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Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California
Vol. 73 No. 8
^ COURIER
Thursday
November 7,1991
Funny money creates concern on campus
By EDWIN FOLVEN
News Features Editor
At least three counterfeit bills
were recently discovered by Bank
of America officials after they were
deposited as part of the profits from
the campus cafeteria, according to
campus police. The $20 bills, which
were apparently used at different
times since the start of the semester,
may have been unknowingly passed
by patrons of the cafeteria.
Ron Greenfield, director of din¬
ing services, said he has instructed
all cashiers in the cafeteria area to
examine all bills very closely.
“Everybody in the retail business is
affected by counterfeiting. It is proper
policy to examine all bills. We have
our people examining the U.S. gov¬
ernment threads and the paper con¬
sistency,” said Greenfield.
The problem is not exclusive to
PCC. James Storms, dean of stu¬
dents at John Muir High School in
Pasadena said that two counterfeit
$20 bills were passed at Muir. Anne
Parcell, accounting technician at John
Muir, said that workers at the stu¬
dent store took in the two bills on
Oct. 25.
Philip Mullendore, director of
campus police and safety, said
counterfeit money is turned over to
the U.S. Secret Service agency. He
explained that many people may be
receiving counterfeit bills without
knowing it, and then pass them along
in other transactions. “Some people
passing them may not even know
they have them,” said Mullendore.
Counterfeiting is a federal crime
and carries heavy penalties. Mak¬
ing, possessing or passing counter¬
feit bills can result in up to 15 years
in prison plus a heavy fine upon
conviction. The California state penal
code section 475 also states that every
person who has in his possession, or
receives from another person, any
forged promissory note or bank bills
for the payment of money or prop¬
erty is punishable by imprisonment
Celebrating Day of the Dead
Photo by Carlo Bacor/ The COURIER
A group of five artists from the “Artes de Mexico” exhibit presented at the Los Angeles Art Museum
created a large sand mural of skulls as part of the celebration of the Latin tradition “Day of the Dead.”
The celebration was organized by Mexican art history class taught by Denise Lugo-Saavedra.
Photo by Howard Burger/ The COURIER
Cashiers examine bills in search of counterfeit money previously found in the
bookstore. Campus Police warn students the fake bills are hard to identify.
in state prison.
Tom Kelly, assis¬
tant U.S. Secret Serv¬
ice agent, said when
a bill is received it is
destroyed, and a re¬
ceipt is sent to the
corresponding agency
as a record. “If there
are no suspects under
investigation, the bill
is sent back to Wash¬
ington and de¬
stroyed,” said Kelly.
“A majority of the
bills are being passed
in the non-English
speaking commu¬
nity,” said Kelly. He
said many couterfeit-
ers are printing
money and exchang¬
ing it in Mexico for
pesos. They later
exchange the pesos back for genuine
dollars after they return to the United
States. He said most of the money is
not of very good quality.
Mullendore said counterfeit
American currency is one of the
easiest types to spot He said there
are several methods to tell if the bill
is authentic. The paper on which the
money is printed is made of 100
percent cotton fiber and its produc¬
tion is strictly regulated by the gov¬
ernment. Every note has official serial
numbers and distinguishing marks
such as tiny red and blue hairs im¬
printed on both sides. The back¬
ground behind the presidents’ busts
consists of hundreds of minute
squares, that also attest to a bill’s
authenticity said Mullendore.
Douglas Haines, coordinator of
printing services, said the govern¬
ment uses a special printing process
called intaglio to produce currency.
The process involves etching the
designs in metal plates. Intaglio plates
with intricate patterns are also used
for stock and bond certificates and
are made by skilled government
craftsmen who are carefully moni¬
tored. “They use very precise detail
to make the intaglio plate hard to
duplicate,” said Haines. He said the
key thing that makes the money hard
to illegally reproduce is the paper on
which it is printed.
Haines said the most common
type of counterfeiting is done by a
process called offset lithography.
“They can take a picture and repro¬
duce it easily because the image is
not etched into a plate.” Another
trend is to use electronic imaging
equipment. “You can find pieces
being touched up on a computer and
then reproduced.” He said most print¬
ing shops have the typical equip¬
ment needed to counterfeit.
In addition to the recent incidents,
Mullendore said a man was con¬
victed of forgery in 1988 for selling
counterfeit identification cards and
driver’s licenses on campus. “He
was selling them for $50 to underage
students. An officer was able to work
with the Department of Motor Ve¬
hicles to convict him.” Haines said,
“We’ve found people counterfeiting
licenses at the printing department
over the years,” he said.
Panelists call for change, unity
By ANISSA VICENTE
Features Editor
Change was the byword under¬
lined last Sunday Nov.3,by several
noted African American personali¬
ties whospoke at “Symposium ‘91:
The Necessity for Change.” The Black
and Latino Multi-cultural Book
Center and the African American
Student Association sponsored the
four-hour event at Sexson Audi¬
torium.
