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- PCC Courier, October 13, 2005
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- 13 October 2005
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- Student newspaper published and edited for the Associated Student Body of Pasadena City College weekly during the college year by the journalism students.
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PCC Courier, October 13, 2005
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Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915
Oct. 13, 2005
pcc-courieronline.com
Art Night
Rocks PCC
Page 8
Vol. 92, Issue 8
Ballot Measure To Drop Unit Fees
Dean Lee
Staff Writer
The board of trustees voted
unanimously Oct. 5 to support the
effort by Californians for
Community Colleges to place a con¬
stitutional amendment on the
November 2006 statewide ballot.
The Community College Ballot
Measure would lower enrollment
fees at community colleges to $20
per unit and limit future fee increas¬
es.
The measure would also create a
new independent postsecondary
education system made up of local
community college districts. Local
college boards would function out¬
side of state government, giving
them more local control.
“After Hurricane Katrina we
wanted to waive the out-of-state
tuition fee right away for displaced
students that might want to come to
PCC,” said college president James
Kossler. “But Sacramento had to
approve it. Today it’s still sitting on
the governor’s desk, so we can’t do
anything about the fees. This meas¬
ure would allow us to make deci¬
sions like that much more quickly.”
The ballot measure would also
establish a separate state fund from
that of K-12, for community col¬
leges.
This would require a change in
Proposition 98, which established a
minimum funding level for K-12
schools and community colleges to
ensure that school funding keeps
pace with future inflation and
enrollment growth in the state.
The only way to change the
funding is through a constitutional
amendment.
To avoid opposition from lob¬
bing groups, such as the California
Teacher’s Association, the measure
ensures that funds for K-12 schools
would not be touched. The ballot
measure states that K-12 schools
will be entitled to the same
resources as before, according to
Californians for Community
Colleges.
The board members disagreed
about committing to raise the
$50,000 needed for funding of the
proposal.
Most of the money would go to
signature gatherers to obtain the
required number of signatures to
qualify the measure for the ballot.
This issue was set for discussion at a
later time.
The disagreement focused on
restrictions on how money can be
raised. By state law, no public funds
can be used for the effort and no dis¬
trict employees can campaign or
raise funds during work hours.
One solution proposed was to
ask the Associated Students for sup¬
port. The restrictions don’t apply to
them, and the AS can use the $1
lobby fee everyone pays during reg¬
istration to help.
“We might be able to tap into the
lobby fee fund reserves and give
$20, 000 or $30,000 toward it,” said
Stephen Juarez, AS president.
“Before proposing the idea to the
AS board we need to discuss it with
Peter Hardash, the vice president of
administrative services, and see how
much we can afford.”
The Academic Senate is also in
the planning stages of how or if it
will back the ballot measure.
“The measure is of concern to us
and will be put on the agenda so
that people can speak out about it,”
said Kay Dabelow, president of the
Academic Senate.
Bookstore
Policy May
Be Illegal
Meagan Clements
Staff Writer
As students are forced to take
a step back and leave their back¬
packs in cubby holes outside of
the PCC bookstore, the question
arises: what rule applies when
forced to leave a backpack or
handbag at the bookstore
entrance?
In the case of a student sus¬
pected of stealing from the book¬
store, the fourth amendment to
the US Constitution protects
against unlawful search and
seizure.
The fourth amendment states
that "the rights to be secured in
their persons, their houses, their
papers, and their other property,
from all unreasonable searches
and seizures, shall not be violat¬
ed by warrants issued without
probable cause, supported by
oath or affirmation, or not par¬
ticularly describing the places to
be searched, or the persons or
things to be seized.”
Whenever students try to
enter the PCC bookstore they are
suddenly stopped and told they
must stash their belongings in a
cubicle outside or in one of the
inside lockers.
“The issue of which law pre¬
vails, a federal law or a state law,
is a complicated question in most
cases,” said Maridee Edwards,
attorney-at-law. “One area where
it is pretty clear is that a state law
cannot restrict important rights
that individuals have under fed¬
eral law. The question is often
one of ‘is it an important enough
right?’ and sometimes ‘is there a
good reason for the restriction?”’
