PCC Courier, November 07, 2013

VOLUME 108 ISSUE 11 ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT PCCCOURIER.COM November 7, 2013 The unconventional mentor Meet the award-winning teacher who is changing all the classroom rules. PAGES» Don't discriminate against the undead Discover the underlying connection between zombies and racism. PAGE 9» SPEAK OUT! Do you think the college restaurants and the bookstore should accept EBT cards? Vote at PccCourier.com Sacking the Record Matthew Chan/Courier PCC football star linebacker Dalyou Pierson at team practice inside Robinson Stadium on Tuesday. With 10 sacks so far this season. Pierson is closing in on the single season record of 14 sacks. FA lawyer. General Counsel tangle Philip McCormick Managing Editor Two lawyers engaged in a written altercation this week over whether or not the Ac¬ ademic Senate could legally review college Superintendent/ President Mark Rocha. General Counsel Gail Cooper and Faculty Association (FA) attorney Lawrence Rosenzweig traded caustic letters to each other after Cooper and the Dis¬ trict accused Cairo of violating state law by not attending the Committee on Academic and Professional Matters (CAPM) meetings. Rosenzweig said that Coo¬ per was wrong for claiming the senate’s proposal to form an Ad Hoc Committee to evaluate the college president violated Board policy and state law, calling her statements a “blatant example of the District’s misguided attempts to intimidate faculty members.” “Your threats are pointless,” Rosenzweig wrote. “In plain English, please stop.” Cooper insists that Cairo’s boycott of CAPM was a vio¬ lation of Board policy and the Brown Act, the state law that governs public meetings. Cooper also said that if the Academic Senate had a quorum of mem¬ bers present at the Town Hall meetings, they could not discuss business relating to the Academ¬ ic Senate matters, according to the Brown Act. “. . .My [Oct. 23] letter advised Cairo of violation of the law and Board policy, specifically LETTERS page 3 ► Voters choose new Justin Clay Asst. News Editor Financial consultant Ross Selvidge received 45 percent of the vote to claim a spot on the Board of Trustees, edging past two challengers for the open Area 1 seat. Selvidge won with more than 2,400 votes on the ballot, about 200 more votes than runner-up Dianne Philibosian. Alex Keled- jian received approximately 600 votes. Selvidge is happy to have been elected to his new position. “I’m very pleased. A lot of people helped me out with the campaign and I spoke with hun¬ dreds of voters and I really got a feel for what their concerns are and I’m looking forward to rep¬ resenting the constituents in La Canada, southwest Pasadena and west Altadena,” said Selvidge. One of the main things Selvidge wants to do is get more classes for students. “Reports from all the people I talked to were universally favor¬ able on the quality of teaching and the courses that the stu¬ dents can get there. The biggest concern of course, was some students not being able to get the courses they need in order to do what would traditionally be thought of as a two-year curric¬ ulum in two years.” BOARD page 3 ► Senate calls for more transparency at meetings Madison Miranda Online Editor The Academic Senate voted to approve President Eduardo Cairo’s decision to boycott the Committee on Academic and Professional Matters (CAPM) meetings, asserting that it would be willing to return if the meet¬ ings became more transparent. The Senate was conflicted in this decision made at its Nov. 4 meeting, with a vote of 16 in favor, nine opposed, and three abstained. The decision is not permanent and could be revisit¬ ed later, said Cairo. Robert Miller, senior vice president of business and college services and one of the designees of CAPM, expressed his disappointment with the Senate’s decision. “The Council for Academ¬ ic and Professional Matters is the primary communication mechanism between the faculty, administration, and the Board of Trustees,” Miller wrote in an email. “CAPM is a forum for discussion and mutual agree¬ ment.” “The decision of the Aca¬ demic Senate leadership to not participate in CAPM meetings makes it very difficult to transact the business of the college which is to support teaching, learning and students,” he continued. “This action places students and faculty in jeopardy and places the college’s accredi¬ tation at risk.” There will be other meet¬ ings, such as College Council, where the Senate will be able to communicate with the adminis- SENATE page 5 ^ District 1 trustee Anthony Reyes/ Courier Geoffrey Baum congratulates Ross Selvidge on succeeding him as a Board Trustee in the Circadian conference room on Wednesday.