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Pasadena City College
ouner
“Shaun”
kills at the
box office
Page 7
Oct. 7, 2004
pcc-courieronline.com
Yol. 90, Issue 5
Manage
Money
Wisely
Lamaria Sapp
Sports Editor
The thought of buying a home
while in college or right after gradu¬
ating, for most students, is as far¬
fetched an idea as winning the lot¬
tery.
Wilda Black, homeownership
education coordinator, confirms, “If
a 18- to 25-year-olds have planned
properly, yes, they can buy a home.”
The benefits of buying a home
includes building equity, tax reduc¬
tion, building personal credit and no
landlord hassles.
Some barriers on the road to own¬
ing a home are unnecessary spending
and a lack of discipline.
“As a young adult in college, you
know if you have good money man¬
agement skills or if you are chal¬
lenged in that area,” Black said. “If
you are challenged, my advice is to
stay away from credit cards. They
can be a financial money pit.”
Getting your first credit card was
like a rite of passage. With little or no
income, you were instantly liberated,
powerful and assertive.
What most students don’t realize
is that credit cards not only provide
freedom, but they can also lead to
financial ruin if not used properly.
“It is important to establish good
credit, not high debt,” Black said.
Students who are bombarded
with credit .cards before and after
they enter college are urged not to
accept them. However, if they are
looking to establish credit, it is
important to talk to a responsible
person and create a plan on how the
credit card will be used.
For students who want to own a
home, Black offers tips for saving for
a down payment.
“Know your income, know your
expenses. Keep track of every penny
you spend for a two-week period.
Write it down! You will be amazed at
how much is spent on things you do
not need and really don’t want,”
Black said. “Impulse buying is a real
downfall to financial fitness. You
Money
ж
Page 6
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Kenny Kirnura/ Courier
CAPTION
Student Jumps from
Building, Breaks Leg
■ An autistic student suf¬
fers a compound fracture
after falling on campus.
Jessica Pirkl
Managing Editor
A 23-year-old
РСС
student sustained
multiple injuries after leaping from the
second floor railing between the V and T
buildings Tuesday, Oct. 5.
Vincent Chow, diagnosed with
autism, must attend his classes with the
aid of a caretaker.
Chow made the 25-foot leap with little
warning, according to witnesses. Ernie
Lee, ceramics shop manager, said, “I saw
a kid standing on top of the rail and he
said ‘I’m bungee jumping!’ He counted to
three and yelled ‘GO!’ and jumped. It
happened so quickly. I ran over to him
and his bone was sticking out of his leg.
The poor kid didn’t know what was hap¬
pening.”
Before the incident there was little
indication the student was a danger to
himself, according to Kris Pilon, his
screenprinting instructor. “He told us he
was going to clean a screen and the room
was full, so he walked outside with his
caretaker. Generally he gets along well in
the class. He’s never been a problem, and
he does his work. I knew he was a special
needs student, but I never thought any¬
thing like this would happen,” said Pilon.
Another witness, Orsi Villacorta, said,
“At first I didn’t think he was hurt. I was
surprised he even jumped. I thought it
was a joke or something. Then I saw his
leg. He was bleeding.”
РСС
police were first to respond with
the Pasadena City Fire Department
quickly following. They worked together
to quickly aid Chow.
There are approximately 900 special
needs students attending PCC, but only a
small percentage need the help of a care¬
taker, said Dr. Kent Yamauchi, assistant
dean of special services.
When a possible safety concern was
raised, PCC officer Russell Ruetz said,
“I feel that the construction of the build¬
ing itself would prevent an accidental
fall, but nothing like this could have been
expected. The campus takes all necessary
precautions in keeping its students safe.
This was an unfortunate accident.”
Chow sustained a compound fracture
to his left leg and injured his right ankle.
His return to campus will be determined
after a thorough review of all facts and
findings of the incident.
“We’re all concerned for his future
safety,” said Ruetz.
Sexual
Harassment
a Problem
on Campus
■ Women taking classes in the
Hutto-Patterson gym complain
about unwanted advances by men
loitering in the hallways.
Annie Carone
Staff Writer
Almost any female PCC student can tell you that
walking into the men’s gym is not a pleasant experi¬
ence. With male athletes or “wannabe” athletes lining
the entrance, it’s not unusual for a female to hear sex¬
ually degrading or inappropriate comments, shouting,
and obscenities directed her way. Almost every woman
here has experienced it. Most have only been able to
try their best to ignore it.
According to the Pasadena Area Community
College District Procedures, “Sexual harassment,
under both federal and state law, is defined as unwel¬
come visual, verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of
a sexual nature.”
