PCC Courier, October 02, 1981

n— инм in : : ЯШ МИРИ Я VOL. 52, NO. 6 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 2, 1981 \ , « » * • * « Parking, Child Care, Crime Top issues ASB Candidates to Debate Tuesday By Stacey Miyamoto Contributing Writer Taped speech debates between ASB presidential candidates and Senate presidential candidates will be aired Tuesday, Oct. 6 and 7 via PCC’s in¬ structional television. All candidates will introduce themselves in the free speech area, Oct. 6 at noon. Positions to be filled include: ASB president and vice president, senate president, senate first and second vice presidents, freshman and sophomore presidents, associated men and women presidents, and athletics president. The student government is composed of three separate branches: the ASB board, the Student Senate and the Supreme Council. The ASB board has 13 voting members, seven of which are elected positions. The other positions are nominated or appointed. The student senate is composed of students selected from any 9 a.m. class, but they have to attend two consecutive senate meetings. The Supreme Council has five mem¬ bers who are nominated by the ex¬ ecutive board and ratified by the stu¬ dent senate. The ASB officers are elected to serve student needs, which means represent¬ ing the students and seeing that their needs are presented before the Board of Trustees. Presidential Powers Vying for the position of ASB presi¬ dent are Richard Kim and Barry McGowan. The ASB president chairs all ASB meetings and has the power to make all governmental appointments, with the exception of the supreme council. He has the power to initiate legislation in the student senate and is also a standing member of both the bookstore committee and the food services committee. Kim is past student senate second vice president. “I firmly belief e that student government should first con¬ centrate their efforts on improving the quality of education. Secondly, im¬ prove the security conditions and re¬ vitalize the dwindling communication between the students and their elected officers.” He hopes to initiate teacher eval¬ uation pamphlets, develop a voluntary escort service for evening students and “increase vital communication be¬ tween students and their elected of¬ ficers so that we, as the elected of¬ ficers, can initiate and carry out pro¬ grams that students want and need.” Barry McGowan is a former senate president. McGowan hopes to concen¬ trate on solving parking problems and to continue to investigate bookstore profits and “buy-back” policies. Concerning the parking problem at PCC, McGowan discovered last semester that by getting home owners in the area surrounding PCC to sign a petition, restrictive parking signs could be removed. While serving as senate president, McGowan also initiated a committee to design a pamphlet giving students a realistic idea of what to expect when choosing classes. Tackles Problems Barte Masciarelli and Bob Carroll are running for senate president. The senate president chairs all senate meetings and is a standing member of the student services and curriculum committees. Bob Carroll is a past student senator, student trustee, and has been active on many PCC committees. His platform will deal with parking problems, child (Continued on Page 6) Study Assesses D is trie t Problems By Julien Orow Editor-in-Chief Plans for a Community Im¬ pact/Needs Study were announced at the' Sept. 17 Board of Trustees’ meet¬ ing. There are four major reasons for this study. They are to understand the patterns of participation, to assess knowledge and perceptions about PCC, to look at perceived needs for pro¬ grams/services here, and to assess how people get their information about the college. The Community Impact/Needs Study is an external evaluation of PCC. It is designed to tie-in with a Program Review, which will assess internal needs. The specific purpose of the Program Review is to evaluate the “strengths, weaknesses, and overall viability of the educational programs or courses of instruction at PCC.” One area that the Community Im¬ pact/Needs Study focuses on is the participation rate by school districts. Data based on preliminary enrollment information from the fall 1980 semester draws conclusions about which areas are already involved and which need to be further assessed. “There are a lot of areas that are simply not served, yet there is a need,” said John S. Madden, vice president of Administrative Services. Two of the lowest participation areas are Temple City and El Monte. “El Monte could be explained because the El Monte district is split,.” said Madden. But the needs of the Temple City area will have to be looked at more closely. Madden does, however, see a prob¬ lem in this data. It is based on the participation rate, which is the propor¬ tion of the population enrolled in credit programs. Madden feels that using these participation rates against raw population is “not a good way to dolt.” A task force composed of faculty, administration, students and outside consultants will be used in this study. The task force was set up the week of Sept. 21, and is the first step in the schedule of the project. Various research techniques will be employed, including questionnaires, telephone interviews, coding and key punch data, and data evaluation. The final report is expected to be presented to the Board of Trustees on Nov. 23. “It’s a very tight schedule, but it can be done,” said Madden. The areas which will be covered in the questionnaire are varied. The first is needs for educational programs and services, which includes reasons for participation, current and past educa¬ tional activities, etc. The second is information sources about education in general and PCC in particular, including general informa¬ tion or even specific programs. The other areas are perception of PCC, perceived barriers to education, and demographic information. .