OPINION
FEATURES
SPORTS
AIDS STILL AN ISSUE
Students should not need a quilt
commemorating the victims of AIDS to keep
safe sex on their minds, but unfortunately,
they do 2
REACHING FOR A STAR
Lou Rosenberg, English
instructor, brings Students Talk
About Race program to PCC
in an effort to combat racism ^
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
OFF TO A GOOD START
The Lady Lancers go undefeated
last week, beating Moorpark, ^
Bakersfield, and Pierce
О
• CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL CAUSES RIFTS BETWEEN FACULTY AND CLASSIFIED STAFF
IF A 17-WEEK
SEMESTER IS
IMPLEMENTED..
♦ There will be a one week
break between spring and
summer sessions.
♦ In general, instructional
time is increased by five
minutes for each hour the
class meets per week.
♦ Spring break will be either
at mid-term or congruent with
local K-12 schools.
♦ Approximately two class
periods per day would be
lost to compression.
♦ There will be less flexibil¬
ity of faculty and class
scheduling on a daily basis.
Campus to be polled on 17-week calendar
By FELICIA BRICHOUX
Courier Staff Writer
Would I like a four-week winter
break better than a three-week one?
Do two 80-minute classes a week
sound better than three 50-minute
meetings for a three-unit course?
Could I fit my off-campus job in
easier if I had classes four days a
week instead of five? Would a week’s
break between the spring semester
and summer session suit me?
Questions like these will be swim¬
ming around in students ’ heads some¬
time in the next two weeks, as they
try to answer an opinion poll about
the college calendar. The survey will
test reactions to an 1 8-week semes¬
ter calendar versus a proposed 17-
week calendar.
But students won’t be the only
ones scratching their heads over the
poll. Classified staff will ask them¬
selves, Would my 11 or 12-month
contract be reduced to fewer months?
Would two weeks cut out of the
school year mean I’d be doing the
same amount of work for less pay?
Might I even face losing my job, if
the college tried to make do with
fewer clerical or technical workers?
And the PCC faculty, whose sen¬
ate proposed the change in the first
place, has questions too: Would 17
weeks be a better timetable for teach¬
ing my subject? Would longer class
periods open up more options for
films and class discussion? Would
there be less burnout in 17 weeks, so
that students would learn better?
But these questions won’tbe asked
in the opinion poll, to be given to all
faculty, administrators, classified
staff members and students in about
40 randomly selected class sections.
On the surface it’s easy, just three
questions:
1. For the. academic year ’96-’97,
which calendar would you like? (a)
17 weeks, (b) 18 weeks, (c) neither,
or (d) no preference.
2. What degree of negative im¬
pact (on a 1-5 scale) would the 18-
week calendar have on you?
3. What degree (1-5) of negative
impact would the 1 7-week calendar
have on you?
The random computer selection
of classes is designed to guarantee a
cross-section of students in terms of
age, sex, ethnicity, class subjects
taken and other demographic cat¬
egories. “The testing instrument is
research-defensible,” said Ernestine
Moore, associate dean of student
affairs and chair of the campus-wide
calendar committee.
As students and employees are
handed the poll, they will also re¬
ceive copies of the two calendars and
a list of facts about them. Pros and
cons of the two alternatives, how¬
ever, will not be listed on the ex¬
planatory sheets.
The poll is not a vote. Results will
be considered carefully, but they will
be advisory, not binding. The final
calendar decision must be negotiated
by the four labor unions on campus
and representatives of the commu¬
nity college district. The unions rep¬
resent PCC staff, faculty and admin¬
istrators.
Please see POLL, Page 5
• CAMPUS
APPROVAL OF LONE
CANDIDATE
CONTINUES TODAY
Trustee to
finally be
selected
By JOSE INOSTROZ
Courier Staff Writer
The Associated Student Board
failed to pass an amendment that
would have allowed Tina Morris,
lone candidate for Student Trustee,
to fill the position without a special
election.
According to the student consti¬
tution, a special election must be
held to fill a post when only one
candidate applies for it. By Sept. 1,
only two candidates applied after the
1 0-day filing period, and of the two,
only Morris met all the requirements.
Had the AS Board agreed on an
amendment to the student election
bylaws, the action would have al¬
lowed Morris to take the post, by¬
passing the special election.
Kim Smoot, executive vice presi¬
dent, proposed the amendment.
Article III, Section D, of the AS
election bylaws stipulates that a lone
candidate for any AS office must be
agreed upon with a “yes” majority
vote by the general student body.
However, after discussion and de¬
bate that included audience partici¬
pation, only three officers voted in
favor and four voted against amend¬
ing the bylaws. Randy Larios, coor¬
dinator of publicity who could have
Please see TRUSTEE, Page 4
• REV. JESSE JACKSON AND OTHER ACTIVISTS SPEAK IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION VIGIL AT CITY HALL
PHOTOS BY SAMUEL HERNANDEZ/THE COURIER
Above: The Rev. Jesse
Jackson addresses a
large crowd that
gathered on the steps
of Pasadena City Hall
Tuesday evening.
