
/
They must
go,” echoed throughout the build¬
ing.
The gathering, organized by the
PCC chapter of the California
Teachers’ Association, started in
the Sculpture Garden. After passing
through C building, the group cir¬
cled the mirror pools to Colorado
Boulevard and back to the Quad. It
crossed the Quad toward the book¬
store, and ended at the courtyard
between the bookstore and the
police station. By this time the
numbers swelled to nearly 300.
First year student Jennifer Chew
heard about the event from her psy¬
chology instructor, Barbara Turner.
Chew also saw one of the CTA’s
flyers. “The faculty deserves more
money,” the political science major
said. “Also, I don’t want to see
CalWorks cut.” CalWorks is a state-
funded program to move families
from welfare to the ' permanent
workforce. The program may be
slated for elimination during the
next round of budget cuts in
Sacramento.
Howard Hertz, professor of
English, criticized the administra¬
tion’s priorities. “All the beautiful
buildings in the world can’t substi¬
tute for having a faculty-student
working relationship,” .said Hertz.
He said he was marching because
he believes the school has enough
money for salaries. “It’s a job. In
order to keep doing it we have to
get paid,” Hertz said.
In the courtyard, spectators saw
a sea of protest posters, an effigy of
President Kossler and heard a vari¬
ety of speakers, including Dolores
Huerta, co-founder of the United
Farm Workers.
The PCC faculty has been
without a contract for nearly two
years. Referring to this, Huerta
Ф
see WALKOUT, page 4
»
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election; results expected later today
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Photo by Matt Robinson
Students today were enticed to vote with everything from Krispy
Kremes doughnuts to pizzas, which resulted in a high.voter turnout.
By Terrance Parker
Staff Writer
The excitement of a high voter
turnout turned to frustration as an
ancient computer refused to
cough up the election results. A
near-record 1205 students cast
ballots Tuesday, and Wednesday,
frequently waiting up to 20 min¬
utes in line.
Unfortunately, the MS-DOS-
based, 486-powered computer
used to process and print
Scantron results would not print
out any useful information. The
votes were all counted by 10:45
p.m. Then, for the next hour,
Steven Johnson, associate dean of
student affairs, Rebecca Cobb,
student activities advisor, and
Carrie Afuso, cross-cultural cen¬
ter coordinator, tried everything
they could think of to coax the
results out of the machine.
At a few minutes before mid¬
night Johnson announced that
Wednesday night. “The computer
service people will look at the
machine in the morning. The
League of Women Voters repre¬
sentatives probably won’t be able
to sign off on the results before
afternoon,” he said. “ The ballots
will be. secured overnight. If we
still can’t get the results out, we’ll
have to re-scan them.”
“It’s very frustrating,” said
Samir Gharib, student trustee
candidate. “I was looking forward
to hearing the results tonight.”
“I’m glad we had a great
turnout this year. I think next year
we should improve the technolo¬
gy,” said Catherine Li, candidate
for student services vice presi¬
dent.
“I think many candidates are
# see POLLS, page 6
Facilities Workers Give Director
van Pelt a Vote of No Confidence
By Robert Glassey
Staff Writer
The men and women who
clean, maintain and repair the
campus have condemned the lead¬
ership of the director of facilities,
in a 76-percent vote of no confi¬
dence.
In a letter to the board of
trustees, Jerry Blanton, CSEA
president, complained that Dr.
Richard van Pelt’s management
style has caused stress and depresr
sion among employees and unjus¬
tifiably disrupted both their work
and personal lives.
The letter, dated April 10, asks
the trustees to investigate morale,
safety and health issues in facili¬
ties services.
Blanton told the Courier that
the employees are not asking for
the dismissal of van Pelt. Their
purpose, he said, is to bring about
an investigation that will resolve
issues that have festered for more
than four years. “Whatever they
choose to do is between him and
them.” he said.
“We are being treated unfairly
and with disrespect,” he said.
“Morale is at an all-time low.”
Van Pelt did not respond to
requests for a reply to this story.
Calling it a “collective bargain¬
ing issue,” Dr. James Kossler, col¬
lege president, likewise declined
comment except to say, “I regard
Dr. van Pelt as one of our most tal¬
ented managers.”
Peter Hardash, vice president
for administrative services, said
collective bargaining rules pre¬
clude his discussing particulars.
Asked about his investigations
into employee issues, he limited
himself to the following, “I imme¬
diately respond to any issues that
have a life-safety component.” As
to resolving particular complaints,
“We have taken care of it or the
condition did not exist.”
“I support Dr. van Pelt and I
think he’s doing a good job,”
Hardash said. “He’s doing what is
expected of him.”
If that is, indeed true, it brings
little comfort to those like custodi¬
an Alice Hawkins.
