VOL. 89, NO. 11
NOV. 20, 2003
Pasadena City College
Sports:
The tale of
Luke Sniewski
Feature:
Police Chief
says goodbye
Ashley Selva
Staff Writer
An altercation over running
water led to an attack on a stu¬
dent when he was brutally beat¬
en in the men's gym on the after¬
noon of Nov. 12.
PCC student Jonny Corman,
46, was accosted by suspect
Richard Nicely, a 22-year-old for¬
mer student and track athlete,
when Corman turned off Nicely's
shower water in the Hutton-
Patterson gym after the water
had been running for 15 minutes.
"I noticed that the shower
next to mine was running, but no
one was using it. He was wasting
water, so I just turned it off. He
(Nicely) thought it was disre¬
spectful," Corman told officers in
the police report.
The victim said Nicely angrily
protested his actions. According
to the police report, Corman said
he retaliated with profanity and
was then assaulted by Nicely with
flaying fists and a trashcan. Nicely
reportedly then left the gym only
to return with a wooden "No
Smoking" sign. Corman told offi¬
cers he began running in fear for
his life and Nicely chased him out
of the gym while striking him five
times in the back, causing the
sign to shatter into pieces.
The victim said he fled to the
auto shop and stayed there until
the suspect left the area.
Corman suffered a deep abra¬
sion to the back of his left shoul¬
der, a swollen left hand, bruising
and redness to his face. He was
treated at the PCC health center.
"He (Nicely) had a menacing
look in his eye and kept talking
gibberish. I thought he was going
Entertainment:
PCC faculty
show of their
work
to kill me," Corman said.
Nicely returned to the gym the
following day and was appre¬
hended in the men's restroom by
officer John Hynes and campus
investigator Steven Lester. Nicely
was charged with a misdemeanor
and was released yesterday.
"A possible reason for the
attack on the victim could have
been that he felt disrespected by
the victim when he cursed at
him," Hynes said.
The attack raised student con¬
cerns about the security on the
campus. Hynes noted that
because PCC is an open campus it
is relatively easy for anyone to
use the facilities.
"There should be a security
check in the locker rooms. It
makes me uncomfortable to hear
that," said 21-year-old student
Ravy Choi.
Jaynita Carney/Courier
Suspect Richard Nicely is escorted to a waiting squad car by officer John Hynes and
investigator Steven Lester for allegedly beating a student with a no-smoking sign.
Suspect Arrested
for Beating Student
Cessation of bus and rail service
Roster Blunder Forces Forfeits
Qt'iX
r
Cornell West to Appear
Jaynita Carney
Sports Editor
Jim Comeau/Courier
Gabriela Pedone, leading goal scorer for PCC's women's soccer team,
became an illegible player when her name was mistakenly left off the
official team roster.
PCC's only playoff hope was dashed after the
South Coast Conference made an example of
women's soccer on Nov. 12, and forced the
team to forfeit eight of 18 games played this
season.
The Lancers finished their season strong
with a 3-1 win over Cerritos College Falcons on
Nov. 11. This gave them a 12-6 overall record
and a 7-5 record in SCC. Two days later the
team received the news that they were no
longer second in the conference. The SCC ruling
changed the season standings to 4-14 overall
and 1-11 in SCC play.
Seven of the forfeits were due to the ineligi¬
bility of freshman forward Gabriela Pedone.
However, this was through no fault of her own.
Pedone played in the seven games because no
one realized that her name had been left off
the team's Form-3, an official document used to
report team eligibility to the confer¬
ence and to other colleges.
Pedone was not officially listed on
the form until after Oct. See page
Senator Announces Re-election Campaign
Jack Scott, former PCC president,
takes aim at handguns and HMOs
Jason Cordova
Asst. Sports Editor
Sen. Jack Scott announced his
candidacy for the California State
Senate at Pasadena City College on
Thursday, Nov. 13 in . front of the
Shatford Library.
