PCC Courier, October 22, 1987

Thoroughly Modern Minis Page 3 Petitions Due Friday for January Grads Lancers Bury Compton for First SCC Win Page 4 COURIER VOL. 65, NO. 8 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 22, 1987 O'Brien Victorious; By Mark McElrea News Editor Last Weeks A.S. elections saw a near record number of voters select Bren¬ dan O’Brian over Lance Oberholtzer for the presidency. Out of the 1,453 students voting, the final tally recorded 613 votes for O’Brien versus 568 for Oberholtzer. “It was an excellent turnout,’’ said Alvar L. Kauti, assistant dean, student activites. “Compared with other com¬ munity colleges the number of students voting can be considered quite substan¬ tial.” The election results were marred by questions raised by Oberholtzer. The main question regarded the eligibility of O’Brien to run for office. The issue is whether or not O’Brien was carring the necessary nine units to run for office at the time the electon took place. “If there was any information about that .out it came from Brendan himself,” said Connie Hurston, student activities adviser. Kauti went on to explain that the laws governing the release of student records strictly forbid public access to such information without the per¬ mission of the student. Roses Smell So Good Courier/Scott Tate Julie Winnaman (left) and Jill Neilson will represent PCC in the upcoming 1988 Rose Parade, Jan. 1. 1988 Rose Parade Court Chosen By Meta McCullough and Mark McElrea Staff Writer and News Editor The crowd milled about in expecta¬ tion. Excitement and anticipation filled the air, as friends and relatives anxiously awaited the announcement of the 1988 Tournament of Roses Court. On an overcast Monday morning, with the PCC Pep Band providing a spirited musical background, master of ceremonies, Dick E. Ratiff kicked off the festivities with great fanfare. Harriman L. Cronk, president of the Tournament of Roses presented the 1987 Queen Kristin Harris and her court. Then came the moment all had come for, the announcment of the seven young ladies who would com¬ prise the 1988 Rose Court. The 29 young ladies awaiting the announcement were the last of the initial 926 who competed for the honor of being “a goodwill am¬ bassador” representing Pasadena on New Year’s Day. Cronk noted that besides possess¬ ing “poise, charm, academics and beauty,” this year’s court was selected to specifically fit the theme of communication. When all was said and done, PCC will be represented on the court by two young ladies, freshman Julie Winnaman and sophomore Jill Nielson. San Marino High School placed three princesses on the court, Carrie Gatsos, Amy Gordiner and Kristin Henry. While Arcadia High School will be represented by Julie Myers, and John Muir High School by Mona Holmes. Winnaman conceded that being on the court fullfills a lifetime dream. “I went to my first Rose Parade at the age of two, I’ve only missed one in all the years since.” Winnaman’s time is not just spent watching Rose Parades. A member of the PCC Choir, she has traveled with the William Hall Chorale, per¬ forming in Stockholm, Helsinki, Len¬ ingrad, Moscow and Brussels. Nielson holds the distinction of the being the final person selected to the court, a moment she appeared to take quite calmly. “I wasn’t calm at all,” she said. “I was in a state of shock. I think it's a dream come true for everyone selected.” Her future plans include a career as a teacher, she hopes to attend Brigham Young University to reach that goal. Cronk added that “next Tuesday, the Queen’s name will be announced and that the following Thursday will be the coronation and luncheon. Actor Gregory Peck, grand marshall, of this year’s event, is testament to the parade’s theme of “Thanks to Communication” be¬ cause of his many years on stage, screen, and television. The royal court will attend over 80 functions in the exciting months ahead, culminating with the parade and the 1988 Rose Bowl Game. Election Contested “He (O’Brien) is currently enrolled in enough units to be eligible to run for office,” said Kauti. “That is as much as I can say about the situation.” According to Oberholtzer, on the day prior to the election, O’Brien had come up to him and told him he no longer was eligible to run due to a discrepency in the number of units he was currently enrolled in. “He told me that he had been drop- Brendan O’Brien By Meta McCullough Staff Writer In the aftermath of last week’s hotly contested A.S. Board Elections, presi¬ dent-elect Brendan O’Brien feels “ex¬ cellent, great and happy,” about his victory. Saying