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Deaf Students
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P A SAD E N A
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Courier
Since 1915
VOL. 88 NO. 11
www.pcc-courieronline.com
NOVEMBER 7, 2002
PCC Student Killed in Accident
Father seeks finan¬
cial aid in order to
help bury his son
By Andrew Campa
Editor-in-Chief
Benny Lopez, 20, a bright student who had want¬
ed to pursue a career in law enforcement, was killed
last Sunday while riding home on the 60 freeway.
Lopez, a motorcycle enthusiast, was returning
from a bike club meeting in Hacienda Heights at 9:20
p.m. It would be his final ride.
Close friends remembered his smile while
acquaintances wished they had known him longer.
One look at the disbelief etched on his instructors’
faces and it was obvious something terrible had hap¬
pened
Although the L.A. County Coroner’s office has not
ruled on the cause of death, officials told Lopez’s
stepfather, Simon Gonzales that his son had been hit
by several cars and killed while he
lay unconscious on the highway.
The news of Lopez’s death was
difficult for his peers and teachers
alike.
“It’s so devastating,” said Anna
Salsman, Lopez’s psychology
instructor. “He was one of my best
students, a joy to have in class. I
can’t believe he’s gone”
Dr. Cheryl Beard, Lopez’s
American Institutions professor
said, “It was shocking and hard to
believe. I have been at PCC for
seven years and have never had to
announce anything nearly as diffi¬
cult to a class, than the news about
1
I
Lopez and his girlfriend
his death.”
Although most of Lopez’s closest friends were too
grief-stricken to speak about the tragedy, classmate
and friend Nicole Gibson said, “He
had a great sense of humor.” She
added that it will be difficult to
imagine class without him. “He
loved life.”
A graduate of San Gabriel’s
Gabrielino High School in 2000,
Lopez had decided to take a year off
from his studies and test out the job
market.
Bouncing around from
McDonald’s to Ralph’s to a pest
control job motivated Lopez to go
back to school.
Simon Gonzales said he was
happy that Lopez was going to
resume his studies. “I have been to
On Campus
Care?
CDC Offers
PCC Parents
Affordable
Child Care
Mirella Miranda
Staff Writer
If you are a student who has
children and can’t find a babysitter
for the evening, your problem may
be solved.
The Child Development Center
offers evening child care for chil¬
dren ages 3 to 5 year and the cost
may be free for those who qualify
for a U.S. Department of
Eduaction grant.
The Child Development Center
is located one block away from
PCC on East Green Street and
Holliston.
It is an asset
to students who
have evening
classes or need
extra study time
and can’t find
someone to take
care of their
Child children.
Care The evening
program has a
home-like environment that is edu¬
cational but fun.
It is full of activities that
include outdoor play, twilight
walks to campus, cooperative
games, music and movement, art,
computers, books and storytelling,
an occasional movie to help the
children relax and wind down,
cooking, and nutritious snacks.
The kids have set goals month¬
ly for each activity they do.
Nicki A. Harmon, director of
the child development center, said,
“Kids love being here so much that
sometimes they don’t want to go
home.”
There is always one child
development specialist and two
associate preschool teachers, so
the
® see CDC page 3
college myself and know how difficult it could be.
However, 1 knew Benny could handle it.”
When Lopez started school the previous spring
semester, there was another passion he wanted to pur¬
sue: a motorcycle.
In the same semester he started at PCC, Lopez
decided it was time to get a sports bike of his own.
Having limited funds, Gonzales said that Lopez
was able to purchase his dream bike with the help of
his girlfriend who had decided to co-sign the agree¬
ment.
“It was a dream of his,” Gonzales said. “Ever since
he was small he liked bicycles and motorcycles. Now
he finally got one.”
With his new Honda CBR 600, a girlfriend and a
steady job at Toyota of Puente Hills, Lopez’s life
seemed to be right on track. Even in class, he was a
success.
“He was a bright and energetic student,” Beard
# see ACCIDENT, page 3
■
»
■
I
—
Mikyl Nutter/Courier
Assistant coaches Ted Clarke (right) and Demetrice
Martin (left) along with the Lancer offense watch as
PCC's defensive line allows Riverside College to
complete 397 passing yards and 174 rushing
yards. The final result was a stunning 55-41 loss
that ended the Lancers nine-game winning streak.
® see Tigers story on page 7
PCC Hall-of-
Farne Inducts
New Members
By Joseph Narvaez
Sports Editor
The PCC Foundation honored 1 1
of the finest student-athletes to set
foot on the campus by inducting
them into the PCC Sports Hall of
Fame last Saturday afternoon. A
crowd of over 200 people packed
the lobby of the GM building to wit¬
ness the event.