•'•г. SERIOUS DISCUSSION — The Board of Trustees studies ways to better meet the needs of the Pasadena community. From left: Student Trustee Joe Krovoza, Roger Gertmenian, Warren L Weber and Dr Richard H Green —Courier photo by Kent Zachary Loan Cuts to Affect Students in '82 No Dramatic Changes for This Year By Mary E. Jones News Editor Federal cuts in student loans and scholarships took effect yesterday as part of President Ronald Reagan’s efforts to trim the 1982 federal budget. These cuts will not dramatically hurt students this year, but according to Gene S. Miller, PCC scholarships and financial aid coordinator, cuts in Na¬ tional Direct Student Loans and Pell Grant programs are going to adversely affect PCC students by ’82-’83. Pell Grants is the largest grant program and awards scholarships directly to students under a formula that considers the size of the student’s family and its income, assets and expenses. Under the old system a student most likely to qualify was one of two children whose parents earned less than $25,000 per year. New Security Measures Implemented College Safety Problems Discussed By Dave Cronemiller Staff Writer Budget cuts have had an effect on law enforcement agencies across the country and PCC is no different. PCC doesn’t have nearly the high rate of crimes against the person other major cities have, but colleges in general have a special set of concerns. One major problem seems to be theft; theft of school property, such, as typewriters or audio-visual equipment, and theft of student property such as sound systems, books and bicycles. According to Ralph Riddle, director of College Safety, stricter measures designed to insure protection of school property are being put into effect. All equipment must be signed for and the Ralph Riddle user has a responsibility to take proper care of it. If a room is found open during non-use hours a report is sent to the Security office and a copy is sent to the department chairman involved. Side Street Permits Another area where changes are occurring is in the dispersement of security officers. Budget cuts have forced the department to cut back in the number of officers on the payroll. Part-time personnel have been hired on an hourly basis to check permits during peak hours of traffic. The city of Pasadena, according to Riddle, continues to balk at a proposal by the college designed to alleviate the parking problem. The proposal would have the city sell parking permits allowing students to park on side- streets near the campus without having to dodge the meter maids every one or two hours. Complaints by Pasadena residents are the primary reason for declining the proposal, but according to Riddle, they are afraid they will open “a can of worms” by being one of the first communities to adopt such an idea. One thing is certain, though; legally or illegally, students are still going to park on the residential streets near the campus. The idea behind changing the depart¬ ment title from Security and Parking to simply College Safety, according to Riddle, is to reflect the need for per¬ sonnel trained in all aspects of safety on campus such as crowd control and handling emergency situations, rather than just college police. Since there are fewer officers on campus to patrol, the burden of protec¬ tion is falling increasingly on the indi¬ vidual. The Safety department is put¬ ting out a pamphlet entitled, simply enough, “College Safety.” Lock It Up The pamphlet contains some useful guidelines that might keep someone’s stereo, bicycle, moped or even books from getting ripped off. Books are a hot item since the college has a buyback policy, according to Riddle. The pamphlet recommends never let¬ ting your textbooks or other personal possessions out of sight. Another area of interest to students and faculty covered in the pamphlet concerns being on campus at night. Night students and faculty are wise to park near lights and know the locations of phones in their immediate area. One of the major factors concerning theft is ease of access. If a burglar can just get on a bicycle or moped and ride away without drawing unnecessary at¬ tention, or simply open a car door and get inside, the chances of the theft being stopped are very low. The bottom line of a secure campus, according to Riddle, is student, faculty and administrative awareness. Unless everyone gets involved, the number of security personnel on the campus has little or no meaning. The old saying that “it can’t happen here” no longer applies. The new formulas and spending lim¬ its will force thousands of families in the $17,000 to $25,000 income range off the Pell Grant program. Those stu¬ dents still able to receive these funds will see less money since it will be spread thinner. Funds