- Title
- PCC Courier, November 12, 1987
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- Date of Creation
- 12 November 1987
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- Description
- Student newspaper published and edited for the Associated Student Body of Pasadena City College weekly during the college year by the journalism students.
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PCC Courier, November 12, 1987
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Question
of Ethics
Surround
Homecoming
Page 2
AMERICAN
CANCER
SOCIETY
Great American t
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TAKE A BREATHER . . .THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1987
Lancers Fall
Prey to the
Falcons, 35-31
Page 4
COURIER
VOL. 65, NO. 1 1
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
NOVEMBER 12, 1987
Oberholtzer New AS President Via TKO
“To remove Brendan (O’Brien) from office is
not based on one infraction, but also includes the
failure on his part to resolve the matter.”
—Alvar L. Kauti
By Mark McElrea
News Editor
Lance Oberholtzer, who contested
the results of the election of Brendan
O’Brien as AS president on the grounds
that O’Brien violated the by-laws gov¬
erning the election, was officialy de¬
clared president in a statement re¬
leased Nov. 4 by the office of student
activities.
Oberholtzer’s election was a result of
problems concerning the number of
units carried by O’Brien at the time of
the election. “We have been aware of
the problems he (O’Brien) encountered
during the elections since Oct. 14 (the
last day of the elections),” said Alvar
L. Kauti, assistant dean of student
affairs. “The delay in declaring him
ineligible was due to the many clerical
steps it took to fully understand the
situation.”
Kauti feels that part of that delay
can also be attributed to the fact that
O’Brien was given every opportunity to
clear up the situation up. “We were
never obligated to inform him of any¬
thing,” said Kauti. “In the interest of
being fair we kept him. informed at all
times about his situation in hopes he
could clear up any misunderstand¬
ings.”
O’Brien feels he received little help
from the administration in dealing with
the problems he has encountered.
“Once I took office they never told me
I was in jeopardy of losing my posi¬
tion,” said O’Brien. “Others before me
have had trouble keeping nine units. It
has been an unwritten policy that as
long as you start with nine, and end
with nine, everything is all right. The
fact that I was below nine units at the
time of the election is due to my being
dropped from a class without my ap¬
proval or knowledge.”
O’Brien contends that someone drop¬
ped him from an aviation class by
forging his name on a drop slip. “I’m
left-handed and the signature was defi¬
nitely forged by a someone using his
right hand,” said O’Brien. “Also the
name was spelled using a little “b”. I
always use a capital “B”. Dean Kauti
acknowleged the fact that he felt the
signature was not mine.”
“The decision to remove Brendan
(O’Brien) from office is not based on
one infraction, but also includes the
failure on his part to resolve the matter
in an acceptable manner,” said Kauti,
who declined to comment further in
fear of compromising O’Brien’s right
of privacy as a student.
Kauti said there’s no doubt in his
mind about Oberholtzer assuming the
presidency in a legal fashion. Connie
Hurston, student activities adviser,
added that “there is no way this de¬
cision will need to be over-turned.”
A different view about the legality of
the process used to place Oberholtzer
in office is held by several individuals
familiar with the AS Constitution, in¬
cluding both O’Brien and Jose Rodri¬
quez, currently the executive vice pres¬
ident.
“The AS Constitution clearly states
that in the event the president is
removed from office, the vice presi¬
dent shall assume his position,” said
Rodriquez, who continued, “Brendan
(O’Brien), not Lance (Oberholtzer),
was elected by the students to repre¬
sent them. Lance is not representative
of the students in anyway.”
You have to ask yourself the ques¬
tion,” said Rodriquez, “that if Brendan
(O’Brien) did not run, who is to say
Jerry Richards (the third place fin¬
isher) would not have won. Nobody can
know for sure what the outcome of the
race would have been.”
“The amount of votes each candidate
recieved was not specificaily dis¬
cussed,” said Ernestine Moore, dean of
student services. “But I’m sure it was
part of everyone’s thought process.
Jerry Richards was not a forgotten
person.”
“Jerry (Richards) only recieved 106
votes, as compared with my 568 votes,”
said Oberholtzer. “There is no way you
can honestly feel he would have fin¬
ished in front of me.”
O’Brien feels his election as presi¬
dent was verified in several ways.
“The results were posted. Dr. Scott
(superintendant-president) issued a
statement congratulating me on my
election. I chaired three AS Board
meetings, along with voting on $130,000
worth of legislation while participating
on the committee dealing with the
student services fund,” said O’Brien.
“My participation on this committee
was based on my position as AS presi¬
dent.”
“They’re barking up the wrong
tree,” said Oberholtzer. “There is no
provision in the AS Constituition con¬
cerning this specific issue. The con¬
stitution was written in a manner to be
flexible. It is not always absolute in
what it says.”
