Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915
Oct. 27, 2005
pcc-courieronline.com
Homecoming
King & Queen
Page 8
Vol. 92, Issue 10
Bicycle Thefts Plague PCC Campus
Dean Lee
Staff Writer
A sudden rash of bicycle thefts
on campus has PCC police on the
alert. According to police records,
there have been four thefts within
the last two weeks. All but one of
them took place during daylight
hours.
“We’re looking into this,” said
PCC police officer Steven Matchan.
“We plan to pull every bike theft in
the last year. We want to see where
they occurred and determine if
there are patterns such as poor light¬
ing, or if bike racks are in low traffic
areas. We can’t station officers at
every bike rack on campus, but we
can see what we can do to make it a
little better.”
AS Chief Justice Renata Costa
reported that in the last two weeks
she personally had two bicycles
stolen from PCC. The first bike
Costa reported stolen was taken
from in front of the U Building on
Oct. 15 while she was working in
the biology lab. She then borrowed
a second bicycle from a friend to get
to school from her home in
Altadena. The second bike was
taken Tuesday morning from the
area beside the campus police sta¬
tion, next to the bookstore.
“When I came out of the build¬
ing, the cut lock was still there, but
the bike was gone,” Costa said. “I
couldn’t believe it happened a sec¬
ond time. This time I got a very
thick cable lock because I thought it
would be better than a u-lock. Now
I need to get another bicycle; it’s my
only transportation. I am now broke
and owe for the second bike.”
Bicycle thefts are not unique to
PCC. Thousands of students ride
bikes to school. According to the
employees at Incylce bicycle shop,
some bicycle thieves typically act as
if they are shopping, not stealing.
They pick out the kind of bicycle
they want, usually by the price of
the bike, brand, model, types of
parts and in some cases color.
Theives are so fast most people
don’t ever realize bikes are being
stolen in front of them.
“This is what we hear all the
time,” Zega said. “In the middle of
the day someone will walk up to a
bike rack [and] cut the lock while
they’re acting as though they’re
unlocking it. Small bolt cutters, that
cost less then $30 at any auto parts
[store], can easily be concealed.”
Bicycle shop technicians
explained how students can safe¬
guard themselves against the rising
number of bicycle thefts.
“Some bicycles, such as a $1,500
GT Cannondale or Specialized, you
would not want to use as a daily-
rider for school,” said Tim Zega, a
service technician at Incycle. “But a
bicycle from Costco or Wal-mart
would do just fine.”
Zega said students who leave
their bikes in a hurry to get to class
do not realize that their bikes might
not be there when return.
According to Zega, preventing a
bicycle theft starts with the type of
lock you buy. There are three kinds
of locks, a chain, cable or u-lock,
ranging in price from $9.99 to $65.
The most expensive, a $65 chain
lock, is sold by Master Lock.
“You can’t cut a good $29 u-
lock,” Zega said. “But some people
like the cable or chain style because
they’re longer, and it’s easy to lock
up their bike.”
Paulette Polk, the Incycle store
manager, added, “Students feel that
buying a less expensive lock will
save them money, but they end up
losing their bikes in the long run.
We sell at least 100 locks a month,
and most of them are to students
either at PCC or other schools in the
area.”
Another tip Zega suggested was
taking off the front wheel and lock¬
ing it up with your bike or taking the
seat, rather than leaving it with the
bike.
PCC students also have their
own strategies for preventing theft.
“Parking a bicycle next to more
expensive bikes can also reduce the
chance of getting it stolen,” said one
PCC student.”
The police recommend that stu¬
dents register and file the bicycle
serial number with the PCC police
and www.bicycleregistry.com.
[see Bicycle, PAGE 6]
PCC Football Field
To Get New Surface
Mario Aguirre
Sports Editor
After complaints from the foot¬
ball and soccer teams, PCC athletic
director Skip Robinson agreed on
Wednesday to approve the installa¬
tion of artificial turf on the playing
field at Robinson Stadium, a project
that should be completed by May
2006 at an estimated cost of
$775,000. Details as to what surface
was chosen was unavailable at the
time of publication.
