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VOLUME
110
ISSUE
3
PR director parts with college
Ryan Kevin/Courier
Veronika Sorrow standing in front of MeowMeowz! 1 Stop Rock Shop, a multifunctioning store that hosts band performances
and sells punk themed merchandise.
New
president
promises
better climate
Philip McCormick
Editor-in-Chief
Interim President Robert
Miller pledged to create a better
campus climate and form of
communication between his
administration and the faculty
Monday morning in an open
letter to the college.
Miller said that PCC had not
been the college that he knew
and loved for a while. That he
knew the faculty was frustrat¬
ed and angered by the campus
chmate.
“It’s clear that the campus has
a lot of work to do,” Miller said
in an interview. “In that regard,
we have an obligation to address
these issues for the students.”
He also said that it would take
frank and respectful conversa¬
tion on the differences the dis¬
trict and faculty had to rebuild
LETTERS page 2^-
I
File photo by Nagisa Mihara
Valerie Wardlaw.
Philip McCormick
Editor-in-Chief
Months after the widely pub¬
licized commencement debacle
involving alumnus Dustin Lance
Black, former Interim Direc¬
tor of Public Relations Valerie
Wardlaw has “moved on” and
no longer works at the college,
according to school officials.
“Her last day was yesterday,”
Interim President Robert Miller
said on Wednesday, declining to
elaborate on the circumstances
of her exit since it was a “private
personnel matter.”
“She has moved on from
PCC. . . [Wardlaw] provided a
great service to this college for
the year she worked for the
Foundation and for the year
she was the Interim Director of
Public Relations,” Miller wrote in
an email.
He also said that in the interim,
media production specialist
David Steiman and publications
supervisor Gilbert Rivera would
be taking over public relations
duties for the school. One of
their first tasks will be finding
out why there is a gap in press
releases from Oct. 29 to April 29,
which no longer appear on the
school website.
“I’m sure it’s not intentional,”
said Steiman. “But Gilbert and I
wifi look into it and find out what
happened.”
Miller said that the college
would be looking for someone
who specialized in strategic com¬
munication and marketing.
“We want to start doing more
on our website and on social,
media,” Miller said. “But we also
want who ever we find to be able
to take of the traditional role of a
public relations director.”
Wardlaw wrote multiple press
releases on behalf of the District
in April regarding Black’s initial
snubbing as commencement
speaker. Los Angeles Times
writer Robin Abcarian singled
Wardlaw out in a piece critical
of the college, writing that she
attempted “a tortured explana¬
tion” on behalf of the Board of
Trustees about how the contro¬
versy unfolded.
Wardlaw did not return phone
calls requesting comment on this
story.
Wardlaw previously served as a
special projects consultant for the
PCC Foundation and has a back¬
ground in marketing, public rela¬
tions, and communications. Prior
to her employment at PCC, she
worked for the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services in
the Women’s Health Division.
Officials say asbestos in buildings not a threat
Paul Ochoa
News Editor
PCC has hired a construction
company to renovate the R-Building’s
men’s restrooms and remove asbestos
from the building.
Executive Director of Facilities and
Construction Services Rueben Smith
said that while the building does
contain asbestos, when encapsulated
or undisturbed it is not hazardous to
those in the building.
“Asbestos is a scary word but if
handled properly some people don’t
even know there’s asbestos in the
budding,” said Smith.
All the asbestos in the R-Building
won’t be removed Smith because it
would be too cosdy, Smith said.
“It would take 1 00 percent reno¬
vation to say it’s asbestos free,” said
Smith.
Exposure to asbestos may increase
the risk of cancer, other nonmalignant
lung and pleural disorders, lung can¬
cer, mesothelioma, and other cancers,
according to the National Cancer
Institute. It was used for strength¬
ening cements and plastics as well as
insulation.
Smith also said the problem is locat¬
ing the asbestos, which was embedded
in the building when it was built in the
70s.
“It’s an old building so we don’t
know where the asbestos is unless
we’re renovating it,” said Smith.
Jack Schulman, Director of Mea
ASBESTOS page 2^-
Concepcion Gonzalez/Courier
The exterior of the R building, which is one of the
buildings that contain asbestos.
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVESATPCCCOURIER.COM September 11, 2014
The punk starts Meow