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Associated
Students
Officer
Resigns
■ Tu Dam, vice
president of business
affairs, cites personal
problems as her reason.
By CHRISTINE GOMEZ
Courier Staff Writer
The AS board accepted the resig¬
nation of the vice president of busi¬
ness affairs, Tu Dam, in a special
meeting yesterday. Dam gave a
written resignation to the AS presi¬
dent Aaron Schaefer on Monday stat¬
ing because of a “severe personal
situation I must regretfully resign. ”
AS adviser Rebecca Cobb ex¬
pressed her disappointment about
the resignation. “I’m surprised at her
resignation, but I knew she was ex¬
periencing personal problems and
they were things she needed to deal
with," she said.
Dam’spersonal situation not only
caused her to resign from the board,
butforcedhertoleavePCC. Schaefer
said that, this
is an unfortu¬
nate loss for
the AS.
Dam’s po¬
sition on the
board con¬
sisted of keep¬
ing the AS fi¬
nances in or¬
der and' up¬
dated. She
also helped
write the bud¬
get alpng with
the president.
“Dam was
the only one
whodidn’trun
on our slate.
Everyone else
ran together
andkneweach
other, but she fit in with us and was
always a part of what we were doing.
She was always there with a helping
hand,” Shaefer said.
The AS will select a new vice
president in a month. Constitution¬
ally, the AS president can choose a
replacement for Dam, but Schaefer
said, because of past problems he
will allow the board to make the
choice.
A selection committee was ap¬
pointed yesterday which consists of
Jacqueline Ordonez, vice president
of academic affairs, Marlond
Tororeh, vice president of student
services, and will be chaired by
Michael Gorzynski, the coordinator
of external affairs.
Publicity began yesterday.
“I'm sur¬
prised at
her resig¬
nation, but
I knew she
was expe¬
riencing
personal
problems,
Becky
Cobb,
AS
Adviser
PHOTOS BY DANIEL ARCHULETA
/
THE COURIER
If the plan to ban smoking is approved, ashtrays would no longer be a necessity.
Campus Smoking Ban?
■ The College
Coordinating
Council will
determine legality of
such a move.
By SID SARAF
Courier Staff Writer
The enigma that is shared gov¬
ernance in the form of the Col¬
lege Coordinating Council has
been faced with possibly its first
real test after only two meetings.
One of the first issues brought
before the newly formed Council
is a proposal to make PCC a non¬
smoking campus.
Ellen Ligons, the president and
CCC representative of the fac¬
ulty senate, brought forth the pro¬
posal after receiving complaints
from faculty who teach in R Build¬
ing about students who smoke on
the balconies
“We will not let it happen.
There’s no way we will have a
non-smoking campus,” said AS
president Aaron Schaefer.
Although several students are
seen everyday smoking cigarettes
on the R Building and Campus
Center balconies, the current
school policy bans smoking at
those locations.
“It amazes me the number of
young people who smoke,” said
Smokers such as Alex Hong,
sophomore, may have to stop
smoking on campus.
Sherry Hassan, director of business
services, and council member.
Before smoking can be banned on
this campus altogether, there are sev¬
eral steps that must be taken. There
is still a question as to whether or not
a public institution can legally have
a non-smoking campus. To decide
that, the council enlisted Hassan’s
services to check with the college’s
insurance claims administrators,
Keenan & Associates.
According to Susan Talbot, the
president and representative from
the California Classified Associa¬
tion, if the council “decides that the
issue is relevant to shared gover¬
nance,” then an ad hoc committee
will most likely be formed with
members from select parts of the
council.
Some of the most vocal protesters
were members of the AS board. The
“It amazes me the
number of young
people who smoke, ”
Sherry Hassan,
Director of
Business Services
“We will not let it hap¬
pen. There's no way
we will have a non¬
smoking campus, ”
Aaron Schaefer,
AS President
AS has three members on the
CCC: Schaefer, Vanessa Schulz,
executive vice president, and
Jacqueline Ordonez, vice presi¬
dent of academic affairs repre¬
senting the student body on the
committee.
According to Talbot, if a com¬
mittee is formed on the matter,
one or more of the three students
will most likely sit in, as well as
possibly members from the fac¬
ulty senate and various other
Please see SMOKING, page 4
Plan Calls for
Fewer Votes
■ Reduced voter
approval requirements
on bond issues may
benefit funding for
future projects.
By DANIEL ARCHULETA
Courier Staff Writer
A proposal to lower the approval
rate for bond issues may forever
change the method the college uses
to secure funding for various projects.
The plan, initiated by the Califor-
niaTeacher’s Association earlierthis
year, calls for all education bonds to
be subject to just a simple majority
vote rather than the two thirds cur¬
rently necessary for approval.
“We’ve succeeded in having it
passed by the State Senate; now we
have to do the same with the Assem¬
bly,” said Ed Ortell, CTA’s head
negotiator on campus.
Presently, the Assembly is not in
session, but in January this issue will
be one of the first to be reviewed,
Ortell said. Once passed, the gover¬
nor must give the final go ahead. If
it passes all three hurdles, it will be
put on the ballot for public approval.