Oberholtzer feels the critical point is
the fact that the infraction took place
before the time of the election.
“He (O’Brien) was never technically
qualified to be president,” said
Hurston. “The legal term is uoid ante-
cedente, which means void from the
beginning, void from the start. There
'ere situations in law that negate con¬
tracts. If something happens when
you’re going from point A to point B,
when you get to point B, everything
that happened before can be voided,"
Hurston said.
“The current situation is not one
anyone can feel good about,” said
Kauti. “But I feel the students that
make up the AS Board are mature
enough to realize that they were
elected to serve the needs of the stu¬
dents. These individuals have responsi¬
bilities to the college and their fellow
students.”
“If they keep Lance (Oberholtzer) in
the office of president,” said Rodri¬
quez, “one has to wonder what student
government is all about.”
Conchita Roig/Courier
The royal court from left to right, Angel Futz, Scott Svonkin', Regina Ringo and Brian Taves.
‘First’ King Crowned
Queen and
By Sally Blake
Associate Opinion Editor
Surrounded by controversy since
the decision was made to use money
to determinethe court, this year’s
homecoming ceremony ended with
additional questions of ethics being
raised.
According to Regina Ringo, home¬
coming queen, three girls on the
court beside herself, gave money to
people for their votes. When asked
why she did it, Ringo responded, “I
did not want to make my friends pay
for me.”
Dee Dee Limon also admitted to
paying people to vote for her. “I did it
(paid people) on the second day of the
elections for about one hour,” said
Limon. “I felt strange doing it, so I
stopped. Still, I saw nothing wrong
with it. I’d do it again if presented
with the same situation.”
“Although there were no written
laws, we thought the candidates
moral values would be enough of a
guideline,” said Connie Hurston, stu¬
dent activities adviser. “It is un¬
fortunate that we cannot assume
ethics. We should have spelled it out
in the by-laws, but we didn’t. Some
candidates chose to follow only the
letter of the law, while others chose
to follow the spirit.”
The pageant contained several
firsts, the most notable being the
selection of males to the court. Scott
Svonkin was honored as the first king
of a homecoming court. “We (men)
have now obtained true equality on
the court,” said Svonkin.
Svonkin takes great pride in the
fact that he was selected as the first
king, and further feels the idea of
using homecoming as a charitable
fund raiser makes the event all the
more meaningful. “It was a great
feeling to contribute to Haven House.
I know the amount was small, but no
charity is going to turn their backs on
over $100.”
“Both Shomari Davis (the other
male on the court), and Scott
(Svonkin) represent what homecom¬
ing is all about,” said Hurston.”
Davis, president of the Black Stu¬
dent Union, feels that the opportunity
to serve on the court is the perfect
vehicle to act as a positive role model
in the black community.
“I chose to represent the United
Negro Fund because its important
for black people to help one another
in the quest for a better future.” said
Davis.
Several candidates expressed simi¬
lar personal feelings about partici¬
pating in a fund raising effort.
Tina Miller found herself selling
the charity she represented, The Mul¬
tiple Sclerosis Foundation, not herself
during the campiagn. “I knew some¬
body who died from the disease,” she
said. “It made me feel closer to that
person to help eradicate this disease
from society. When I went up to
people I told them to support the
charity of their choice, it was not just
the candidates that were getting the
support.”
Lolita Parker Jr., in an effort to
demonstrate to married women with
children that they were not alone at
PCC, chose her five-year-old son
London as her escort. “A lot of
people my age have children,” said
Parker. “It’s important for them to
realize that the educational process
can still continue.”
Parker was outspoken in her
criticism of some of the candidates
who provided the money so people
could vote for them. “The original
concept of representing a charity was
a good idea,” said Parker. “It’s sad
certain individuals used this op¬
portunity to buy their way onto the
court.”
The festivities started long before
the halftime ceremonies. At the reu¬
nion banquet held before the game,
more than 20 former AS presidents
showed up to reminisce about their
days at PCC. .
Sam Soghamonia, the AS president
at PCC in 1945, served as host and
introduced Lance Oberholtzer to the
crowd as the latest in a long line of
distinguished presidents. The occa¬
sion marked the first public ap¬
pearance for Oberholtzer since he
replaced Brendan O’Brien, following
a challenge to the election.
“The only thing that went wrong
tonight,” said Oberholtzer, “is the
fact we didn’t win the game — and
that’s what it’s really all about!”
First Meeting Boycotted
By Mark McElrea
News Editor
It was five minutes past noon on
Monday morning, and the new A.S.
President, Lance Oberholtzer, was get¬
ting more nervous by the minute.
Chairing his first meeting of the A.S.
Board since taking over the presidency
from Brendan O’Brien, Oberholtzer’s
worst fears were becoming reality as
only two members of the board showed
up. Tiffany Morgan, vice president of
student services, and Margarita Cor¬
nejo, who both ran on the Oberholtzer
ticket were the only members on time.