Hawkins explained how strict
new rules on clocking in and out
have put her in greater danger at
the end of her workday. Under the
new rules, once she punches in she
is not allowed to move her car
nearer to the building she cleans.
As a result, she must, walk
across the dark and deserted cam¬
pus at punch-out time, when there
is no one around except transients.
She is dubious about calling for
cadet or police escort every night,
expecting they would soon weary
of it.
, Hawkins acknowledged that
some employees had abused the
old, more lenient policy. But
instead of dealing with those few,
a new policy was applied to every¬
body. “The good had to suffer with
the bad,” she said.
Eunice Smith, a custodian for
34 years, said that while van Pelt
has, at times, been helpful to her,
he is lacking in compassion.
“I can’t say he’s a bad person,
but when it comes down to morale,
the morale of facilities is very
bad,” she said.
She said he has accused the
custodians of not wanting to do
their jobs. “Instead of being for us,
it’s like he’s against us.”
As vice president of the CSEA,
Smith said her main concern is the
good of her coworkers, “not to
cause problems, but to make things
better. If you stand up for any rea¬
son or say something, you are a
troublemaker, and you are going to
be reprimanded in some way.
“Nobody has ever tried to deal
with us and find out what was the
real problem,” she said.
Dave Gonzales, an electrician
for six years, said he noticed a lack
of camaraderie.
“We are here to work, and we
all do a great job. If they would
open their eyes and see the work
we are doing, they would be more
appreciative of us,” he said.
Tom Heredia, a custodian at
PCC for 23 years, told how he lost
his job shuttling around
Dumpsters after he clipped a card
reader with his cart and broke the
cart’s windshield. One week later,
he said, van Pelt took him off the
cart and assigned him to clean toi¬
lets for the next year.
“I thought things were going to
get better when they got rid of the
old supervisors,” he said. “It
seems to me that we fell back¬
wards. I think it’s just a bunch of
prejudiced shit that’s going on,” he
said.
According to Blanton, van Pelt
has a standard explanation for his
seemingly arbitrary decisions: It’s
in the best interest of the district.
That is the answer he got, for
example, when he questioned the
director’s decision to bump a 28-
year employee from swing to
graveyard shift in favor of some¬
one with only one year of seniority.
Blanton recognizes the direc¬
tor’s authority to assign employees
as he sees fit.
But he questions the wisdom of
requiring a plumber to also per¬
form electrical work or requiring
the air conditioning technicians to
take direction from the boiler
room operator. “I am not putting
down those people working out of
# see VAN PELT, page 7
Political Group Seeks New Followers
Photo by Matt Robinson
By Andrew Campa
Assistant. Sports Editor
Anyone who has regularly
walked across the quad may find it
difficult to avoid supporters of
Lyndon LaRouche. The organiza¬
tion, which occasionally sets up a
small table in the quad, tries to
recruit students by telling them they
can help save the world.
Using a myriad of ever-chang¬
ing apocalyptic predictions and
rants against government leaders,
this organization has thrived by
playing an “us against the world”
role.
While urging students to read
their literature, organizers defend
their leader by claiming the media
has slandered and libeled him and
the association by calling
LaRouche an “anti-Semite” and
leader of a cult.
The group tries to convince peo¬
ple that LaRouche has the answers
to all the world’s problems. They
emphasize that criticism of their
organization is unfounded.
A look through a variety of
LaRouche publications and internal
documents provided by a former
LaRouche insider gives an interest¬
ing picture of the organization and
its leader. Contrary to what the
member may say, LaRouche and
his group are not perfect. While it
may seem that the organizers
encourage debate, some believe
that is not so.
“You might as well talk to a
wall,” political scientist David
Merrick stated. “There is no discus¬
sion by the group’s lower rungs,
just hassle. Whenever speaking to
them it is rare that any member can
go at least five minutes without
mentioning some global conspiracy
against them. Just ask anyone of
them to name something wrong
about LaRouche and I bet you they
can’t. Ask them to list one thing
they don’t like about LaRouche and
they can’t. He’s perfect and they’re
just brainwashed.”
While they may claim that they
are not brainwashed, organizers
steadfastly believe that the world
would surely perish if they were to
disband.
“The really bad news is, that we
(LaRouche organization) have
become not only extremely impor¬
tant, but also dispensable,”
LaRouche wrote in a morning
briefing on June 11, 2001. “If we
were not to continue to exist and
function at a somewhat better level
of activity than we have done up to
this moment, it is doubtful that the
world as a whole could avoid a con¬
tinuing slide into prolonged, new
planetary Dark Age.”
This is just a sample of the pre¬
dictions LaRouche has made over
the years. While his organizers
claim that he has made “nine fore¬
casts” over the last 20 years that
have all come true, they never men¬
tion how the forecasts were
changed. The organizers conve¬
niently forget about the incorrect
Ш
see LAROUCHE, page 3