At right, U.S. Olympian Gabrielle
Rose gets mentally prepared for
another grueling workout as she
tunes up for the Sydney games.
Above, the swimmers have constant
reminders around them to keep them
motivated as they train for the
upcoming competitions.
fhofos by Matt Robinson
/
The Courier
Olympic swimmers
train hard at PCC
in pursuit of gold
The U.S. Olympic men’s and women’s swim teams praised PCC’s Aquatic
Center after spending almost two weeks there practicing alongside students
pened to our new pool,” said for long distance training, and
PCC’s Swim Coach Terry
Stoddard. “This could be a once
By Derek Blackway
The 2000 U.S. Olympic swim
team used PCC’s Aquatic Center
along with the Rose Bowl’s
aquatic center for a two-week
training period before they head¬
ed off to the Olympic games in
Sydney.
From Aug. 20 to Sept. 3,
American record holders Gary
Hall Jr., Lenny Krayzelburg and
Dara Torres along with team¬
mates Staciana Stitts, Michael
Phelps, Ed Moses and many
more - including foreign
Olympians - were preparing for
the heats of their lives in the
same pool where PCC swim
team members train.
15 to 30 Olympians showed
up each night. “This by far is the
most exciting event that has hap-
“There’s no way
the Olympic
team would
have trained in
the old pool.”
Terry Stoddard, water
polo coach
in a lifetime opportunity for PCC
and the community of
Pasadena.”
Staying at the Doubletree
Hotel, the U.S. team convenient¬
ly commuted to the Rose Bowl,
PCC, for short distance training.
U.S. team’s head coach Mark
Schubert said, “[PCC] worked
out great for us. We have the
perfect short course here and a
great long course at Rose Bowl,
and both are five minutes from
the hotel. I think the pool is real
fast.”
Swimmers and their coaches
can measure a pool by the feel of
the water, the effectiveness of
the gutter system, temperature,
and the way the swimmer feels
and performs while in a pool.
“There’s no way the Olympic
team would have trained in the
old pool,” Stoddard said. PCC’s
multi-use facility allows swim¬
mers to train long and short dis¬
tances. They have at their dis¬
posal every way to train, which
Father upset over
arraignment delay
By Tim Alves
For the first time since his
daughter’s stabbing death 19-
months ago, a grieving Miguel
Fernandez faced accused killer
Johnny Ortiz at his first
appearance in a U.S. court of
law.
“I sat very close to where
he was sitting in the court¬
room. He didn’t look at me,
but I could see his eyes and
they were as cold as steel. He
was very composed, but he
wouldn’t look to his right
shoulder to where I was sit¬
ting, ’’said Fernandez.
On Sept. 5, he carried a
photo of his daughter, Maria
Isabel, a former PCC student,
into the courtroom making
sure that Ortiz, the judge and
those in attendance remem¬
bered the reason they were
there.
Pasadena Superior Court
Judge Terry Smerling post¬
poned Ortiz’s arraignment on a
first-degree murder charge
until Sept. 14 and set bail at
$1.02 million.
Fernandez was outraged
that bail was set and Ortiz
could walk free if he could
post $102,000. He is having
his attorney, Michael Weiss file
a formal request to revoke bail.
FERNANDEZ, page 4
Miguel Fernandez
Instructors
demand a
hefty raise
Unhappy with the current contract
offer, more than 300 sign petitions.
Compiled by Courier
Staff
Dissatisfied with the current
pay raise being offered by the col¬
lege and by years of what they con¬
sider inadequate raises, full-time
faculty members are lobbying the
board of trustees for a pay hike of
at least 10 percent.
The administration is offering
to increase faculty salaries by 5
percent as one element of a total
package.
However, many professors and
instructors
feel they
deserve
more,
especially
since the
state legis¬
lature has
recently
approved a
$600 mil¬
lion bonus
for com-
m u n i t
у
colleges.
“It’s
been a long time with the same
basic rate, and especially for part
timers, who get paid a pittance,
even less than us,” said Robert
Lee,- instructor in the English and
foreign languages division. “Since
there is so much money in educa¬
tion and so much coming to this
school, it’s about time. It’s more
than about time.”
At press time, faculty activists
were planning to make their case
for more money to the board of
trustees at last night’s meeting.
They plan to back up their position
with signatures from more than
300 full-time teachers who support
the effort to secure an 8, 9 or 10
percent raise.
“We’re going to the board of
trustees meeting to ask them to
give direction to the superintend¬
ent, and to demand an adequate
salary,” said Joe Probst, professor
in the communications division.
The grassroots effort to collect
signatures was started last week by
Mike Riherd and Lee Reinhartsen,
professors in the English and for¬
eign lan-
guages
division.
“The
negotiating
process is
completely
unsatisfac¬
tory to us.
Our show
of strength
at the meet¬
ing will
give the
board a
sense of
how the faculty feels,” said
Reinhartsen.