Ortell said that Republican Gov.
Pete Wilson stated that he is in favor
of this plan. Even though it was
introduced by the
СТА,
which is
considered Democratic Party
friendly.
“It’s good to
have bi-partisan
support for the
proposal; we
have every in¬
dication that it
will pass,”
Ortell said.
Under the
current system,
individual
colleges must
submit funding
proposals to the
state for projects
that are not cov¬
ered by their
budget alloca¬
tions.
If this mea¬
sure makes it on
to the June bal¬
lot and passes,
colleges would
no longer have
to submit complicated plans to the
state for approval.
Each campus board of trustees
would be permitted to place bond
issues on the ballot of local elec¬
tions.
Dr. Rod Fleeman, vice president
of administrative services, said that
the advent of this procedure would
allow PCC to seek funding for a
possible second phase of the master
plan.
He said that the recent windfall of
support the college has received from
the state for construction projects
would hurt its chances of securing
future funding. “The recent alloca¬
tions will definitely work against the
college,” Fleeman said.
Items included in a possible sec¬
ond master plan would be a new
parking structure and renovations to
existing campus buildings. Fleeman
added that the college would also be
able to provide improved access to
structures for handicapped students
as prescribed by the Americans With
Disabilities Act. “The state hasn’t
funded that for a number of years,”
he said.
Fleeman added that staying com¬
petitive with other local community
colleges would also be a motivating
factor behind the college develop¬
ing bond requests. Out-of-district
enrollment at PCC has been esti¬
mated to be between 40 and 60 per¬
cent.
If the college is to keep up this
level, Fleeman and Ortell both said
that access to instructional equip¬
ment is key to maintaining the im¬
pressive numbers.
“It would give us the resources
we need to enhance and expand our
already quality services,” Fleeman
said.
The college’s nearest competi¬
tor, Mt. San Antonio Community
College District,
has a special
bond election on
Nov. 4. Fleeman
said that if their
campaignis suc¬
cessful, it may
lay the ground
work for a bond
issue for PCC.
The sum¬
mary of the $122
millionMt. SAC
bond states that
the college
needs the extra
money to “pro¬
vide increased
educational op¬
portunity and
serve more stu¬
dents by replac¬
ing antiquated
facilities.”
Included on
the list are the construction of new
science, business, and computer
technology facilities. Ortell said
that because Pasadena is the oldest
two-year college in the area, its needs
are more pressing than Mt. SAC’s.
He added that the new guidelines
will keep the college competitive.
Ortell said the board of trustees
should should consider a bond.
“We've
suc¬
ceeded
in hav¬
ing it
passed
by the
State Senate; now
we have to do the
same with the As¬
sembly, ”
Ed Ortell,
California Teachers ‘
Association
Former AS President Pleads No Contest to Indecent Exposure
“The case dragged on longer than most misde¬
meanor trials; I'm just happy to see it over, ”
John Corrigan,
Campus Police Investigator
■ Roldan Herrera was
sentenced to three
years probation for his
actions last January.
By DANIEL ARCHULETA
Courier Staff Writer
Former AS president, Roldan
Herrera, pleaded no contest to
charges of indecent exposure near
the Child Development Center last
January, according to campus po¬
lice.
“The case dragged on longer than
most misdemeanor trials; I’m just
happy to see it over,” said John
Corrigan, lead investigator on the
case.
Individuals convicted of this type
of crime usually have to register as
sex offenders. But in Herrera’s case,
the no contest plea does not count as
a conviction.
Also, a court-ordered psycholo¬
gist found that his actions were not
part of a pattern and that he isn’t a
threat to society.
Aspartofthepleabargain, Herrera
has agreed to three years probation,
20 days of community service, 52
hours of psychological counseling,
and $407 in restitution, Corrigan
said. In exchange, prosecutors
dropped a contributing to the delin¬
quency of a minor charge.
According to police reports,
Herrera was arrested on Jan. 16 on
the charge of indecent exposure just
hours after the crime was reported.
The victim of the crime called
campus police and informed them
that she had just dropped off her
child at the CD C when she witnessed
an individual masturbating in a car
nearby. A description and license'
number led to Herrera’s arrest.
The contributing to the delin¬
quency of a minor charge came two
weeks after the initial incident.
Herrera isbelieved to have brought
a 16-year-old girl on to campus to
dispose of 3,000 copies of an issue of
The Courier that featured a story on
his indecent exposure arrest.
She was caught in the midst of
throwing away the papers by a staff
member.
Only a hand full of copies of the
paper were recovered, but it was
believed that more were taken, the
communications department re¬
ported.
While in custody, the girl said
that Herrera was responsible for her
actions.
Police were able to substantiate
her story and subsequently dropped
the charges against her.
Herrera has effectively been
banned from campus for his actions.
The Los Angeles County Probation
Department will oversee his progress.
Corrigan said that $307 of the
restitution money Herrera will be
forced to pay will go to the college to
reimburse the reprint of the paper.
