PCC Courier, May 18, 2006

sue 10 Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915 Courier — ^PASADENA CITY COLLEGE May 18,. 2006 pcc-courieronline.com Cesar E. Chavez Photography Exhibit Page 5 Vol. 93, Issue 11 30St- ses. limination liant effort э the well- the SCC :kend. у cruising iting all of arpowered sent them College of hoping to ost 6-5. a one-run and were he second m for the die loser’s tree oppo- :d Chaffey d them by ncers sent ■ack at the : the team nportance he season; rback, end npionship nd second ne out the ng on to a ) face the nd. The luring five lird before their only re 9-1 and the game rited effort the cham- r the tired lemic inel- xceptional ssed. ;cord and i was the T $ . J ttes/ Courier i gets a nis final nber. The :h as run- rxhibition ning con- kouts and ter all its February ngages in ) take the eara with heir hard it all out dd when perform- i has one Division Dean Faces Harassment Suit Mario Aguirre Sports Editor A former student has filed a law¬ suit in L.A. Superior court accusing athletic director Skip Robinson of sexual harassment. The woman, Kelley Mueller, 36, alleges that Robinson made a series of advances toward her which includ¬ ed hugging and kissing. Mueller claims that after she made it clear she did not welcome Robinson’s advances, she was not rehired as his assistant and the cycling class that she Jorge Correa, Melissa Kohler Staff Writers Associated Students vice presi¬ dent for business affairs Ryan Gillmore, 24, faced a Pasadena Superior Court judge last Thursday and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol early last month. On April 8 Gillmore was stopped by police, who suspected him of drinking and driving. He was pulled over in Old Town Pasadena when police officers noticed that his head¬ lights were off as he drove out of a parking structure. Officers then administered a Breathalyzer test that registered well over the .08 blood alcohol level and he spent the next three days in jail. Judge Mary Lou Katz sentenced Gillmore to three years probation and fined him more than $1,200 in fees. During the next three years, Gillmore will be restricted from driv¬ ing motor vehicles unless he is law¬ fully licensed and insured. He has also been constrained from operating motor vehicles within six hours of consuming an alcoholic beverage and he no longer has the option to refuse a breath test for alcohol con¬ sumption when requested by an offi¬ cer. In addition to these fines and driving restrictions, Gillmore will have to enroll in and successfully complete a three-month alcohol and drug counseling program for first time offenders. As vice president for business affairs, Gillmore is in charge of han¬ dling the money used for club fund¬ ing and all campus activities, such as concerts and events held in the Quad. The amount required to cover these events is $180,000, which Gillmore has balanced during his term. “I think Ryan has done a wonder¬ ful job,” said Rebecca Cobb, student activity adviser for student affairs. “He takes his responsibility serious¬ ly.” Others believe Gillmore has allowed his personal issues to get in the way of his work and are not sur¬ prised with the news of his arrest. After his weekend stint in jail, Gillmore took two weeks off from the AS, for what president Stephen Juarez stated was “personal rea¬ sons.” During this time, Juarez assumed Gillmore’s responsibilities and tasks as vice president of busi¬ ness affairs. “It’s been coming to him,” said [see Gillmore, PAGE 7] taught was canceled. Robinson insists that “the accusa¬ tions are not true.” But he was unable to comment any further, as is usual in cases involving litigation. Robinson’s attorney, Stephan Birgel said, “There are accusations at this time... all I can say is the district denies her alle¬ gations.” The attorney for the district submitted documents that deny each of Mueller’s complaints. According to the documents filed as part of the lawsuit, Mueller returned to school in hopes of obtain¬ ing a college degree in the fall semes¬ ter of 2002. She had an interest in collegiate sports and was encouraged by Dick Tomlinson, the then-associ¬ ate assistant athletic director, to take up javelin throwing. Mueller fol¬ lowed his advice, but was injured in spring 2003. During her recovery period, Robinson “became very friendly to her and offered to help her in various ways,” according to the lawsuit documents. Mueller had been working a low- paying job in order to pay for her school expenses. When she became injured, Robinson offered her the opportunity to work for him in fall 2003. Mueller quit her off-campus job in the fall of 2003 and began working part time for Robinson as a college assistant, while maintaining her status as a full-time student. She worked at a desk in his office and took orders from him. The lawsuit documents state that Mueller had no other supervisors during this time. Robinson had Mueller perform¬ ing clerical tasks, selling tickets at basketball games, taking deposits to the bank, and coordinating schedules for department classes listed in the course catalog. “Robinson told her that she was very important to him and that she ‘had a future’ in the athletic depart¬ ment,” the lawsuit statement reads. “He told her the department needed someone like her and that she could work there even after she had trans¬ ferred to [a four-year university].” It was also said that Robinson encouraged Mueller “to complete her education as soon as possible... he told her that where she went to get her bachelor’s degree or how she got it did not matter as soon as she had her diploma, [Robinson] would give her a job as an instructor in his department.” He often told Mueller that there was scholarship money piling up and “sitting in accounts every year because the coaching staff was not submitting applications for the money.... In words to this effect, he told her, ‘Don’t you worry, your schooling will be paid for. You’re the kind of person this money is there for,”’ the documents say. [see Robinson, PAGE 6] Police Arrest Suspect in Gun Scare Campus police advocate