The inductees included current
men’s cross country and track and
field coach Jesse Gomez (1967-69),
current women’s volleyball coach
Lori Jepsen (1973-75) and current
Athletic Director Willie “Skip”
Robinson (1966).
The eight other inductees were
gymnast Jim Fairchild (1958-59),
football star Harry Hugasian (1947-
48), sprinter and NFL All-Pro wide
receiver Anthony Miller (1985-86),
sprinter Bobby Poynter (1955-57),
pole-vaulter Dick Railsback (1965-
66), basketball player Sam
Robinson (1966-68), swimmer Jack
Tingley (1971-72) and basketball
player John Q. Trapp (1966-67).
Jesse Gomez was a key runner
on the Lancers’ only cross country
state champi¬
onship team in
1967. He won
the Western State
Conference indi-
vidual title with a
time of 18 min¬
utes, 44 seconds.
He then finished Gomez
fifth overall to
lead the Lancers to first place at the
state meet in Fresno.
Gomez was also a phenomenal
track and field athlete. He helped
set a national junior college record
as a member of the PCC 4 x 1-mile
relay squad. He still holds the PCC
record for the open 2-mile race.
Aside from being considered by
many as the most successful
women’s volleyball player in junior
college history, Lori Jepsen compet¬
ed in three other sports as well. She
attained All-American status as a
Lancer before going on to play for
the 1976 USC Trojans national
champion volleyball team.
Jepsen was also league MVP as a
basketball center and a member of
the state champion medley relay
# see HALL page 3
Trivia + Pies = PCC Quiz Bowl Fun
By Steve LuKanic
Staff Writer
Who wrote “The Catcher In
The Rye”?
In what year did Columbus
discover America?
What is the smallest prime
number?
Got milk?
Okay, so
forget the last
one. But the
other three are
just a sam¬
pling of the
kind of ques¬
tions to be
fired off in PCC’s Quiz Bowl,
taking place today in the Quad
from noon to 1 p.m.
Fifthteen teams of three PCC
students will compete for the
grand prize ($30 Borders gift cer¬
tificates) and the chance to hurl
A.S.
Quiz Bowl
cream pies in the losers’ faces.
“It’s a fun kind of activity for
the students,” said Elaine Wong,
vice president of academic affairs
for associated students, which is
sponsoring the event.
“It’s more academic based,
but it’s different.”
Wong explained that faculty
from all divisions at PCC devel¬
oped questions for the bowl.
They’re “general knowl¬
edge” — the kind of things most
high school graduates should
know (other than Christina
Aguilera’s bust size and what
happened on this week’s “Fear
Factor”).
In fact, there will be no pop
culture questions. No “Trival
Pursuit”-type questions.
Nope, these zingers have all
been extracted from the annals of
academia in subjects as diverse
as art history, English, physics
and biology.
Each member of the 15 teams
was required to fill out an appli¬
cation and sign a waver in order
to compete.
Associated Students then
accepted the applications on a
first come, first served basis.
Now for the rules. The event
will consist of three rounds.
In Round One, the “Pie
Round,” there will be a random
draw of paired teams with every
two or three teams facing off
against each other.
Each group will be asked five
questions, and the team with the
most correct answers will
advance to the next round. But
here’s the fun part: for every
wrong answer a team gives, the
other team gets to throw a whip
cream pie at them. Can you spell
H-U-M-I-L-I-A-T-l-O-N?
And before any maintenance
and facilities workers grab their
mops and start muttering four-let¬
ter expletives, Wong insists the
cleanup will be minimal and left
to the contestants and volunteers.
“It’s just one pie per team,”
she says assuredly. “Just enough
to make a mess, but not that
dirty.”
All winners from the “Pie
Round” will then go head to head
in Round Two, the “Payback
Round,” answering 30 questions.
This round will be scored — 10
points for every right answer
buzzed (players have 15 seconds
to buzz in) and minus 10 for
every clunker.
The top two teams from this
round will advance and the losers
will be pummelled by pies from
the Round One losers.
The top two teams will then
square off in Round Three, the
“Final Round” — a “Weakest
\
Link”-type for¬
mat in which
the moderator,
history profes¬
sor Hugo
Schwyzer, will
alternately ask
each team five
questions. Wong
These ques¬
tions will be tougher. The con¬
testants will have 20 seconds. No
buzzers.
And Schwyzer will be dressed
as a nasty British woman in a
black leather overcoat, snapping
“You ARE the weakest link!” to
anyone in earshot. Hey, it could
happen.
Anyway, whichever team
answers the most questions right
wins the bowl and gets to fling a
chocolate pie — whip cream and
• see QUIZ BOWL page 3