Bridget
Jones ’
Nov. 18, 2004
pcc-courieronline.com
is hack!
But is the
magic?
Page 8
Vol. 90, Issue 1 1
Alumnae Earns
Top Honors
JPL scientist to receive 2004
Distinguished Alumni Award
Diane Garcia
Entertainment Editor
Most students attending
PCC hope to make a mark
in history with their chosen
field of study and others,
like 1978 PCC graduate
Adriana Ocampo, are leav¬
ing their impression right
now.
Ocampo was chosen by
the California Community
College League as one of
five recipients for its 2004
Distinguished Alumni
Award. The award is given
to former community col¬
lege students who have
gone on to distinguished
careers.
“It was really a honor,”
said Ocampo. “I don’t even
know how they found me. Of course, my family,
and my parents are all very proud.”
Ocampo began taking classes at PCC during
her senior year of high school in South Pasadena
and after graduation she continued at PCC to fin¬
ish her general requirements before transferring
to Cal State Los Angeles.
Ocampo is a planetary scientist for JPL where
she analyzes returning data for the Mars Odyssey
Mission. Working for JPL since 1973, she has
furthered her education nearly as long as she has
Rafael Delgado/ Courier
Adriana Ocampo, a JPL planetary scientist and a 1978
PCC graduate, has been selected by the California
Community College League as one of five recipients of
the 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award.
been at for the lab. Ocampo is currently finishing
her doctoral dissertation at Vrije Universiteit in
the Netherlands while living and working in
Southern California.
This year’s Distinguished Alumni Awards will
also honor Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; Robert
Wharton, chief research officer of Idaho State
University; actor/director Sean Astin; and Pat
McCormick of the Pat McCormick Educational
Foundation. The awards banquet will be held
today at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Speed Demon
Rafael Delgado
/
Courier
MASTER ENGINE BUILDER: Jason Spohr, engineering and technology instructor, shows off
his award-winning engine to high school students at the Pomona Fairplex Career Day on
Nov. 10. - See story on
Раде
5. -
Shortcut to the American Dream
Transfer Application Deadline Drawing Near
■ International students may soon
find a shortcut to gaining natural¬
ization by earning high marks in
college.
Cristina Pena
Staff Writer
Imagine a successful student,
working hard for the American
Dream. This is a student who is in
honors classes, graduates with a 3.5
GPA, and is dedicated. This student
will move on from high school into a
future subjected to lost opportunities
and ambiguity. This student is
marked. This student is undocu¬
mented. This student is here illegal¬
ly-
Every year roughly 35,000
undocumented students graduate
from our country’s high schools. In
a country filled with wealth, power
and opportunity it is not uncommon
for individuals to risk everything for
the American Dream. Immigrant
children are brought here with the
intension of making a better life for
them. Many are students who have
been here for years, said PCC stu¬
dent activist Sayqri Tanabe. She
believes “it’s not the students’ fault.”
Unfortunately, as
children they have
very little choice in
immigration and
less with the legali¬
ties of the country.
Many times
these children grow
up believing they
are full Americans,
because they are
educated in the lan¬
guage and culture.
This is the life they
know and embrace.
Lawfully, all chil¬
dren, regardless of
documentation,
cannot be denied public education.
Oftentimes, these children develop
in the system under the belief they
are legal, only to find out after grad¬
uation the awful truth. Others face
the deep secret head on, plagued by
the constant fear of being caught
and deported.
Slores Gamboa is just one exam¬
ple of a student who faces this covert
American .tragedy daily. Gamboa
was brought to this country at the
age of 10. He said his family came to
the United States in an effort to
quickly pay off debt in Mexico.
Ironically, maintaining a standard
American lifestyle usually requires
various ongoing debts. “I was
Illustration by William Hallstrom
/
Courier
naive,” said Gamboa. In Mexico he
had gone to an American school and
had “grown up with American cul¬
ture. I wanted Disneyland. I wanted
what I learned,” he said. Two years
Dream Act ,*%
Page 3
Ernesto Ruiz
Staff Writer
Thinking about transferring
next fall semester? The deadline to
apply to the University of
California system or the California
State University system is Nov. 31
for students planning to transfer
next fall 2005. The Cal State appli¬
cation differs from the UC applica¬
tion in that a personal statement is
not needed. Students can apply to
any of the Cal State campuses by
visiting www.csumentor.edu. They
can also take a virtual tour of each
campus as well as look up other
important campus information,
such as major requirements. UC
applications are available at
www.ucop.edu/ pathways.
Applications can also be mailed
in. They are available in the
Transfer Center in LI 10. However,
both university systems prefer that
students apply online because it is
faster. Also, if corrections need to
be made on any of the applica¬
tions, it is easier online.
Both UC and CSU require a
nonrefundable $55 application fee.
These fees may not be transferred
to another term at any campus. Fee
waivers are available for low-
income applicants who are
California residents. Also take into
account that a student’s family size
plays an important part in qualify¬
ing for a fee waiver. A fee waiver
form is available in each school’s
application packet. The University
of California will waive up to four
campuses for qualified students
who are in financial need. The fee
Transfer
Page 4
New Math, English
Requirements for
Graduation Delayed
Micah Flores
Staff Writer
Future community college stu¬
dents who hope to earn an associ¬
ate in science degree may have an
extra class or two to contend with if
the California community colleges
board of governors changes the
current math and English require¬
ments.
Currently, students only need to
complete MATH 125 (beginning
algebra) and ENGL 100 (read¬
ing/writing skills) to earn an AS
degree. With the new requirements,
they would also have to successful¬
ly complete MATH 131 (intermedi¬
ate algebra) and ENGL 1A (read¬
ing'/ composition).
The PCC mathematics and
English divisions support the pro¬
posed changes.
Amy Ulmer, English division
dean,- explained that the depart¬
ment's faculty overwhelmingly feels
that the requirement should be
raised.
“English 1A should be
required,” said Ulmer. “Students
who graduate need to be able to
read and write.”
Frederick Keene, math instruc¬
tor, and one of the mathematics
department representatives on
PCC’s Academic Senate, also
thinks that it's important for the
math requirement to be raised.
“The benefit of changing the
mathematics requirement is the
perceived value of the degree,”
Keene said. “If the people of the
state of California start to think
that associate degrees are really
nothing but jumped-up high
school diplomas, that would prob¬
ably not be very good for the stu¬
dents who work so hard at the
community colleges.”
A resolution which was voted
upon and narrowly passed at the
Oct. 21 statewide Academic
Senate meeting in Newport Beach
called for the postponement of
this very complex issue.
Kathryn Dabelow, president of
the college’s Academic Senate and
PCC’s representative to the
statewide Senate, voted to delay
formal discussion on the matter.
A government document outlin¬
ing the proposed change, known
as the white document, was only
made available to members of the
Senate on Oct. 4.
“There are lots of issues that
are involved in this. It’s not just
about adding another class that
will make things a lot harder for
the student,” said Dabelow. “An
increase in graduation require¬
ments would mean more required
classes, thus more faculty and
more classrooms.
“Depending on students edu¬
cational goals, particularly in
terms of articulation with four-
year colleges, increased require¬
ments might mean an actual
decrease in the number of stu¬
dents graduating,” she said.
The possible changes in gradua¬
tion requirements will be on the
agenda for the statewide Academic
Senate's spring meeting.
If requirements are going to be
changed, the statewide Senate
votes to recommend these changes
to the board of governors.
i