PCC Courier, November 04, 2004

Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915 Pasadena City College ^ Courier DIX D£ LOS MUEKT05 Nov. 4, 2004 pcc-courieronline.com Vol. 90, Issue 9 ★ ★ ★ Election ★ ★ ★ t Winning Propositions Mean for You ■ Faculty di another Bush h means for our c Dean Lee, Я Staff Writer >£ Faculty and staff voiced their opinions on the re-election President George W. Bush. “I’m disappointed and surprised by the fact that 54 million people voted for Bush even with his per¬ formance over the last four years, especially misrepresenting the war in Iraq,” said Manuel Perea, an English instructor. “My opinion comes down to a bumper sticker I read, ‘If your not outraged, you haven’t been pay¬ ing attention.’” “In his first four years, president Bush put together the department of homeland security, composed of mil¬ itary and local government,” said Lt. Brad Young. “I received training by this department and was impressed. I have a feeling there will be an increase in homeland security and it will continue to improve under the current Bush administration.” “I was surprised at how tribal this election was,” said Yves Komi A. Magloe, a French instructor. “Just look at a map, all the southern states went to Bush. The Western and Eastern outer states went to Kerry. The Democrats need to have a strong Southerner as a counterpart in order to have any influence in the South. I agree with what Lyndon Johnson said as he signed the civil rights bill, T have given the Southern states to the Republicans forever.’” ftect pe the St| |ds ail Us¬ ings of governmqpenti| to the public. It require! ernment decisions be broadly interpreted to fur¬ ther the people's right to access. Future govern¬ ment actions that limit the right to access would have to be justified. ' Proposition 60: Political Parties California has a two-step election for many elected offices. The Primary Election in the spring lets political parties choose which candi- tes they want to run for each office in the vember General Election. In the Primary ction, voters can only choose candidates their own party. In the General Election, rs can choose a candidate from any party, is the current law, and Proposition 60 it part of the State Constitution. Proposition 63: Mental Health is fill provide funds to the state and counties d and develop programs and services entally ill, including prevention, early on and education. It also creates a n to approve certain county mental .rams and expenditures and imposes tax on taxpayers’ personal income lion to provide dedicated funding of mental health programs. It prp- e from decreasing current funding tal health services. 64: Unfair Business This will restrict those who could bring a lawsuit to the Attorney General, local prosecutors, and people who were injured and lost money or property. This measure requires that people bringing an unfair competition lawsuit on behalf of others meet class action lawsuit requirements. Any civil penalties received by state and local governments can now be used only for the enforcement of consumer protection laws. Proposition 69: DNA Collection This amends current law to significantly expand the state’s DNA database to include people convicted of nonviolent felonies and individuals arrested on any felony charge.The initiative requires immediate collection of DNA from adults and juveniles convicted of • any felony offense who are in custody, on parole or probation; adults and juveniles convict¬ ed of any sex or arson offense, including misde¬ meanors; and adults arrested for or charged with felony sex offenses, murder or voluntary manslaughter. Beginning in 2009, collection of DNA will begin from adults arrested for any felony, violent or non-violent. This proposition will also raise criminal financial penalties and make tampering with or misusing DNA evidence a crime. The sale of $3 Proposition 71: Stem Cell Research billion in general obligation J|8f ’establish and finance the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which will issue grants and loans for stem cell research and research facilities. This measure will establish a right to conduct stem cell research and would prohibit the Institute’s funding of human repro¬ ductive cloning research. An Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee will govern the Institute. The measure will allocate bonds sub¬ ject to an annual limit of $350 million. Bonds the Vote ■ Students sound off on why they chose to vote in this election. Kenny Kimurn/ Courier Rafael Delgado / Courier Students watched live television coverage of George W. Bush’s victory Eli Scislowicz, 20, the Democratic Club speech and Senator John Kerry’s concession speech on Wednesday, Nov. president, served up free sandwiches to 4 in the Creveling Lounge. reward students who voted on Nov. 2. Stephen Foian News Editor A record number of students voted in this election, according to Associated Press exit polls. Although the percentage of stu¬ dent voters hasn’t changed since the 2000 election, the actual voter turnout has increased significantly. Exit polls also show, that first-time student voters made up about 10 percent of the electorate, and the majority of them voted for Senator John Kerry. “I think Kerry was a stronger can¬ didate, and it shows if you look at the results,” said PCC student Ernie Lee. “At least half the country has to feel defeated.” When asked, most PCC students were pessimistic about Bush’s re- election, citing the likelihood of a draft as a major concern. “It’s not going to go well,” said Joseph Elridge, another student. “Bush’s leadership isn’t very inspiring.” Numerous students cited getting Bush out of office as the primary reason for voting in this election, but over half said the reason they voted was because they were old enough to register. Many didn’t agree with Bush maintaining