"Opening doors is not
reverse discrimination.
It’s not hiring
unqualified peole,” he
said. “It’s hiring those
who never had a
chance to become
qualified to do a job.’’
Ric' +: An audience
menu 'displays his
views on the
presidential race.
Hundreds rally
in support of
equal rights
By FELICIA BRICHOUX
Courier Staff Writer
Itwas Tuesday, Sept. 19, the night of the Affirmative
Action Vigil on the steps of Pasadena City Hall — the
night a PCC student shared the platform with Jesse
Jackson. Jackson spoke to the hundreds who gathered.
PCC student Michael Canty, 17, spoke too.
Pasadena was typically Califomia-balmy as the 6
p.m. rally began with a Marine color guard and Liz
Tatum’s superbly clear soprano rendering of the Star
Spangled Banner.
Hundreds of people stood with placards that said,
“California Civil Rights Initiative Destroys Equal Op¬
portunity.”
“ 1 87 es ilegal — Viola la constitution democratica de
EU — no pasara!” “Wilson and Fuhrman in ’96”, and a
small sign many people carried: “Affirmative action is
good for everybody! !” .
A row of cameramen lined the roped-off brickwork
area in front of the speakers’ platform. Some were
sprawled full-length on the pavement to get the best shot
of City Hall’s majestic arch and towers.
Introductions began. Only one dissident voice was
heard: “Whites need not apply,” shouted one man during
Urban League president Shirley Adams ’ welcome speech.
Speaker after speaker hurried to fit their words into
the three-minute time slot, dropping such quotable
phrases as “Affirmative action is about inclusion” “and
AA is good for our city, good for our state, and good for
our nation. Vice Mayor Chris Holden quoted Martin
Luther King: We can only be as secure and free as the
least of us is secure and free.”
The crowd was responsive. Someone in the audience
would say, “That’s right,” and the phrase would echo
through the crowd.
One of the most popular speakers was Xavier
Hermosillo, 710 Talk Radio host. “The Pete Wilsons of
Please see VIGIL, Page 4
• COSMETOLOGY TO RELOCATE
CSC to move to
new location
By ARDA HAMALIAN, Courier Staff Writer
After being located in temporary facilities since
1968, the PCC Community Skills Center will be moving
to a new $17.85 million home on Foothill Boulevard.
The Community Skills Center is now located on the.
campus of the former McKinley Junior High School at
the comer of Oak Knoll and Del Mar. However, “this
facility was not built to accommodate adults or the type
of training we offer,” said Dr. James Crayton, dean of the
skills center. “The new facility provides a good educa¬
tional environment that will boost the students’ self
esteem and make them proud to come,” he said.
Construction on the new building, called the Commu¬
nity Education Center, began in November 1994 and is
scheduled to end in the spring of 1 996. The long-awaited
move should take place sometime between August and
Please see CSC, Page 3
• BETTY KISBEY LOOKS AHEAD TO LIFE AFTER RETIREMENT
Starting a New Life...
By KEN WOO
Courier Staff Writer
aybe Dr. Betty Kisbey has
trouble with the whole con¬
cept of retirement.
Even though Kisbey officially re¬
tired Aug. 30 as dean of economic
development and vocational educa¬
tion, and PCC recently threw her a
retirement party, Kisbey still comes
to work just as she has for the past
four and a half years. She is serving
as interim dean until a replacement
is found.
Don’t let this fool you, though.
She is still counting the days till her
successor arrives. “The first thing
I’m going to do is sleep until noon,”
said Kisbey with a huge grin.
She also plans to travel through¬
out the country/ with her husband.
They both have worked for most of
the 28 years they have been married,
and her retirement will give them a
chance to catch up on lost time.
Kisbey also wants to spend more
time with her elderly parents.
Kisbey’ s journey to PCC began
one day while she was working at the
State Chancellor’s Office for Com¬
munity Colleges in Sacramento, and
she happened to be in the same el¬
evator with a PCC counselor. He
told her a position was open, and so
she applied. After a few interviews
she was hired.
Kisbey says she is very satisfied
with her performance as dean. She
has made significant changes as well
as many friends. “Everything is in
good order, and I’m honored to have
had the opportunity to work at PCC.”
She said she has so many memo¬
ries of the college, it is hard to pin¬
point the most memorable. She also
mentioned that if she were to stay
here longer, she would like to estab¬
lish a district-wide advisory com¬
mittee for federal legislation.
Kisbey did have one regret, how¬
ever. She wishes she could have
gotten out more and visited with
more students on campus. She re¬
cently taught a night class at PCC
and said she really enjoyed interact¬
ing with the students.
Many people on campus have not
heard of Kisbey, but her work speaks
for itself. She belongs to numerous
committees and monitors state and
federal funds for PCC. Kisbey is also
Please see KISBEY, Page 4
KATRINA PLUMMER/THE COURIER
Dr. Jack Scott, superintendent president, hugs Betty
Kisbey at her retirement party held on Sept. 12.