Scott, with no Democratic
opposition, is running for re-elec¬
tion to the 21st District seat, which
includes Altadena, Burbank,
Glendale, La Canada-Flintridge,
Pasadena, San Gabriel, Temple City
and portions of Los Angeles and
unincorporated communities.
Scott chairs the Senate Budget
Subcommittee on education, and
has always maintained that educa¬
tion is his primary focus.
He has passed numerous "edu¬
cation friendly" bills. One makes
interest on student loans tax
deductible and a package of bills
increases the supply and quality of
teachers in California's classrooms.
"Mr. Schwarzenegger and I
both feel education is key to
California," Scott stated. "I'm not a
Democrat first, I'm a senator for
the people first. Party differences
aside, I have been able to work
with former Gov. Pete Wilson and
Gov. Gray Davis."
Scott has seen 47 of his bills
signed into law, including one that
ensures HMOs make prompt pay¬
ments to doctors and hospitals.
He introduced legislation that
requires a trigger lock for all hand¬
guns sold in California. Gun control
laws are hotly debated throughout
California and the United States.
Scott is also responsible for bills
that streamlined adoption proce¬
dures, cutting the time from 90
days to 30 days.
"I feel that the adoption situa¬
tion in California is in a crisis,"
Scott exclaimed, after announcing
his candidacy. "I've passed a bill
that enables foster parents to be
able to receive more information
Jaynita Carney/Courier
Longtime education advocate Jack Scott kicks off his
campaign for a second term as a California state senator.
on the children they take in. We've
had tragic instances where the fos¬
ter parents did not know about
the child's psychological or physical
problems."
Scott is a former president of
PCC, from 1986-1995, and also an
accomplished writer and historian.
Scott's book on John Witherspoon,
one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, was
published in 1982.
Rita Vega-Acevedo
Senior Staff Writer
Dr. Cornel West, never one to shy away from talking about politics,
racism and societal malaise, will speak at PCC on Dec. 5 in Sexson
Auditorium at 7 p.m.
West is a world-renowned professor at Princeton University and
author of "Race Matters", a hard-hitting book which explains why some
blacks have not progressed as rapidly as other groups in America.
The distinguished scholar and orator will speak on "Restoring
Hope." The title comes from one of his books. It includes conversations
with people such as Maya Angelou, Winton Marsalis and other role
models.
"Don't be surprised if West
speaks on a variety of contem¬
porary and even controversial
issues," said Carrie Afuso, coor¬
dinator of the PCC Cross
Cultural Center. The center and
the Black Student Alliance are
sponsoring the lecture.
"I'm really looking forward
to hearing him," said McTate Courtesy Photo
Stroman, a psychology student
at PCC. Stroman is also a member of the Black Student Alliance and says
that West is a powerful speaker who motivates and empowers others.
West has also spoken out about the negative portrayals of young
people in the media. In his book "Restoring Hope," he told the journal¬
ist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, "I tell you, it's good to hear someone like
you who does have a certain confidence and faith in much of the
younger generation. You hear them trashed all the time."
According to Afuso, West is in great demand on college campuses.
She has been working for three years to have him come to PCC. The
Cross Cultural Center has developed a highly-regarded lecture series.
Some of the previous speakers have included Sherman Alexie, James
McBride and others.
"Our students need to be exposed to high caliber and world-class
thinkers. West challenges people to think," said Afuso.
Hey It's Your Campus,
Try to Keep It Clean
Rita Vega-Acevedo
Senior Staff Writer
The Associated Students are on
the move to combat litter and
instill pride in keeping PCC clean.
They have even come up with a
catchy project slogan called "The
Hey It's My Campus" committee.
"The campus is dirty, students
are apathetic and we need to
change the culture," said Manny
Torres, committee chair and stu¬
dent trustee.
The beautification committee
has met a couple of times and is
brainstorming ways to launch an
environmental awareness and
clean-up campaign. Torres and oth¬
ers want to give presentations to
classes and work with the Earthwise
club to get the word out.
Other AS members, Arthur
Choy and Cynthia Gonzales, want
to make the campus
clean-up effort fun.
They suggested offer¬
ing incen- See page
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