FEATURES
OPINION
Credit cards: students salvation
or potential disaster?
Page 2
Student production of the perennial
favorite musical “ Cabaret ” recreates the
drama and decadence of pre-war Berlin.
Page 3
SPORTS
Football team beats Mt.San
Antonio College 37-29
without three starters.
Page 6
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
VOL. 80 No. 7
™E COURIER
Serving the Pasadena Community since 1915
THURSDAY
October 13: 1994
COMMUNITY SKILLS CENTER
All is ready for
groundbreaking
but the name
Everything is ready for next
T uesday ’ s groundbreaking ceremony
at the site on Foothill Boulevard that
will house the Community Skills
Center (CSC). The architectural de¬
signs are ready, the site has been
prepared, the contractor has been
named and funds have been approved .
The only thing left undecided is the
name.
School officials told the Board of
Trustees that the word “skills” does
not properly describe the institution
and suggested replacing it with the
world “education.” Thus, the pro¬
posed name for the facility would be
“Community Education Center.”
The board could not vote on the
name change at its last meeting be¬
cause the item appeared on the meet¬
ing agenda for discussion only, and
not as a possible action item.
The need for a new name was
endorsed by various school officials,
including Dr. James Crayton, CSC
associate dean, who even polled in-
▼ What: Groundbreaking
ceremony
▼ Where: 3 1 3 1 E. Foothill Blvd.
▼ When: Tuesday, Oct. 18
at 4 p.m. All are invited.
structors at the center about their
preferences.
“The (CSC) faculty felt very com¬
fortable with the word ‘education.’
Whether it is a skill, a high school
diploma, or ESL, ‘education’ sort of
encompasses and embraces every¬
thing that we do,” Crayton said. He
added that, on the other hand, some
negativity is frequently associated
with the world “skills.” For some
people," When you say ‘skills,’ they
feel like you are putting them down.”
Once they heard about plans fora
new name, neighbors of the new site
were suspicious that the school would
build and operate something differ¬
ent from what they agreed on during
Please seeCENTER, Page 5
Temperatures soar as midterms approach
COURIER STAFF
An unidentified student naps between classes by the Mirror Pools, taking advantage of summer-like temperatures in October.
SHANE CLARKE/THE COURIER
Kris Le, member of the Rotaract Club, braves the challenging inflatable obstacle
course by the Mirror Pools during Homecoming activities this week.
Homecoming revives the ’70s spirit
By GILBERT RIVERA
COURIER STAFF WRITER
As a prelude to the homecoming football
game on Saturday, the Associated Students
(AS) is sponsoring several activities sched¬
uled for today and Friday.
A pep rally will be held today in the Quad
from noon to 1 p.m. to try to encourage more
students to participate in the homecoming
festivities. The PCC pep squad, the home¬
coming court and the PCC band will partici¬
pate in the event. “What we are trying to do
is pump the students up to get them in¬
volved,” said Chris Boyden, co-chair of the
homecoming committee.
Meanwhile, elections for this year’s home¬
coming queen will run today from 9 a.m. to
2 p.m and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the
Quad. This is the last day to vole.
“Flashback to super 70s” will be the
theme for tomorrow’s homecoming dance.
The retro dance, which runs from 9 p.m. to
midnight, will be held at the ODD Fellows
Temple in Pasadena. Students are encour¬
aged to wear fashions from the “groovy 70s,”
such as bell bottoms and platform shoes. A
contest will be held for the best dressed male
and female and the prices for tickets are $2.
The Homecoming festivities began last
Tuesday with a velcro obstacle course in
front of the Mirror Pools. Several AS mem¬
bers, including Chris Koo, vice-president of
student services and Adrienne Georgine,
coordinator of external affairs, participated
in the course The team finished fourth,
however, and the Armenian Club placed
on top. “1 thought it was a fun event. I was
very impressed and it seemed that every¬
one had a good time,” said Robert Bow¬
man, AS president.