The negotiating process is cur¬
rently at loggerheads with the
administration, the
СТА
called for
a state mediator to join the bar¬
gaining table discussions.
However, the college has since
asked the union to forego the inter¬
mediary and to continue direct
negotiations.
The offer of a 5 percent raise
PAY RAISE, page 5
“Our show of
strength at the
meeting will give
the board a sense
of how the faculty
feels.”
Lee Reinhartsen, professor in
the English and foreign
languages division
your sport is, the “Courier” is on
top of all the action. Check
back every week for all you
need to know.
BoT apprehension stalls new parking lot plans
AS plan to say Pledge of
Allegiance goes up in flames
By Kristen Glover
The Pledge of Allegiance lost out to political correctness at the
Associated Students’ (AS) Executive meeting when the board decided
some students might be uncomfortable saying the pledge at its meet¬
ings. So by a 4-3 vote, the members denied the action.
Daniel Loh, president of the AS, proposed reciting the pledge after
the roll call at the weekly meetings. Loh said one of his reasons for
proposing the action was that the board of trustees and the academic
senate say it at their meetings.
He also believed it would bring the AS board to a higher level. ■
“This country gives us a lot of freedom. Why can’t we pledge our
allegiance?,” said Loh.
The first person to express opposition to the action was Sophia
Corleone, chief justice, who felt saying the Pledge of Allegiance was a
religious issue because “God” was mentioned in it. She said she was
disturbed by the proposal because the AS is not part of the government
and she feels it is not necessary.
Brandon Yu, vice president for business affairs expressed concern
about the amount of time that would be lost if they said the pledge, but
still voted in favor of saying it.
PLEDGE, page 5
Courier Community
Message Board....
Do you have something to
say, do you want to get some¬
thing off your chest or would
you like
to con-
n e c t
with
other
PCC
S t U -
dents?
If so,
check
out our website and log onto our
community bulletin board at
* www.pcc-courieronline.com
Reality TV shows
If you’ve ever been on a real-
5 ity type TV show like “Blind
Date” or maybe even auditioned
for MTV’s “The Real World,”
call the Courier office at (626)
585-7130 or post your message
to the Courier Meassage Board
at www.pcc-courieronline.com.
We’d like to hear what you have
9 to say.
Web Extra
No argument here...
PCC’s Forensics Speech and
Debate team recently recruited
Ray
Puchot
as its
new co¬
director.
Puchot,
a martial
arts
enthusi¬
ast, has
had many experiences coaching
other teams and hopes to make
this year’s forensics program
even better than the one that
won national honors last semes¬
ter. Log onto www»pcc-
courieronline.com for more on
this “web only” story.
Money watch
The board of trustees has
taken a look at the college’s $89
million budget for fiscal year
2000-2001. The
“Courier” is plan¬
ning a series of in-
depth stories look¬
ing at how and
where the budget
breakdown , will
affect the different departments
and divisions on campus. For
the latest on the state of the
budget, log onto www.pcc-
courieronline.com.
Sports 2000
Are you ready for some foot¬
ball? Well then how about some
volleyball, or water polo or soc¬
cer or cross country? Whatever
By Robert Glassey
Students who. struggle to find parking and still make
it to class on time may have felt their spirits lifted this
spring when the board of trustees voted to add more than
800 parking spaces at PCC. But little has been accom¬
plished since then as the board has sought in vain to build
consensus for the project.
The board’s vote split along gender lines, the men
outnumbering the women, 4-3.
Because the three-level, 1492-space structure would
be built on an existing parking lot, it would displace more
than 600 spaces, resulting in a net gain of about 850
spaces. The intended site, the comer of Bonnie Avenue
and Del Mar Boulevard, is the largest unbuilt area on the
campus.
The opponents voted against the project in spite of
their support for more student parking. Their opposition is
directed at a regulation-size soccer field that would be
built atop the parking structure.
The soccer field would cost about $5 mil¬
lion.. Each of the three parking levels would also
cost about $5 million, adding up to some $20
million for the project.
Beth Wells-M illdr, of Arcadia, trustee for
area seven, has been an outspoken critic of the
elevated soccer field, scornful of “putting that
monstrosity on top.”
“I think it’s a disgrace to even consider
spending $5 million on a soccer field,” Wells-
Miller told the board on Aug. 16. She contends
that a smaller, ground level field could be built
at the same location for $800,000, leaving room
for a parking structure farther north.
Wells-Miller and Jeanette Mann, board
president, were unswayed by the possibility that
PE offerings might be reduced if the field is
not built. They are joined by Susanna Miele
A campus
PARKING, page 4 the tennis
Curtis Gregory
/
The Courier
cadet tells a hapless student that this parking spot near
courts is reserved for a board of trustees member’s car.
The
Pasadena City College
Since 1915
VOL. 86 NO. 3
www.pcc-courieronline.com
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
i
J
i