arming officers after suspect disrupts class and accosts students. Christina Bustamante Staff Writer A man claiming to have a gun burst into a classroom in the R build¬ ing Tuesday afternoon frightening students with his bizarre behavior. Campus police responded to a call from Rebecca Morris, an instructor in the visual arts and media studies divi¬ sion. She said the man entered the classroom, but he didn’t speak. “He made a gesture as if to reach for a gun, but he didn’t have one. But the gesture itself was very frighten¬ ing,” Morris said. The suspect made a few refer¬ ences to having a gun and reached into the waistband of his pants. After he ran from the classroom, the sus¬ pect was observed jumping up and down, hiding behind walls and bush¬ es and accosting students by hissing and yelling at them in a threatening way. [see Police, PAG E 7 ] Steve Carrillo / Courier Cauoht in the Act: Lt. Brad Young arrests a suspect who ran through campus yelling and threatening students and claiming to have a gun. The man was taken into custody and placed on a 72-hour psychological evaluation hold. Student Trustee Granted Stronger Voice on Board Christina Bustamante Staff Writer The student trustee was given more power as a sitting member of the board of trustees on May 4. The Associated Students asked the board to grant the trustee the power to make and second a motion during regular board meetings, due to con¬ cern brought up regarding the pur¬ pose of the student trustee position. “I thought it would be really important to put into the agenda the role of the student trustee,” said stu¬ dent trustee Connie Chung. When Chung was elected as stu¬ dent trustee, many students didn’t know the purpose of her position. Chung, who sits in on board meet¬ ings and is the voice for students here on campus, speaks for their concerns and interests at the meet¬ ings. It was brought to her attention that the student trustee had no real vote besides an advisory vote, which goes on record but doesn’t necessari¬ ly count. The trustee also had less of a role in relation to the other board members. After being elected, Chung did some research and found that 46 out of 83 student trustees in the state of California currently have the power to motion and second a motion. Chung compiled this information through the Community College League of California and brought it 1 V \ ft G 1 N ( '< >' STL' vm _ Daniel Belis / Courier On Top: Current student trustee Connie Chung is the first in her position to possess power to make and second a motion during board of trustee meetings. to the board’s attention at their last meeting on May 4. Although Chung will have the power to motion and second a motion for the remainder of her term, this will be on an annual basis and will expire in one year. This is known as a “sunset clause.” “I like to think of Pasadena City College as being one of the premier colleges in the nation, and certainly one of the leaders of community colleges here in California,” said board member Connie Rey Castro. “[This is] another reason why PCC needs to be out front on this issue, taking a leadership role. Of the five colleges that we normally consider our comparative colleges there are three, possibly even, four, that allow their trustees the power to make and second a motion. So I urge my col¬ leagues to support this motion.” This is the first time in PCC his¬ tory a student trustee has been given these powers. In 1979 the topic was brought up about whether or not a student trustee should have the right to vote. “This would set a great prece¬ dence if PCC was to allow student trustees to actually have the power to motion and second a motion,” Chung said prior to the board approving her the power to make and second a motion. State Bill Supports Free College Press Dean Lee News Editor The nation’s first bill to protect college newspapers and give them the same freedoms enjoyed by the mainstream press; passed the state assembly this week unanimously and without debate. If AB 2581, authored by Assembly Speaker pro Tern Leland Yee and Assemblyman Joe Nation, becomes law California will become the first state to give First Amendment protections to univer¬ sity and community college jour¬ nalism students. “We are training the young journalists of America,” Yee said. “If we are stating at a young age that it is OK for governments to intervene into what they think, what they write and what they do, that sets a very dangerous prece¬ dent for these young adults work¬ ing in our society, working in our government.” According to the bill, college administrators could not retaliate against students or school newspa¬ pers for printing material they dis¬ agree with. The Daily Sundial at Cal State Northridge recently ran up against its own administration over a story the school did not want published. The story disputed the authenticity of Chinese artifacts donated to the school. Chinese scholars told the Sundial last year the pieces were modern day fakes. If true, this would make the most expensive gifts ever given to the Cal State worthless. The Sundial editor in chief Samuel Richard said administra¬ tors did not ban them from pub¬ lishing the story but made it almost impossible to get information. Like most journalists, Richard also said that any time someone tells a reporter they won’t give them information, it just makes the reporter dig deeper. “I think this bill will dramatical¬ ly help by giving school newspa¬ pers the ability to more freely write about their administrations,” Richard said. “Especially those schools whose newspapers are put out by the student government.” Although, the Courier has never had any real disputes with any gov¬ erning boards on campus the staff thought having legal safeguards in place at the state level that guaran¬ tee First Amendment rights was a positive step for all future journal¬ ists. “I’m not influenced by the administration,” said Courier edi¬ tor in chief Kate Murray. “I basi¬ cally write what I think the public needs to know, although I do take into account how something I [see Press, PAG E 7 ]