PCC Courier, October 16, 2008

For exclusive stories and photos check out the Courier on the web @ pcccourier.com Pasadena City College Win an iPod! The Courier is giving away an iPod Nano to a registered member of our web site at the end of the month. Check out the details at pcccourier.com Volume 98, Issue 8 “The Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915. Thursday, October 16, 2008 ArtNight Engages Campus Alexandra Bayardo / Courier Participants stop to admire 'On the Line', an installation of nine paintings that were featured in a vacant lot in Pasadena on Friday as a part of ArtNight. _ _ .. Page 9» Registration Deadline Nears for Election with Many Controversial Propositions Miguel Lopez Staff Writer Election day is three weeks away and people who wish to participate in the pres¬ idential and state elections must register by Monday. While many voters will turn out to vote for president, 12 state propositions will also appear on the ballot alongside a few local measures. A few controversial propositions are 8, 5 and Measure R. Proposition 8, a constitutional amend¬ ment that proposes limiting marriage to a man and a woman, is the most debated proposition on the ballot. “The fight for gay marriage is a relative¬ ly recent issue in the gay and lesbian com¬ munity,” said Hugo Schwyzer, social sci¬ ence professor who is against the proposi¬ tion. “The gay rights movement started with a fight to decriminalize same sex sex¬ ual behavior. “It wasn’t until 2004 that gay behavior was decriminalized in all states,” said Scene: Wiggle Waggle Walk: Four-legged creatures walk to fundraise. Page 10» Schwyzer. The new issue of gay marriage is seven years old in California. In 2001, Proposition 22, which added a law that made only marriage between a man and woman valid in California, passed with 61 percent voter approval. However the California Supreme Court, in a 4-to-3 vote, overturned this law. The judges stated that Proposition 22 violated the equal protection clause of the state ONLINE ЮН Are you voting in the upcoming election? VOTE AT: pcccourier.com Constitution. Proponents of the proposition claim that this is not an attack on the gay community and that domestic partnerships provide equal protection for gay couples. “Domestic partnerships fill the spot of gay marriage,” said Barbara Miller a social science professor who supports the propo¬ sition. “It was a solved problem,” she added. Schwyzer and opponents to Proposition 8 disagree with such arguments and do not believe that domestic partnerships and marriage are equal. “The important difference is cultural. We talk about marriage as an ideal, a pledging of a life commitment, in fact, it is the ultimate commitment that still inspires awe," said Schwyzer. Proponents have been fighting to keep the traditional values of marriage from changing. “In another 20 years when all us tradi¬ tionalists are gone, gay marriage will be legal,” said Miller. Page 4» Lancer Life: Lost and Found: Exploring the items left behind on campus. Daily Thefts Problem in Campus Cafe Christina Demirchyan Managing Editor Thefts in the Coffee Break cafe are still an “everyday” occurrence according to Manager Montree Keavomalee, even though he said they have reduced over the years. “It’s normal, it happens every year, every semester,” said General Manager Charles Siri. According to Siri, stealing from the cafeteria is most common when the semester first begins, with the crowds opening opportunities for theft. “We [have dealt] with these matters many times already,” he said. “But if we have someone in there to watch it, it will reduce it, it will take care of it,” said Siri. According to Siri, the primary way to prevent theft is to have people watching the customers because students do not really consider the cameras that are placed within the cafe. “Since we put the cadets in there, it kind of reduces it. When they see that we have cadets in there [it helps],” said Siri. In the years that the Coffee Break cafe has been around, thefts have decreased due to the heightened security meas¬ ures that have been taken. Along with the security meas¬ ures, workers in the cafe have also gained experience in handling situations involving theft. The recently posted signs and the cadets keeping surveil¬ lance, are all measures to prevent any potential theft. “We try to prevent it. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t,” Siri said. “Its not a day-to-day occurrence,” said PCC Police Officer Robert Karch. They are “no more common than thefts in the library,” he said. Believing a uniform presence to be a form of deterrence, Karch said: “We walk in there on a frequent basis. We talk to employees, we talk to customers.” Cashier Sathita Jirapongsakul feels that the crowds during busy hours make it difficult for cashiers to keep an eye on every cus¬ tomer. “When it’s a busy time, I can’t see around,” she said. According to Siri, further train¬ ing is required to make the cafe staff aware of how to deal with theft situ¬ ations. “Sometimes the employee, they saw it, they just don’t know how to deal with it. We need to keep training ther on how to deal with that,” he said. Page 2» Michael Lee / Courier A student reaches to grab a drink at the Coffee Break cafe. Opinion: Editorial: Do your part by registering to vote. Page 5» Page 6»