the popular vote. “People just aren’t informed enough to make well-educated decisions,” said anoth¬ er student. “There’s an obvious need for change. Clinton left the country in good shape, and that all went down¬ hill during Bush’s term.” “I think when Americans have the chance to make a decision, they make the wrong one,” said PCC stu¬ dent Ian Nankereis. “The results of this election are proof of that.” Dance to Heal the Moon Dean Lee Staff Writer In the PCC Galloway Plaza, with a total eclipse of the moon in the back¬ ground, indigenous peo¬ ple of the Los Angeles basin held a ritual of songs and dances to heal the moon as their ances¬ tors have done for more than 7,000 years. Using rattles made of deer hooves with pebbles inside, clapper sticks and a flute as musical instru¬ ments, the Gabrieleno Tongva nation of San Gabriel sang songs in their native language. Most of those songs have been sung for centuries but one was performed for the first time at this event. Glenn Miller, an employee from JPL and advisor for the astronomy department, wrote “The moon and stars song,” per¬ formed by the Tongva dancers. All the song had some relation to the moon, Earth, sun and other celes¬ tial bodies. “Astronomically, the Tongva help the moon get well by chasing away the monsters,” Miller said. The dancers were led by the chief as they danced around a fire Rafael Delgado / Courier Eric Izutso, 24, physics major, prepared for the lunar eclipse that occurred Oct. 27, 2004. held in an abalone shell. They fanned the frames with a hawk’s wing, the highest symbol of the tribe. The hooves of a deer, con¬ sidered holy to the Tongva, were used for their healing power. They are only used by the chief. “We have always been a very resourceful people and the deer has been a staple part of our diet,” Eclipse Page Sexual Harassment Training to be Given Annie Carone Staff Writer Sexual harassment at PCC is an issue discussed at all levels on cam¬ pus. After an October issue of the Courier featured an article on the harassment females experience while entering the gym, the topic was on the agenda for the Oct. 20 board of trustees meeting and was discussed in length. While no immediate actions have been taken, the board has acknowledged the issue as a prob¬ lem and brainstormed various ways to deter the problem. Some suggestions included providing lit¬ erature for students stating how and why one should report any form of harassment. * Another proposition was get¬ ting clubs on campus involved with women’s rights and sexual harass¬ ment awareness and what type of person gets targeted. While all the board members seemed to recognize this as a major issue, board member Beth Wells-Miller is especially passion¬ ate about getting to the bottom of this. “We’re not doing our young men any favors if we don’t let them know that this behavior is unac¬ ceptable here at PCC or in the working world,” she said. “The athletic department needs to emphasize ' the treatment of women.” The behavior, leering glances and crude remarks coming from athletes at the entrance of the gym, is not only rude but bothersome to female students who experience it. On Wednesday, Oct. 6 human resources dean Sandy Lindoerfer, along with athletic director Skip Robinson, met with the football team to discuss matters of sexual harassment. “It was a very positive session,” Lindoerfer said, “They [the team] paid attention, were respectful, and very interested.” She also added that Robinson helped immensely by delivering an impassioned speech that seemed to clearly get through to the athletes. According to Lindoerfer, the administration is now considering bringing in a trainer from the out¬ side to condition athletes to recog¬ nize what all sexual harassment entails. In the past, administrators were trained on how to handle and acknowledge the issue, and they would then teach the coaches. The coaches would pass the knowledge on to the athletes. “But we need to do more,” she admits. “Athletes are looked up to... they’re doing something special.” While the athletes tend to belit¬ tle the problem, women are tired of putting up with it. Wells-Miller wants those women to speak out. “How can we take action if these girls don’t come forward and report it?” she asked. Lindoerfer agreed. “It’s best to ignore the offenders, but do not ignore the problem. Report it immediately,” she said. “Tell a person in authority and we will deal with it.” Until further action is taken, that is all that can be done, for now. Priority Registration: How Does It Work? Stephen Foian News Editor Most PCC students already know when they can register for classes for upcoming semesters. What they may not know is that these dates are being assigned by a mathematical formula approved by the board of trustees. This formula looks at the total units a student has taken at PCC up to a maximum of'70, according to Stuart Wilcox, dean of institu¬ tional planning and research. They receive four points for every unit completed minus one point for every incomplete or no credit unit taken. This result is multiplied by 10 for the final score. Students with higher numbers register earlier, with tied scores broken by random selection. “The idea is that students who have more units need fewer class¬ es,” said Lisa Sugimoto, vice presi¬ dent for student and learning serv¬ ices. “New students have a lot of classes to choose from, so it’s more important for these continuing stu¬ dents to register in the specific classes they need to graduate.” - Priority is also given to disabled Registration students or those supported by the extended opportunity program. Whether new or continuing, these students may register at the begin¬ ning of any scheduled registration period. New international students with F-l visas are also given prior¬ ity over other students, due to fed¬ eral requirements that require Page