1
Water Polo
Lancers
take out
NorCal rivals
Page
12»
Pasadena City College
Online edition
pccCourier.com
Facebook
PCC Courier
Twitter
@pccCourier
Volume 104, Issue &
The independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena Since 1915.
October 27, 2011
Realignment' a hot-button issue
Faculty concerned by plan
Judy Lim
Staff Writer
The issue of "realignment" was
the center of attention at the
Faculty Association meeting on
Oct. 20, with many voicing heated
opposition to it.
According to FA President
Roger Marheine, the goal of the
realignment is to remove a large
group of deans who were seen as
not doing their jobs. He said that
for a problem like this, these peo¬
ple can simply be removed, but it
Protesters march on
does not require reconstruction.
"Don't throw the baby out with the
bathwater,” he said.
At the FA meeting, Marheine
said that if the deans were
removed, faculty chairs would
have to step up with minimal to no
compensation. "It's doing a dean's
job for free [and] a huge undertak¬
ing to go through all 12 divisions,"
he said.
"It's not called reconstructing or
reconfiguring, but realignment,"
he added. "I've never seen so much
Continued on page 11
Academic Senate
debates restructuring
of college divisions
Sara Medina
Editor-in-Chief
Serious faculty concerns about
the plan to realign the college's 12
teaching divisions were aired at
the Academic Senate meeting on
Monday.
Discussion of the restructuring
was not overwhelmingly negative
but showed a consensus among
faculty that the process is being
rushed without much of their
input.
"With very few exceptions, most
people don't like the idea of this
realignment," said Dan Haley, sen¬
ate secretary. "They don't like the
idea of losing their dean and for
that reason I think the Academic
Senate should entertain the notion
that they either oppose this
realignment or, at the very least,
delay the deadlines."
PCC President Mark Rocha,
who in a September address
revealed the realignment plan,
responded in an e-mail.
"I do believe that a school is
about teachers and students, not
administrators," he said. "The pur¬
pose of realignment is to return to
the faculty the management of
Related story
/
page 2
their own programs and the guid¬
ance of their own students."
But other instructors voiced
opinions at the Senate meeting
that echoed Haley's statement.
Yolanda McKay, a representa¬
tive of the Visual Arts and Media
Studies Division, was one.
"[The feeling I get from the peo¬
ple I've talked to] is that they
could be open to change," she said.
McKay added that despite this,
faculty in her division felt exclud¬
ed from the process and that it was
being rushed.
In his e-mail, Rocha said, the
Continued on page 9
PCC students
Speak out!
What do you think
about the new
debit card fee?
vote at
. pccCourier.com
Cultural display
Shaolin monks, Kung Fu,
and free egg rolls met
with delight.
Page
8»
Best study spots
Students dish on their
favorite homework
hangouts
Page
3»
take a stand
Jessi Alva
Staff Writer
PCC students continued to spotlight human rights,
corporate greed and free education in front of Los
Angeles City Hall over the past weeks in their efforts
to support the Occupy Los Angeles protest.
More support keeps coming in to those who camp
out, they say. Sam Resnik, PCC history major and
other campers are served breakfast, lunch and dinner
while they are out volunteering their time. Facilities
like the first aid tent help those who need medical
attention.
"I wanted to show my support for the people who
are struggling right now and to see what it was all
about," said PCC math major, Sarah Belknap. "I was
impressed with what I saw. It isn't perfect, but for a
movement that has been created by people without a
ton of resources and without leaders it was so good!"
she said about why she came out to support. "I like
the idea that we don't have to wait around for politi¬
cians to change things - we can take action."
On the weekends, the protest turns into a must-see
event. Saturday usually features a variety of DJs,
poets, and musicians who perform in between pro¬
posal meetings. A chant that goes, "We don't hear, we
don't wait to see, we don't want to be in a World War
3" excites the general assembly.
Nazmul Hoque, a chemical engineering major at
PCC said, "It's good to see the diversity and ideas that
are coming out in the meetings and workshop classes
I have attended." Hoque currently attends college
during the week and donates his weekends to
Occupy Los Angeles like many other students.
Kids have a chance to join in as well. A small sec¬
tion of City Hall is devoted to a tent called the Kids
Village. Here parents can leave their children to do
arts and crafts.
A rejuvenation group is taking donations for more
plants and flowers to be planted around City Hall to
rejuvenate it. In the three weeks since the protests
have started, maintenance of the grass and City Hall
Continued on page 10
continue to
Protesters
march from
Los Angeles'
City Hall to
MacArthur Park
to make a
statement
against police
brutality on
Saturday.
Daniel Nerio
/
Courier
Camping at Occupy LA. is no picnic
JUDY LIM
Staff Writer
On every free patch of grass around Los Angeles City Hall,
tents were set up in close quarter units where the people
involved with "Occupy Los Angeles" lounged in relative ease.
Scrawled upon the fabric of colorful tents and posters were
slogans and signs bearing "Revolution" and "Occupy the
World."
Songs, raps and speeches blared from the steps of Los
Angeles City Hall, creating a festival-like atmosphere that
underscored the event.
There seemed to be no consensus on what was being fought
for, with signs ranging anywhere from stopping "corporate
greed" to education and legalizing marijuana, to "save the
cows."
PCC students who have camped out explain that it's not all
fun and games.
Christian Tringali, 21, physics, camped out two weekends
ago. He said that camping created familial bonds between
friends and strangers alike, but there are also realistic condi¬
tions to it.
Louis C. Cheung
/
Courier
PCC student Brandy Jo Garcia gathers disaster blankets to
provide to protesters who stay overnight in Los Angeles.
"It was fun, but when it wasn't fun, you had to deal with the
fact that you're hanging out in the city with nothing to do. You
start noticing things like the sun being harsher," he said. "It's
Continued on page 6