PCC’s bookstore has a policy
of not allowing students’ back¬
packs.
Bookstore manager Doug
Ferris said, “It has been a policy
for 30 years or more because a
lot of students would use their
backpacks and purses to try and
steal books and not pay for
them.”
Ferris said he is unaware of
the change that has been occur¬
ring within other bookstores,
where all students are now
allowed to walk about freely with
their backpacks on.
“As of now, our policy stands
as stated on the sign outside of
the bookstore,” Ferris said. “We
do allow medium-sized purses
and bags.”
A customer service represen¬
tative from a Target store in
Pasadena said it is their policy to
allow all customers to walk into
the store with a backpack on.
The same goes for stores like
Wal-Mart and
К
as well as
[see Bookstore,
PAGE 3]
PCC Freshman Crowned Rose Princess
applicants to a select few, who Jones
says have become fast friends.
Now in the days before the
announcement of the new Rose
Queen, Jones and the other
princesses are being trained in prop¬
er behavior, and rushed around
from event to event.
“Usually our morning starts out
with speech training,” Jones said.
“Then we go into manners and eti¬
quette, then modeling training. It
goes by quick, but at the end of the
day you go home and do school-
work. All of the training will be so
beneficial for the future.”
Jones entered the 2004-2005
Royal Court competition when she
was a student at Arcadia High
School, where she says, “It was a big
deal.”
While in high school, Jones par¬
ticipated in the Arcadia Assisteens,
which ran many different fundrais¬
ing activities throughout the com¬
munity, such as the Bargain Box
thrift store. Now Jones, who is
majoring in child development, is
getting involved in a volunteer
group that teaches horseback riding
to disabled children.
“I've always done lots of com¬
munity service,” Jones said. “I want
to stay active [in it].”
Volunteer activity is one of the
main factors determining which
finalists will become the seven Rose
Princesses and, ultimately, the Rose
Queen. According to the
Tournament of Roses website, the
selected Rose Queen must possess
the right combination of poise, per¬
sonality, public speaking skills and
academic achievement.
Every year, approximately 1,000
young women compete for the place
of honor atop the Royal Court float
in the Rose Parade. This year was
no exception, with 1,064 young
women trying out.
The 2006 Rose Queen will be
chosen by the Queen and Court
Committee next Monday. From
then on, the Royal Court, as the
queen and her princesses are called,
will participate in various activities
leading up to the Rose Bowl finale.
There they will ride on the float of
honor, and later “reign over” the
Rose Bowl Game.
“This experience has been really
exciting and educational,” Jones
said. “It's unbelievable that I won.”
Lancer selected as
member of Royal
Court out of
1 ,067 applicants
Courtesy of the Tournament of Roses
Coming up Roses: Alyssa
Jones was named as one of
seven Rose Princesses of
the Royal Court.
Kate Murray
Editor-in-Chief
For the first time in 12 years, a
PCC student has been named as one
of the seven Rose Princesses in the
Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
Freshman Alyssa Jones, 18, is
ecstatic about her new prestigious
title, but feels it is about more than
just her.
“It's especially great to be able to
represent PCC,” Jones said.
Jones endured four tryouts,
which narrowed down the throng of
All Together Now: Students wear rainbow wristbands to symbolize their support for the
gay community on National Coming Out Day in the Quad.
It’s Time to Come Out
Elizabeth Thompson
Staff Writer
Around the US, Oct. 11 marked
National Coming Out Day, an
event that provides information
and encouragement for gay, les¬
bian, bisexual and transgender peo¬
ple around the nation. A resource
fair held Tuesday in the Quad con¬
centrated on providing a safe envi¬
ronment in which people could dis¬
cuss their lives and families. It also
provided them with an opportunity
to be honest about who they are.
Jessie Funes, vice president of
cultural diversity for the AS, coor¬
dinated the event along with many
other volunteers. Among the differ¬
ent festivities, Nadine Zahr, a pop¬
ular folk singer, performed with her
band. “Nadine and her band were
very willing to support our event,”
said Funes. Many different organi¬
zations and clubs showed their sup¬
port as well, including the United
Rainbow Alliance.