With a full agenda sitting in front of
him, Oberholtzer knew that time was
running out on the possibility of reach¬
ing the minimum of five votes needed
to constitute a quorum.
“Everybody knows there is a meet¬
ing,” said Connie Hurston, student ac¬
tivities adviser to Alvar L. Kauti,
assistant dean of student services.
At 10 minutes past noon, Cathy
Adesina, vice president of academic
affairs arrived, representing the third
and final person to run and gain office
on the Oberholtzer ticket. She brought
word that several members of the
board were on campus, but had no
intentions of showing up. All the absent
members ran on the O’Brien ticket
during the elections.
“I at least thought Jose (Rodriquez,
executive vice president) would show
up,” said Oberholtzer. “If for no other
reason than to protest the meeting.
At 15 minutes past noon, Oberholtzer
adjourned the meeting until further
notice. He felt no need to keep every¬
one waiting for the other members to
arrive since it was obvious that a
boycott was in progress.
“I am a bit shocked,” said Ob¬
erholtzer. “I talked to three people
yesterday who said they would be here,
who are not.”
“They know their responsibilities,”
said Hurston. “It’s sad that the stu¬
dents on campus are the ones who are
going to suffer most by the actions of
these few people.”
MECHA stood to gain the most dur¬
ing the meeting, and subsequently were
the big losers. Planning to attend a
national conference being held at
■Gavilan College in Gilroy and UC Santa
Cruz on Nov. 13-15, the club had hoped
to offset part of the cost of the trip for
10 of its members by asking for $800
from the board.
“Some of us will still be able to go,”
said Ildelfonso Villegas, president of
MECHA. “But some of the members
hoping to make the trip might have to
change their plans. I feel we are being
Lance Oberholtzer
victamized because of somebody else’s
problems.”
“The reason we ran was to help the
students/’ said Oberholtzer, who ex¬
pressed his desire to get the wheels of
A.S. goverment moving again. “What
happened today is totaly unacceptable.
There is no way this kind of behavior
will be tolorated.”
Parking Plan Deemed Successful
By Mark McElrea
News Editor
“Parking complaints are down this
year despite the overselling of parking
lots on a 5-to-l ratio, as opposed to 2-
to-1 a year ago. According to Philip
Mullendore, chief of campus police, the
initial phase of the new parking plan,
dubbed the “Svonkin Plan” in honor of
former student trustee Scott Svonkin is
working well.
Mullendore attributes this drop in
complaints to the active campaign to
make students aware that a parking
permit does not guarantee a parking
place. He said students are well aware
of this fact.
The Svonkin plan was two years in
the making, and was favorably re¬
ceived by more than 80 percent of the
1,500 students polled in the early part of
1986. It was this favorable response
that prompted the development of the
original idea presented to the Board of
Trustees on Oct. 23, 1986.
The overselling of permits has also
establish a surplus of $54,601 , over what
was brought in from the pay lots,
student decals, staff decals and cita¬
tions at this time a year ago.
Dr. Ray Ellerman, assistant super¬
intendent, administrative services,
claims the projections by Mullendore
for the year call for a surplus of $64,555.
“That appears to be an accurate esti¬
mate,” said Ellerman.
“Although our original hopes were
higher,” said Svonkin, “these figures
still show that we possess the ability to
generate revenue through the oversell¬
ing of parking permits. Original esti¬
mates by Svonkin had hoped as much as
$100,000 could be generated each
semester.
According to Svonkin, the original
idea of the plan called for students to
show the ability to create a continuous
source of income. This money would
then be saved to apply towards a loan in
hopes that someday it can be used to
obtain a loan to build a multi-level
parking structure.
Such a structure could cost as much
as $23 million to complete, or roughly
$5,000 to $10,000 per parking space.
If phase two is initiated by the Board
of Trustees, it will involve more seri¬
ous, detailed plans, with phase three
constituting the actual construction of
a parking structure.
“Everyone should have the same
right as the next person to try and
obtain parking,” said Svonkin. “Re¬
gardless if they want to pay 50 cents or
buy a permit.”
“Until the student lots on the east
side become pay lots, used in the same
manner as the existing pay lots on the
west side,” said Svonkin, “equality
between all students will not be met.”
Svonkin feels this equality is the key
to justifing the overselling of parking
permits.
Superintendent-President Dr. Jack
Scott, in addressing the Board of
Trustees in regards to parking said that
he “sees no way to finance a structure
off of the $20 fee collected from stu¬
dents purchasing a permit each
semester.” But in looking for alter¬
native ideas, he suggested that the
option of leasing the land to an outside
firm for the purpose of constructing a
multi-level parking structure might be
worth looking into. “Of course,” said
Scott, “they would undoubtedly charge
more than 50 cents to park.”