PCC Courier, November 12, 1987

Question of Ethics Surround Homecoming Page 2 AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY Great American t SMOKEOUT is;"».-» V. - • • . лЛ'Л < . 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.”