that “hard work and dedica¬ tion” contributed to his success, O’Brien praised the Oberholtzer ticket on the work they put into the election. The results of the election, which was decided by only 45 votes, has been contested by runner-up Lance Ob¬ erholtzer, who contends that a recount is needed to ensure accuracy. Also it is Oberholtzer’s belief that O’Brien was academically ineligible to run for of¬ fice at election time. . O’Brien disputes both charges, and explaines that the academic question is the result of a misunderstanding. The dispute lies in the fact that at the eligibility meeting on Oct. 2, O’Brien was carring the necessary nine units to run for office. It was later revealed that he had been dropped from a class and there¬ fore had fallen below the minimum unit requirement. “Someone forged my name on a drop request,” said O’Brien. “The signiture is totaly illegible. I never signed the drop slip.” The discrepency was taken care of by adding the same class back into O’Brien’s schedule. O’Brien said that he has no knowlege of ekection irregularities, and feels that the election was fair and exciting. Excecutive vice-president elect, Jose Rodriguez who ran on the O’Brien ticket added that “disputes of this kind happen every year.” O’Brien not only plans to soar to new heights as A.S. President, an aviations major, he only lacks 20 hours to get his pilot’s license. His career goal is to become a pilot. During Monday’s first unnofficial A.S. Board meeting, O’Brien welcomed his fellow Board members by saying, “I’m looking forward to serving the college.” ped from a class and therefore was below the minimum needed to run,” said Oberholtzer. “The rules are very clear in stating that a candidate must be enrolled in nine units up to the time of the election. It is my understanding that he did not have the necessary units until after the election had taken place.” According to O’Brien, at the time of the election he was not carrying the Lance Oberholtzer By Mark McElrea News Editor The agony of defeat was clearly visible in the eyes of Lance Oberholtzer in the wake of last weeks election loss. Failing in his second bid for the A.S. Presidency, numerous questions re¬ garding the legality of the election played heavily on his mind. “If I cry foul, people are going to say, ‘there goes Lance, expressing sour grapes again,’ ” said Oberholtzer. “But several key issues need to be addressed.” His chief concern on is whether or Brendan O’Brien, who won the election by 45 votes, was eligible to run. “The bylaws governing the election clearly state that a candidate must be continuously enrolled in nine or more units up to the time of the election,” said Oberholtzer. “Brendan told me the day before the election that he was not, and therefore it is my interpretation, along with others that he was ineligible to run.” Other issues disturb Oberholtzer as well. “The election ended in a virtual tie. It is my contention that up to 100 ballots are missing,” said Oberholtzer. “This would not only affect my race, but several others as well.” Even if O’Brien was eligible to run, and the ballots are all accounted for, Oberholtzer still feels the way in which the ballot was printed put him at a clear disadvantage. “The placement of the number one candidate (Ob¬ erholtzer) was confusing as it lined up with the number two line,” said Ob¬ erholtzer. “It has to be remembered that only 45 votes separated victory from defeat. Any kind of confusion that this generated could have been the difference,” he said. Despite the questions that linger in his mind, Oberholtzer is proud of the campaign his ticket conducted. “Bren¬ dan (O’Brien) is a very popular person. We got out and produced enough votes to put the election in a virtual tie. I feel a recount is neccessary to put all questions to rest.” neccassary nine units, but the problem was due to a misunderstanding. “I never dropped the class,” said O’Brien. “The signiture on the drop card was totally illegible. Somebody forged my signiture.” The question of O’Brien’s academic eligibility is not the only issue that concerns Oberholtzer. “The ballots were hard to under¬ stand,” said Oberholtzer. “The number one candidate’s name was placed next to the number two line.” Oberholtzer was the number one candidate in the race for the presidency. Oberholtzer feels anyone wishing to vote for him could have been confused about which bubble to fill in. “I inherited the system used to make the ballots,” said Hurston. “This is the second year I’ve been associated with the elections, and even though things ran