Spread Thinner In the next school year PCC students will see a 15 percent reduction in the amount of the Pell Grant they receive, said Mrs. Miller. Non-resident students will be hit the hardest since the Pell Grants will no longer entirely cover their tuition costs. Pell Grant dollars per student will also be reduced because of a new law which assesses students’ budgets by what Mrs. Miller called a totally un¬ realistic figure. “Rather than letting us use what it really costs to go to school as a base we have to use a federal figure which is a phony figure,” Mrs. Miller said. The old formula estimated that for living expenses, books and fees, a PCC student needs $4,000 to survive during the school year, but the federal figure which Pell Grants are now based on allows students only $1,500 to live on. In most instances it’s the community college student who suffers the most under this federal system, according to Beverly Johnson, student placement financial aid officer at Cypress Col¬ lege. This is because four-year college students who live in dormitories can GSL is a program whereby the gov¬ ernment agrees to subsidize low-in¬ terest loans for students. Before the revisions, any student regardless of income could receive this loan. Usually the student borrows from a bank and the government guarantees to repay the loan if the student defaults and pays the interest while the student continues in college. Once the student leaves school, he has 10 years to repay the loan. With the Reagan changes, families making over $30,000 per year will have to show an exceptional need to receive this loan. They also have to pay a 5 percent loan assessment fee which is taken off the top of the loan and paid to the bank to help defray costs, but students would still be required to pay interest on the entire amount of the loan. Interest Rates Jump The minimum annual repayment on GSL was increased from $360 to $600 per year. Congress also cut the amount of money available for GSL. During the past year GSL payments have become an uncontrollable part of the federal education budget mainly because of the jump in interest rates by banks. The default rate on GSL grew to a 12 percent rate last year leaving the federal government stuck with the bill. During the fiscal year the government will spend $1.9 million on GSL and some available estimates show that thin because of rising tuition in four- year colleges and rising enrollment in community colleges, said Mrs. John¬ son. With the availability of funds tightening, Mrs. Miller said many stu¬ dents who planned on going to high-cost private schools may have to opt for state schools and those who planned on attending four-year state schools may have to be satisfied with community colleges. Unfortunately, many students whose families are in dire need or those who support themselves may not be able to go to college at all, she said. “I suspect there is going to be a reduction in the number of returning students. The ones who are on their own and have to give up a job or dramatically reduce their hours to go back to school are not going to have the resources to go to college,” she added. Mrs. Miller pointed out that there were several cuts that nedeed to be made in some student programs such as GSL but she expressed concern that the Reagan administration has gone too far, too fast. Changes to Make “There needs to be tightening up on the administration of programs to eliminate some of the fraud and abuses that take place— for example, more careful monitoring of the income of students who apply to make certain that they truly qualify. “Secondly, schools need to be (Continued on Page 6) 'Many students whose families are in dire need or those who support themselves may not be able to go to college at all. ' include dormitory fees and food fees as part of their college costs and have it paid for but community college stu¬ dents don’t have this opportunity. Help for the Needy “This program was designed to help poor and minority students. When Mr. Reagan was elected, they talked about the ‘safety net for the poor.’ They were not going to do anything that would hurt the ‘truly needy.’ Unfortunately, what is happening is the ‘truly needy’ are the ones who are about to get beheaded,” said Mrs. Miller. Another area where major controls are being implemented is the Guaran¬ teed Student Loan (GSL) programs. GSL is the most expensive program and these loans go to less needy stu¬ dents, said Mrs, Johnson. next year students will want to borrow $17 billion in GSLs. Some federal officials would like to see students pay their own interest on GSLs while they are in school. Many college officials say that this would undermine the whole system as many banks would pull out, not trusting students to pay the interest. Other programs being reduced by the federal government include a 30 percent drop in the National Direct Student Loan program. The interest on these loans also increased from 4 percent to 5 percent. The Parent Loan program interest was increased from 9 percent to 14 percent. Funds Stretched Thin Even where programs have not been cut the dollar amount will be stretched nside World Food Day See story page 2 □ 'Mommie Dearest' Review See story page 3 □ PCC Wins, 69-6 See story page 4 □ Cross Country Rivalry See story page 5 □ Animation Festival See story page 6