PCC Courier, October 21, 1999

vw« V" 빫-лЛ лЛЛ" лч**^ 4W1 <v»4^f www.pcc-courieronline.com Pasadena City College High: 92° Low: 51° Tomorrow: Partly Cloudy. High: 87° Low: 54° Saturday: Partly Cloudy. High: 84° Low: 55° Sunday Partly Cloudy. High: 82° Low: 53° Nursing Entrance Test Coming Soon The nursing department strongly advises all LVN and RN students to take the Nursing Entrance Test (NET) one semester before applying for the Nursing Program. Those interested should con¬ tact the Nursing Division at (626) 585-7323 to schedule testing. An appointment with a nurse adviser is necessary after taking the test and before admission into the pro¬ gram. Homecoming is Here Festivities begin next Monday, with events scheduled during the day in the quad. Join your fellow Lancers in celebrating the spirit of the college on this very special anniversary year. Activities last throughout the week, culminating with a tal¬ ent show, carnival and the homecoming game against Orange Coast College on Saturday night at Lancer Stadium. Courieronline.com Gets New Look Check out our revamped website at www.pcc- courieronline.com. Updated every Thursday, Courieronline has all the information from our print edition plus exclusive articles and photos. We also have an extensive archive of back issues which is currently being updated. Log on and join us in cyberspace today. Thursday, October 21, 1999 VVA%V.V.W.%%W.V.V.-.V.*.V.%V.-.r\V.%V.-.%V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.W.-.-.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.-.V.4V.V.V...V.V...V.V Volume 85, Number 8 w.w-v.v.r.v.r.w.SNv.w.v-v.w.-.v.'.v.r.r.v.v.v.-.w.w.v.r.r.v.w.r.w-r.r.w.v.-.-.v.v.-.v.y.-.r.-.v.v.v.w.v.v.v.NW.vv.' Photo Illustration by Fred Ortega / Courier OSHA regulation 1917.116 (e) states that "all elevators and escalators shall be thoroughly inspected at intervals not exceeding one year." Most campus elevators are non-compliant. Elevator permits all out-of-date By Audrey Allen Staff Writer There are 19 elevators on campus, and according to the state, they could all be closed down because they are in viola¬ tion of the law. The operating permits have been expired for over a year. The invalid permits indicate that most of the eleva¬ tors were last inspected in July 1997, and are going up and down every day regardless of the July 1998 expiration date. The law states: “Elevators shall be thoroughly inspected at intervals not exceeding one year. Records of the results of the lat¬ est annual elevator inspections shall be posted in elevators,” according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) article 1917.116. (e). The expired permits have already been pointed out by the Courier; however, nothing changed even after the article appeared in the summer edition on June 24, 1999. Don Holthaus, the manager of building services, said, “We’ve gotten in some of the permits, but they don’t come all at the same time. I have gone around and put a few of them in the elevators.” Four months after this story appeared, there is not one elevator on campus with an Elevators, Pg. 3 ACADEMIC BEAT Tough classes lead to higher drop out rates Statistics show females drop out more than males Compiled by Staff With attention being focused on the recent flap over Partnership for Excellence money and teacher evalu¬ ations tied to the success rates of stu¬ dents, a demographic report compiled by PCC finds that more students are dropping classes. Their reasons range from the class wasn’t what they expected to the course required too much work. According to “Observations 1997- 98: A Compendium of Information for and about Pasadena City College” 22.9 percent of female students dropped classes, compared to only 19.9 percent of male students. Nursing student Michael Magtira said, “Students have no patience and are lazy. You have to stay with it to get a better job.” Those who do stay with their classes appear to be stu¬ dents between 35-39 years old. They have the highest success and retention rate. Their retention rate is 73.4 per¬ cent followed closely by 20-24 year olds who stay in the classes at a rate of 63.7 percent. “Observations 1997-98” also found that Hispanic and African American students are more likely to withdraw from a class. Fall 1997 fig¬ ures showed that 24.1 percent of Hispanic students dropped a class, while 26.8 percent of African American students withdrew. Caucasian students dropped at a rate of 19.4 percent and Asian/Pacific Islander students at 17.8 percent. “Many students come from middle class, low-income families, and finan¬ cial pressures on the family are a problem. Students drop out because they feel they can’t succeed and do what is expected,” said Herbert Darnell Green, philosophy major. He said personal obligations and financial responsibilities are the reasons he has dropped out several times. The Office , of Institutional Planning and Research surveyed stu¬ dents withdrawing from Fall 98 class¬ es and found that 20.9 percent of those dropping a course felt it wasn’t what the student expected. Almost 20 per¬ cent of students did not care for the instructor. More than 18 percent had job conflicts. Approximately 14 per¬ cent felt the classes required too much work. A Farewell to Bungalows Ian Oosthuizen / Courier A worker's head peeks through the wreckage of the A bungalows. The historic buildings, used as classrooms at PCC since the late 1940s, were recently demolished to make way for the new Lancers Pass commons area. mere Be We Come From? Over half of all PCC students reside outisde the college district. Out-of-district students have made up the majority of the college's population for almost 20 years, and their numbers are expected to rise steadily into the next millenium. Residents: 36. 1 % sits Non-District Residents: 57.0% ‘ Figures include both credit and non-credit students. Photo Illustration by Fred Ortega / Courier DEMOGRAPHICS Should it be PCC or San Gabriel Valley College? A majority of non-district students overburden the college By Fred Ortega Staff Writer The latest figures released by the college’s department of admissions and records show that non¬ district students significant¬ ly outnumber PACCD resi¬ dents, by a margin of over 20 percent. The Fall 1999 census counts almost 14,000 stu¬ dents residing outside the communities encompassed by the district. Cities within the district include, besides, Pasadena: Sierra Madre, Arcadia, La Canada Flintridge, Rosemead, San Marino, South Pasadena and portions of El Monte. In contrast, PACCD resi¬ dents attending PCC make up a paltry 8,800 students, or 36.1 percent of the total student body when taking into account both credit and non-credit students. According to Stuart Wilcox, dean of admissions and records, the majority of this out-of-district influx comes from the Los Angeles Community College District. “A few years ago we counted about 7,500 PCC students residing within the LACCD, and that number is probably much larger today,” said Wilcox. He cited the tremendous drop in attendance at L.A. com¬ munity colleges as proof of the influx into PCC. The L.A. district, which at one time counted as many as Students, Pg. 5 Let's Dance! PEACT 9A teaches the basics of modern dance. Insight, Pg. 6 Lancer Fire Not just one reason has football at 4-1 . Sports, Pg. 1 0 In si tie This Issue to Nuke pot Nuke To Two widely differing views on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Opinions, Pg. 2 * *