well there are still areas that need work. I’m looking into ways to make the ballot easier to understand.” Oberholtzer also contends that nu¬ merous ballots were canceled and not counted due to the problems people had in understanding the ballots. According to Hurston roughly 100 ballots were thrown out for various reasons. Two representatives from each ticket were present at that time, along with Cathy Butler, assistant stu¬ dent activites adviser and herself. “Everyone present agreed with the measures taken,” said Hurston. Oberholtzer has asked for a hand count of the ballots to insure a more accurate electon. “The question of a hand count is not a closed issue,” said Kauti. “But even a hand count does not insure 100 per¬ cent accuracy. I attended a seminar on statistics at Colorado College, and the instructor said count all the o’s in this book. The numbers people came up with formed a bell shaped curve. Total accuracy is hard to achieve, but I feel the variance in the election would not prove great enough to alter the election results. In an effort to secure the recount, Oberholtzer has formed a petition which has been distributed to several people in the college administration. “Every election has some sort of controversy,” said Jose Rodrigues, a member of the O’Brien ticket. In a break from the pattern seen in recent years, in which one dominant party swept the elections, this year’s race saw the Oberholtzer ticket pick up three of the nine positions offered. “It was a very close election in all the categories,” said Hurston. “All the candidates campaigned hard. It really was not that much of a suprise to see a split ticket occur.” In the races for offices other than the presidency, Jose Rodriguez, a member of the O’Brien ticket, won the executive vice presidency in a close election over Charlene Tabet, who was a member of (continued on page 6) Election Views Vary KPCC Has High Hopes for Fund Drive By Sally Blake Associate News Editor KPCC’s eighth bi-annual fund drive begins Oct. 31, and runs through Nov. 8. The theme for this year’s drive is Pasadena Calling ... 30 pears. “KPCC is a non-profit, public radio station that depends on community and corporate support,” said Frank Whiteley, development director at KPCC. The fund raiser is conducted in the same manner as a telethon. People wishing to support the station with a financial contribution can make pledges over the telephone on the above dates. “We are not here to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes,” said Whiteley. “We don’t want to convince people to donate money simply because we are telling them to do so.” Most people who have donated in the past, according to Whiteley, did so because they felt the money was going to a worthwhile cause. “They wanted to support KPCC.” Whiteley feels that by contributing to public radio in their community, people are not only receiving thousands of hours of programming, but they be¬ come a part of a very select group. Whiteley believes the station is im¬ portant because it offers people a higher quality of news, ethnic shows, and music than they get anywhere else. “By supporting the station, people are helping to improve the quality of life in the community,” said Whiteley. Whiteley expressed hope that the station will develop more independ¬ ence. “At the present time, one-third of our money comes from our budget, one-third comes from the community public broadcasting, and one-third from the college,” he said. “Our goal is to become self-sufficient.” The money raised goes to the various needs of the station. “Last year we used the money to upgrade equipment, and to purchase a new broadcast board and three computers,” said Whiteley. “We also used some of the money for promotion.” This year’s fund drive has particular importance because KPCC is close to re-locating their transmitter to Mount Wilson. This move will increase the station’s ability to reach a larger au¬ dience. “It will call for increased sup¬ port from our listeners,” said Whiteley. The relocation of the transmitter is a project that has been aided by the support demonstrated by the $80,000 donated by it’s listeners. KPCC showed to the Board of Trustees that it had the ability to raise money. The board then granted the station a $100,000 loan to assist in relocating the transmitter. “The board demonstrated a lot of good faith by advancing the funds,” said Whiteley. “Now, we just have to get through all the ‘red tape’ to get the job done.” Whiteley has seen from the past that listeners are “genuinly thrilled to see the success of the drives.”