Peter Hardash, PCC vice presi¬
dent for administrative services, said
the money will not come from bond
measure money. He indicated that
this should be a good investment for
the school.
“With the new surface, there
won’t be any more maintenance
done to the field,” he said. “We’re
going to save a lot of money, and
eventually it’ll pay for itself.”
Since the current field has natural
grass on it, PCC pays to have it fixed.
Discussions on the possibility of
updating the current grass field to the
more popular and cost-efficient artifi¬
cial surface have been underway the
past two years. For the last several
months, coaches and athletic depart¬
ment personnel have visited schools
throughout Southern California,
searching for what they believed
would be the best choice.
Tom Maher, last season’s head
football coach, was involved in the
decision-making process before step¬
ping down from his head coaching
post. Dennis Gossard, who succeed¬
ed Maher, was not involved in choos¬
ing the new playing field. Hardash
said that Gossard trusted Robinson
to decide what the new playing sur¬
face should be.
The choice of field will ultimately
go to Robinson for his stamp of
approval, although coaches were also
able to give their input.
In addition to college sports, PCC
allows local high schools to host their
games at PCC on the weekend, so
the grass doesn’t get sufficient time to
grow. Players complain about the
piles of dirt that accumulate as a
result of grass not growing in certain
areas of the field.
The installment of the new turf
should begin just after Jan. 1 , and the
job is expected to be completed in
three to four months.
Physical education courses which
would normally use Robinson
Stadium will have to relocate during
this process. Hardash said instructors
have known about this project for
some time now and are prepared to
make any adjustments. Hardash
added that PCC has talked to
Caltech and local parks about using
their facilities while the stadium
undergoes these changes.
The new field will cost an esti¬
mated $450,000 and the installation
will be $300,000.
While these changes should meet
the needs of the football team, Cherif
Zein, director of soccer at PCC,
believes there is more work to be
done.
“This is not a regulation soccer
field,” Zein said. “It’s a football
field.”
Because the soccer field does not
meet official regulation size require¬
ments, Robinson Stadium is ineligi¬
ble to host any soccer games for the
playoffs.
Nevertheless, the soccer teams
must wait until about 2012 for the
opening of the new field, which is
expected to be built on what is cur¬
rently student parking Lot 5A,
Hardash said.
The changes that will be made to
the field are also expected to improve
recruiting for football and soccer
teams.
“It’ll be safer to play on and it’ll
look a whole lot better than our cur¬
rent field,” Hardash said. “And, it’ll
be a great thing for our students.”
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Photos by Brian Dreisbach
Turfs Up: PCC plans to upgrade the
field at Robinson Stadium (pictured)
with a new surface, costing an esti¬
mated $775,000. The project is set to
begin after Jan. 1, 2006, and should
be completed in under four months.
Students Speak Out Financial Aid Can’t Keep Up with Tuition
Against Police Brutality
Titania Kumeh
Arts Editor
An anti-police brutality speak-
out took place at PCC on Oct. 20
with members of Students for Social
Justice and M.ECh.A. assembled on
the steps of the C Building in front
of the Mirror Pools. Signs posted
around the speakers read, “Officer
Steven Garcia murdered Devin
Brown,” “Stop police brutality,” and
“Don’t incarcerate, rehabilitate.”
A table stood covered in black
ribbons. “On each of those black rib¬
bons is the name of someone who
has been murdered by law enforce¬
ment,” one speaker informed the
crowd. A woman in the audience
responded, “Murder is such a strong
word.”
None of the police officers men¬
tioned were present to defend their
actions. This gave the audience no
information from the other side.
The speak-out came in the wake
of the May shooting of an unarmed
black man by police officers in
Compton. Names of others who
have died as a result of police gun¬
fire or who have been beaten by
police officers were read aloud.