“I was very pleased with the
positive atmosphere of the event,”
said Jose Sosa, president of the
URA. “There was no animosity, no
protestors, and people were dis¬
playing their paraphernalia proud¬
ly.”
National Coming Out Day has
raised awareness and dramatically
reduced the number of suicides in
the homosexual community. “In
the past, most gays have kept their
sexuality a secret,” said Adam
Kratt, a PCC student and member
of the URA. “The stress and pres¬
sure of not being able to share who
they really are results in depression.
The result of depression, for many
of these people, ended in suicide.”
Many students recognize the
positive effects of National Coming
Day. “This day is not only impor¬
tant to [gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender] people,” said one PCC
student. “It is good for heterosexu¬
als to witness this as well. I believe
the reason people are so opposed to
a gay lifestyle is because they don’t
know about it. Having the celebra¬
tion in the Quad creates more
[information] for those who may
not know about it.”
Social sciences instructor Derek
Milne agrees that the success of
National Coming Out Day is a
valuable tool for the gay communi¬
ty
“Times have changed since I’ve
come out, and it has become much
more accepted,” Milne said. “But
even today we are still told it’s
wrong. So many people still feel
isolated, and this event reaches out
to people on different levels.”
For more information regarding
issues and events surrounding the
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgen¬
der community, Funes recommend
www.hrc.org. Funes can be con¬
tacted by calling (626)585-7905 or
going to her office in CC204.
Architect Quits:
Demolition Delayed
Construction
plans put on hold
until summer
2007.
Jennifer Perez
Staff Writer-
PCC’s industrial technology
building that was slated to be built
during 2005-2006 has been delayed
due to issues with the architectural
firm.
The building is part of Measure
P, which was approved by
Pasadena Area Community
College District voters in 2002. The
measure authorized the district to
issue up to $150 million in general
obligation bonds to finance con¬
struction, repair and upgrades to
PCC’s facilities.
The total projected cost for the
technology building was $25.9 mil¬
lion, according to PCC’s website in
September. The project is now
scheduled for 2007-2009 at a total
cost of $24.3 million.
During an April 2005 meeting
with the citizens’ oversight com¬
mittee, which oversees and keeps
the public informed about the
progress of Measure P expendi¬
tures, it was reported that the build¬
ing was over budget and still had to
be reviewed.
The architectural firm,
Pendersen Beckhart Wesley and
Stice, was hired recently as the new
architectural firm to continue work
on the building. The original firm
“decided it was in their best interest
not to complete the project,” said
Peter J. Hardash, vice president of
administrative services.
Because of these delays, it’s esti¬
mated that demolition in prepara¬
tion for contstruction of the new
building will begin in about a year.
The building will be constructed
where the PCC tennis courts now
stand.
“We are trying to expedite the
architectural planning and
approval process,” Hardash said.
“If that is successful, we may start
demolition sometime next sum¬
mer.”
Because the technology build¬
ing slipped behind schedule, plans
for the campus center have been
moved up to start sooner than orig¬
inally planned. A contract has been
signed with L.P.A. architects for
the new campus center. According
to the current schedules, Hardash
expects the campus center demoli¬
tion to start at the same time or
soon after the industrial technology
building.
During demolition of the tennis
courts, classes in the industrial
technology building will remain
where they are until completion of
the new facilities. The new campus
center, on the other hand, which
will include the bookstore, journal¬
ism department, AS offices, cam¬
pus safety and food vendors is
being built over its existing loca¬
tion. Because of this, campus cen¬
ter occupants will have to be relo¬
cated to a temporary site.
The new industrial technology
building will house automotive
technology, printing technology,
machine shop, welding, building
construction and screen printing
classes, as well as extra classrooms,
offices and rooftop tennis courts.
The master plan for the school
lays out plans for construction over
a period of 8-10 years. Items in the
master plan include meeting cur¬
rent health and safety standards;
upgrading existing electrical sys¬
tems to support new technology;
replacing worn-out heating, venti¬
lating and air conditioning sys¬
tems; renovating outdated class¬
rooms and other vocational train¬
ing facilities; and constructing new
[see Construction,
PAGE 3]