VOLUME 108 ISSUE 2
Si;
t “2:
WHAT'S INSIDE:
New advertisements on
campus hope to bring in
more students.
SPEAK OUT!
Do you think the
administration
handled the
prerequisite issue
properly?
Vote at
PccCourier. com
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES ATPCCCOURIER.COM
September 5, 2013
Antonio Gandara/Courier
The Quad is one of several spots where the new informative "campus compass" stickers are placed. The stickers inform new
students the facilities location around campus.
System glitch
prerequisite
leads to major
predicament
Emily Chang-Chien
Staff Writer
A malfunction in the Lancer-
Point registration system allowed
students to enroll in classes with¬
out taking prerequisite courses at
the beginning of the fall semes¬
ter, forcing hundreds of students
to be dropped from classes they
never should have been allowed
to take, officials said.
Associate Dean of Counseling
Cynthia Olivo said that a flaw in
LancerPoint caused the wide¬
spread registration problem.
“There were some glitches
such that students were able to
access registration to classes that
they didn’t have the prerequisites
for,” she said.
Senior Vice President Robert
Bell echoed Olivo’s statement.
“Clearly, it was a system error
and should not have occurred,”
Bell said. “It was an anomaly in
the system, which is not unusual
for any implementation of a
new computer system — these
kinds of things happen. It’s
unfortunate obviously, and it’s
not something we want to do
because it makes it that much
more cumbersome for students.”
Olivo estimated that the
prerequisite flaw has affected
approximately 500 students. Ac¬
cording to her, very few students
have met with her in regards to
the issue.
Jessica Cavallarin, psychology,
lost two classes because of the
malfunction.
“My issue is that LancerPoint
let me add the classes and then
dropped me from [them] a week
later — a week after I paid for
PREREQUISITES page 6 ^
Center for the Arts opens
new horizons at PCC
Campus to go
smoke-free
Christine Michaels
Editor-in-Chief
Sliding glass doors open, revealing a
pristine corridor lit through skylights
three floors above that busdes with arts
and music students moving to their next
destination in the newly opened $33 mil¬
lion building.
Welcome to the Center for the Arts.
Spanning more than 83,000 square feet,
20 brand new classrooms hold the newest
technology left for the hands of arts and
music students to create and broaden
their understandings of the arts.
Two rehearsal halls, which together
seat over 120 students, await musicians to
practice in. Students practicing their scales
will break in 1 1 brand-new, hand-made
Steinway baby grand pianos, costing more
than $1.9 million all together, according
to PCC Board of Trustees reports.
The faculty and staff of the Visual
Arts and Media Studies and Music and
Performing Arts divisions are still settling
into their new offices, equipped with
continued on page 4 ►
Board approves new satellite campus
Christine Michaels
Editor-in-Chief
The Board of Trustees approved a new
satellite college in Rosemead so that it can
offer more classes to meet state require¬
ments to receive funding at its Aug. 21
meeting.
The new satellite facility, which costs
$325,000 per year to operate, will begin
offering classes in October, according to
the Board report.
The large investment for the college,
however, was not brought to light until
Trustee Jeanette Mann pointed out that
the item was buried deep in the 1 87-page
SATELLITE page 7 ►
Paul Ochoa
Staff Writer
The Board of Trustees has approved a proposal
by the Health and Safety Committee that will make
the campus smoke free beginning on Jan. 1 of
next year.
According to Jo Buczko, coordinator of student
health services and a Health and Safety Commit¬
tee member, any student caught violating the new
smoking policy will be fined and must pay the fine
within 21 days.
“If a student is caught smoking they can pay a
$25 fine or enroll in and complete a smoking ces-
Daniel Valencia/
Courier
Posters informing
of the decision has
been placed all
over the school and
here is one that has
been torn down
near the Shatford
library.
SMOKING page 7 ^