Seven speakers each had a turn at
the podium, highlighting the areas
of African American consciousness
that need changing.
Dr. Charles Simmons, professor
of journalism and law, graduated
from Langston University, Colum¬
bia University School of Journalism
and Georgetown University Law
Center. He decried the legacy of
slavery that continues to shape
society’s perception of black America
today. Mass media, he said, is to
blame for propagating myths and
stereotypes of African Americans
being “Buckeyes eating watermel¬
ons.”
“Television,” he said, “is just the
high tech version of the propaganda
that has accompanied our presence
and slows down the rate of growth in
black children.” Simmons’ solution
was addressed to the parents of
young black America. He advo¬
cated an increase in participation
and supervision of children’s televi¬
sion viewing.
Author Michele Wallace wants
to improve the condition of black
women through the media and
America’s educational institutions.
“Black women are invisible,”
Wallace attested. “They do not
have the power to construct their
own images.”
Wallace warns of a new racism
against African American women
where achievements and credibil¬
ity are invisible and only stere¬
otypes and negativity are apparent.
Like Simmons, Wallace exhorted
people to participate in the proc¬
esses that shape the image of their
people.
Author Alvis Davis, who has a
master’s degree in communications
from San Jose State University,
gave a perceptively upbeat talk on
his latest book, “How to Get and
Keep a Black Man in a Relation¬
ship.” Davis denied attacking
women’s intellect in his attempt to
get beyond the pedestal image of
women.
“Black men,” Davis revealed,
“are looking for black women who
value their femininity and sexuality,
have self-respect and are careful
about how they talk about their past
relationships.” Davis urged the au¬
dience to build foundations of com-
Please see Family page 4
Vote on early semester awaits further research
By AMOR PADILLA
Editor in Chief
The Faculty Senate Board agreed
to postpone the vote on a transition
to an early semester system until
further investigation and polling of
faculty members and students is done.
The 1992-93 school calendar will
re nain the same.
During the Faculty Senate Board
Meeting held on Oct. 21, Paul
Durchow, chairperson for the early
sen? ester comm i ttee submitted a two
part recommendation based on the
findings of the committee.
In general, Durchow expressed
the need to alio ate more time to the
research and study of the impact the
proposed calendar might have on
enrollment numbers. Also, the com¬
mittee recommended that the time
be used to look into other commu¬
nity colleges’ experiences with the
early semester transition.
Last June, faculty polls showed
that 54 percent favored the change
while 46 percent were against it.
The Faculty Senate explained that
this poll was only a preliminary poll
and did not inform the faculty on the
pros and cons of the early semester.
Rio Hondo, Mount San Antonio,
Santa Monica and most of Orange
County’s community colleges have
made the transition into an early
semester. East Los Angeles City
College will start next year. Rio Hondo
and Mount San Antonio reported a
smooth transition in which no drop
in enrollment had been registered.
According to Dr. Huffman, dean
of admissions atRio Hondo commu¬
nity college, the transition went
without problems. “There was not a
drop in enrollment. We just did a lot
of heavy advertisement,” he said.
Huffman explained that the adver¬
tising started at the beginning of
1990.
Also, to accommodate students
who had no knowledge of the change,
Rio Hondo started 90 percent of its
classes in August while the remain¬
ing 10 percent started in September
all classes ended before Christmas
break. It also did not seem to lose
high school students. According to
Huffman, teachers were advised to
let high school students enter the
class at a later date. “There is so
much of a demand that no matter
when we start, we’ll still have stu¬
dents,” he said.
Lynn Hanks, director of admis¬
sions at Mount San Antonio also
stressed the importance of adver¬
tisement in the success of their tran¬
sition to an early semester. “We started
advertising one year in advance.
Notices appeared in the class sched¬
ules and our phone registration
helped,” she said. A message re¬
minding students of the earlier reg¬
istration dates ran with the phone
registration information.
Hanks also said that their college
did not appear to lose high school
students. “We had very close con¬
tact with the high schools. The teach¬
ers informed the students of the change
and of the early registration dates.
Our school regulations went out with
the application forms to high schools,”
she said. During the transition, Hanks
explained that the college ran a large
six week summer session to avoid
the elimination of the second ses¬
sion which ended in the final week
of August. According to Hanks, Rio
Hondo was worried about a possible
drop in enrollment based on the past
experience of Los Angeles Valley
College.
However, Huffman emphazises
that the drop in student count suf¬
fered by Los Angeles Valley Col¬
lege happened a long timeago.“The
student population has changed and
the need for our classes has grown,”
he stated.
The Faculty Senate will not make
the final decision regarding the early
semester. It will organize and put
together a ballot based on extensive
polling and surveying of the PCC
community. The ballot will be voted
on by the entire faculty.
During the Faculty Senate meet¬
ing, Maggie Tracey, president of the
ASB, expressed the need to survey
students on their opinions. She will
look into different surveys used by
other colleges.
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