Examples include unwanted sexual advances, visu¬
al conduct (such as leering), verbal abuse, commen¬
taries about a person’s body and sexually degrading
words used to describe an individual.
While most women don’t consider the loiterers’
behavior full-on sexual harassment, many have
become upset and disturbed by it. “It makes people
uncomfortable,” said PCC student Ana S., “It’s getting
out of hand. My friend noticed it, too, and now she
walks me to class.”
Track team members Kimberly and Sara (last
names of women were not given due to the context of
the story) also find walking together to be effective
when they enter the gym on a daily basis. If that isn’t
possible, “I’ll talk on my phone,” said Kimberly,
“although it takes up my minutes.” Sara prefers to just
ignore it. “I just act like I don’t hear it and keep walk¬
ing,” she said.
Art major Emily feels that the behavior is getting
way out of hand. “I don’t like it,” she said. “You’re just
minding your own business and they start asking you
your name. I’ve even been followed to class. It’s dis¬
turbing.”
While various females have perfected ways to
ignore the troubling behavior, many more are wonder¬
ing why they have to put up with it in the first place.
Will there ever be a time when a woman can walk
Harassment *
Page 4
Parking
Machines
Busted
Diane Garcia
Entertainment Editor
Eight parking machines have
been broken into over the course
of two nights in the past week,
said PCC's Sgt. Lester. Though
the amount burglarized has yet to
be determined, PCC officers are
doing all they can to catch the
culprit.
The first six machines were
broken into Monday morning
between midnight and 4 a.m.,
while the last two were burglar¬
ized sometime on Tuesday night,
officials said.
Currently there are no sus¬
pects in custody but officers were
able to obtain fingerprints from
one of the machines, Lester said.
The fingerprints are currently
being sent to a lab where they will
be carefully matched against a
Busted
ж
Page 6
Campus Radio Operators Certified
■ Radio broadcast students can
for the first time become certified
through the college.
Caroline Ikeji
Staff Writer
Daniel Lottes
/
Courier
Theerasak Poonsombat mixes it up as one of KPCS’s
newly certified radio operators.
Fourteen students received their radio operation cer¬
tificates from the Society of Broadcast Engineers,
prompting a celebration that was held on Friday, Oct. 1 .
The spring 2004 radio broadcaster master control
course was revised last semester to allow students to take
and pass the exam. Out of 20 students, 14 passed.
“The certificates show prospective employers that the
operator is serious and understands the principles of
radio operations and Federal Communications
Commission rules and regulations,” said Jeff Rudisill,
instructor of the class.
The SBE is a national organization that is responsible
for licensing radio stations and also issues technical and
operations certificates. The SBE originated from the FCC, which
decided to leave the licensing responsibility to another organiza¬
tion.
The students spent the whole semester preparing for the test,
which was their final exam.
“I’m glad I passed,” said student Scott Davenport. “It was an
accomplishment, and it’s one less thing to worry about.”
“It was a great accomplishment for me,” said student Tom
Tanaka. “My goals are not complete, but I [completed one part]
of them and it was great hearing the news.”
The certification allowed the birth of a campus radio club,
KPCS, which strives to be a voice for the students and to train
effective radio operators and producers.
Members of the club learn about various aspects of radio and
receive training in radio operations.
The celebration also served as the first meeting of the year for
the group, which is working on setting up the structure of the
club and to promote themselves.
Members hope the club will provide them with experience
that they can take with them in the future.
“I hope I get training and experience in radio operations that
will be a service to the school,” said Anny Celsi, a member of
the club.
Rudisill also has a similar goal for the club.
“I hope to train effective radio operators and producers and
to become a voice for the students,” he said.
Flu Shot Shortage
Looms Ahead
Dean Lee
Staff Writer
Just days before the Student
Heath Center was to receive flu
vaccinations for this year flu season, the U.S. supply of
vaccines was unexpectedly cut in half. Students will
now be asked to delay or skip flu shots altogether.
Chiron, a major flu-shot supplier, was blocked
Tuesday from distributing as many as 48 million doses
worldwide by the British government after the discovery
of contamination problems at the company’s Liverpool,
England plant.
The Bush administration has urged doctors and the
public to begin voluntary rationing so the young, the
elderly or anyone with a health conditions can receive
the vaccine first but they cannot enforce the recommen¬
dations.
“The cut in flu vaccines this year will have a major
impact on increasing the chances of catching influenza
and so we expect to see more students coming in for
cold and flu medicine,” the college health nurse, Jo
Buczko, said.
During a typical flu season the Student Heath Center
receives 600 doses and then sells tickets for $12 per shot.
This year the Student Heath Center ordered all the vac¬
cine doses from Aventis, another producer not affected
Vaccines *
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