According to Janelle Gonzales, coor¬
dinator of campus activities, funding for
the festivities came from the AS. The
total cost for the events, which includes
yesterday’s three point and slam dunk
contest in the Men’s Gym, is less than
$9,000. The homecoming game will be
played at Horrel Field with the kickoff
time at 7 p.m. The Lancers (2-1-1), are
hosting Long Beach City College. The
homecoming court queen and princesses
will be presented at halftime.
Mayor recognizes student’s achievements
Almost royal...
By PATRIA G. ABELGAS
Special Correspondent
Cerebral palsy. Visual impairments.
Learning disabilities. Seizure disorder. Add
coming from war-torn Beirut and speaking
English as a second language. Having just
one of these, much less all of them at the
same time, is enough to overwhelm any
person.
But for Ara Bczjian, a PCC student who
was recently recognized by the Pasadena
mayor’s office for his outstanding academic
achievement, these disabilities are mere
obstacles that he faces, and tries to overcome
everyday. Bczjian, who was born in Beirut,
contacted measles at the age of 4, resulting
in a high lever which left him with cerebral
palsy. He left his war-torn country at the age
of 18 and came to the United States in 1985.
He had no previous formal education be¬
cause of his disabilities but he was admitted
into the tenth grade at Hoover High School
in Glendale.
Four years later, he graduated from high
school and came to PCC as a computer
technology major. He immediately took ad¬
vantage of the services offered by the Dis¬
abled Students Program.
Speech pathologist Katie Peters said
Bezjian was recognized by the mayor’ s com¬
mittee for employment of people with dis¬
abilities for his “remarkable tenacity, his
willingness to learn and his ability to turn
anything negative into a positive.”
“The number of handicaps that he has
would have overwhelmed most of us. Just
think, to be forced out of your country
because of a war, to have to learn a new
language, to come to a totally strange aca¬
demic environment,” said Peters, who works
with Bezjian on his communication skills.
“I thought they were limitations, I felt
somewhat discouraged,” said Bczjian. “But
I’m discovering ways of overcoming them.”
“Ara’s way of dealing with obstacles is
overcoming them,” said Peters.
One of Bezjian’s major obstacles is his
impaired vision and perception, which af¬
fects his ability to learn math. He also has
seizures which affect his hand muscle con¬
trol. He had contracted measles when he was
four years old, resulting in a high fever
which left him with cerebral palsy.
But inside PCC’s Hi-tech Center,
Bezjian’s determination and desire to suc¬
ceed overshadows his obvious disabilities.
“For a disabled student to succeed, they
have to work really hard. They should re¬
move all mental barriers. They should not
say T can’t do it’ or ‘I’ll fail,”’ advises
Bczjian.
His advice worked for him. “Now I’m
making progress in all aspects of my life.”
Peters said Bezjian sets realistic goals for
himself: to gel a certificate in computer
technology so he can go out into the main¬
stream of life and work.
Faye Langholz, an instructional aide at
the Hi-tech Center, says Bezjian is an inde¬
pendent worker. “He accomplishes his goals
by himself. Hccxplores any program that we
give him and he comes out on top and
masters it afterwards.”
Bezjian uses adaptivecomputer software,
such as the Keystone Gold and Sound proof
which reads out loud to him what he had
written. He also uses a monitor which en¬
larges the print on the computer screen.
After he graduates from PCC, Bezjian
wants to work as a software installer. His
goal is to design programs that will make
computers accessible to disabled students.
“No barrier seems too great for him,” said
Emy Lu Weller, learning disabilities spe¬
cialist, “He’s an inspiration. Inspite of all his
learning and physical disabilities, he never
gets discouraged.”
DON BEBOUT/ THE COURIER
Six PCC students were among 34
finalists for the 1995 Tournament of
Roses Royal Court. Standing from
left: Leslie A. Borja, Kristine M. Adams,
Khalila T. Fraser, Camille L. Evans.
Seated: Giovanna B. McClean and
Jannelle A. Gonzales.
The members of the Royal Court were
announced Tuesday morning at the
Tournament House on Orange Grove
Boulevard. Nobody from PCC was
named.
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