“Armando Martinez was brown.
He was shot by the sheriff deputy
for allegedly robbing a bank," read
Rebecca, one of the speakers.
Another speaker told of two 16-
year-old students shot by LAPD
officer Tommy Thompson on Nov.
16, 2002. Both students, who were
riding in a car, were killed when
their vehicle collided with a tree.
“The [student] who was driving the
car, who was racially profiled, he got
charged with manslaughter," the
speaker said. “It was the police who
fired into the car, so why are they
charging the driver with manslaugh¬
ter?”
The case of Donavan Jackson,
the 16-year-old whose beating by
Inglewood police officers was cap¬
tured on videotape, was also
brought up.
“It’s been happening way too
often to not do anything about it,”
said Keisha Brunston, the aunt of
the late Deandre Brunston, who
died from being shot 22 times by
Compton police officers. “I just
think that it’s so ridiculous. [Cops]
don’t have any consequences when
they kill somebody.”
[see Brutality, PACE 6]
Caroline Ikeji
Opinion Editor
The College Board, a nonprofit
organization that administers the
SAT, reported last week that finan¬
cial aid can no longer keep up with
increases in college tuition. The
board also reported that a student’s
chances of attending and graduat¬
ing from college is becoming
increasingly dependent on their
family’s income.
Photo Illustration by Brian Dreisbach
/
Courier
Flu season: it has begun.
Although tuition increases have
slowed this year, average tuition
costs at two-year public institutions
rose about $112 since last year,
about a 5.4 percent increase, the
report said. Tuition at public four-
year universities increased about 6.6
percent, and tuition at four-year pri¬
vate universities rose about 5.9 per¬
cent, according to the report.
Kim Miles, assistant dean of
financial aid and scholarships said
Ani Argalian
Staff Writer
This fall, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention stated that
an estimated 185 million
Americans are considered at high
risk of complications, including
death, from influenza, more com¬
monly know as the flu. However,
only about 65 percent of them get
the necessary shots, according to
the CDC.
From now through Nov. 3, 600
flu shot tickets are being sold for
$12 in U 104 to PCC students, staff
and the public on a first come, first
served basis.
that one reason for the increase in
tuition is because students are tak¬
ing longer to finish school. She rec¬
ommended that students declare
their major early and take required
courses early to keep costs down.
The study also showed that
almost $129 billion in student aid
was given during the 2004-2005 aca¬
demic year, about a $10 billion
increase from the previous year.
Average aid per student rose about 3
Flu shots at PCC are given by
nursing students, under the supervi¬
sion of one faculty member per
group. Nursing students must have
undergone two major orientations
in order attain understanding and
skills of the task before them. An
emergency team of experts will also
be on hand while the shots are
given.
Individuals will not be qualified
to get the flu shot if they are cur¬
rently ill, running a fever at the time
of the shot or allergic to eggs. Eggs
contain Thimerosal, an
organometallic compound which
causes some to break out instantly.
Influenza is spread from an
percent from the year before, with
full-time students receiving an aver¬
age of $1,800 at public two-year
schools, said the College Board. The
percentage of aid received from
grants went down for the third year
in a row, according to the report.
Miles said that plenty of aid
opportunitiesexist at PCC, includ-
[see Aid,
РАС
E 6]
infected person to the nose or throat
of others. Since Oct. 1, 2004, the
CDC has characterized 1,075
influenza viruses, collected by U.S.
laboratories.
“It’s really an important time to
reinforce the importance of good
respiratory hygiene,” said Dr.
Jonathan Fielding, a county health
officer. “[That means] covering
coughs and sneezes, avoiding close
contact with people who have respi¬
ratory illnesses and not going to
work if you are sick.”
In an article by USA Today, sci¬
entists at a meeting of the American
[see Vaccination, PAGE 6]
Health Center Offers Flu Vaccination