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Pasadena City College
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Volume 104, Issue 3
The independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena Since 1915.
September 15, 2011
New security
cameras to
be installed
Campus under surveillance
Dumpster driving!
Gabrlela Castillo
/
Courier
Candelario Diaz drives a dumpster through the quad on Tuesday. Diaz has been a custodian at PCC since
1982 and is in charge of cleaning the West Side Campus.
Custodians a college asset
Judy Lim
Staff Writer
Trash left carelessly on the PCC
campus does not magically pick
itself up, nor do the floors and toi¬
lets of the restrooms scrub them¬
selves clean.
With the many things students
need to do, from ferrying between
classes to cramming last minute
for that test conveniently "forgot¬
ten" about the night before, the
last thing a student wants to face is
the horror of a filthy toilet or to
wade through a minefield of litter.
Enter the custodians of PCC,
men and women who get the job
done, whatever it need be, so that
students can enjoy a clean campus
to properly study in.
"We have guys emptying trash
receptacles," said Alice Hawkins, a
custodian who has been working
at PCC for 13 years. "Each build¬
ing has men and women in it;
we're everywhere. This is all day
and at night we have people that
clean up. It's a constant thing."
Hawkins is not assigned specific
duties, but does a bit of every¬
thing. This includes making sure
that other employees are assigned
duties if something needs to be
taken care of, she said.
Hawkins works an eight-hour
shift, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. Even
during her two twenty-minute
breaks, and thirty-minute lunch
break, she is subject to being called
upon.
In ten minutes alone, she
received three calls: one about a
broken air conditioner, another for
an elevator out of service and then
Continued on page 7
Galen Patterson-Smith
Staff Writer
PCC's Police and Safety Services
have begun the installation of 145
new security cameras to monitor
the school in addition to the 53
currently operating cameras. The
project, which was begun in April,
is expected to be complete by
December, officials said.
As a result of recent car thefts,
burglaries and vandalism on cam¬
pus, the new security cameras are
being installed in the parking
areas and the exterior of buildings
to cover important vantage points
in parking structures, and open
areas of campus.
"These cameras are meant to be
a deterrent for crime," said Peter
Benson, transportation assistant,
PCC Police and Safety Services.
"All of the cameras will be exteri¬
or. Anywhere vehicles park on
campus, there will be cameras
there," said Benson.
Benson explained that some
cameras may be placed in the hall¬
ways of buildings, but none will be
placed in the classrooms. This is to
ensure safety and allow the staff
and students to maintain their pri¬
vacy.
PCC police will be training part
time employees for new positions
monitoring the cameras. The new
security system will be monitored
24/7,
and is expected to greatly
reduce crimes on campus as well
as aid the police in apprehending
criminals after crimes have been
committed, Benson said.
However, not everyone is
thrilled about more cameras on
campus.
"There are way too many cam¬
eras," said student Lupe
Contreras, Physical Education
major. "[Now] there may be even
more cameras. It doesn't sound
good," Contreras said.
Another student, Kevin Ly,
Chemistry, shared his thoughts on
the cameras: "I think a little inva¬
sion of privacy is OK, I think it'll
be good. It will make people feel
safer, especially at night. At the
same time, it's kind of weird. Like
Big Brother is watching," Ly said.
The entire project cost $1,041
million, which was approved by
the Board of Trustees in July, and
paid for by the parking passes pur¬
chased by both students and staff.
The cameras have been purchased
using a California Multiple Award
Schedules contract which will
standardize the prices and ensure
that they are fair and reasonable.
Continued on page 7
U Building occupants
scatter for demolition
Gabriela Castillo
/
Courier
Students enter and exit the U Building, which is being emptied for a
$70 mil. construction project.
BRITTANY PROFFITT
Staff Writer
As the U Building is emptied
and its occupants move, students
may be faced with not knowing
where many things are located.
Although the building is techni¬
cally safe, it is not up to current
seismic standards.
Most of the occupants of the U
Building are being moved to tem¬
porary locations so that construc¬
tion can begin on a $70 million
new building. "We have installed
eight new portable
classroom /office buildings at the
Community Education Center,"
said Vice President of
Administrative Services Richard
van Pelt in an email.
Most of the Health Sciences pro¬
grams that were located in the U
Building have moved or are in the
process of moving to the grounds
of the CEC.
"An administrative office is
located, along with faculty offices,
in portable units located on the
grounds of the CEC," said the
Dean of Health Sciences Barbara
Freund in an email.
The other Heath Sciences pro¬
grams that have moved to the CEC
include, nursing, medical assist¬
ing, emergency medical technician
and certified nursing assistant,
said Freund.
Radiological technology will
stay in the U Building until the end
of the fall semester. An additional
administrative office will be locat¬
ed in W204 to support the pro¬
grams and classes for Heath
Sciences on campus, off campus,
and to provide information to
potential students, said Freund.
Student Health Services has
moved from the U Building to D-
105.
"Our services will remain the
Continued on page 7
Student pleads
'not guilty' in
manslaughter
Nicholas Zebrowski
Staff Writer
PCC student Bowen Du, 19, has
pleaded not guilty to of charge
vehicular manslaughter after a
pedestrian was killed and another
injured while crossing a crosswalk
in Arcadia.
Du, 19, is accused of striking the
two pedestrians in the 600 block of
West Duarte Road in Arcadia
while they were crossing at a
pedestrian crosswalk. Alice
Zhang, 16, was fatally injured in
the April 10 accident.
Zhang's friend was also seri¬
ously injured, according to the
Arcadia Police. She was treated
Continued on page 7
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Should PCC add more
surveillance cameras?
vote at
pccCourier.com
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