OPINION
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PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
VOL. 80 No. 4
THE
COURIER
Serving the Pasadena Community since 1915
THURSDAY
September 22, 1994
VETERANS’ OFFICE
Board hears opposing
views on controversy
The services offered by the Veterans’
Office have been increased as a result of a
better distribution of tasks and its new loca¬
tion, Dr. Stuart Wilcox, assistant dean of
admission and records, told the Board of
Trustees.
Wilcox also defended the Veterans’ Of¬
fice employee, who was the target of re¬
marks by Anthony Georgilas, faculty senate
president, at another board meeting. Georgi¬
las questioned the ability of a naturalized
citizen to do a good job serving veterans on
campus.
Wilcox calledGeorgilas’rcmarks“ethni-
cally inappropriate and bigoted,” and said he
felt “embarrassed for the faculty and the
college he [Georgilas] represents.” Wilcox
added that the Veterans’ Office employee
was well trained to handle the various tasks
of that office, and she is a U.S. citizen,
“which makes her as American as you and 1.”
He then wondered, “How can anyone
attack and question an individual’s citizen¬
ship or patriotism simply because their name
is not of Anglo-Saxon derivation?” He de¬
scribed her as a “hard-working, efficient,
dedicated employee who deserves praise
rather than insults.”
Georgilas said he didn’t believe his re¬
marks were bigoted, rather he meant them
“to be truthful and certainly in support of
[veterans].” He added that he doesn’t want
special treatment for veterans.
“I just want to be sure that they arc well
represented,” the communication professor
said.
Georgilas also read a letter in which he
apologized to Behnoosh Kvalheim, the vet¬
erans’ office employee in question.
The board also heard complaints about
Georgilas’ remarks from Hollis Stewart, clas¬
sified senate president, and the testimony of
a. student veteran who had nothing but praise
for the help he received from the veterans’
office.
Stewart asked the board to remove the
name of the employee of the veterans’ office
from the records of the meeting.
“I lived through an era when people’s
careers were perhaps ruined by things like
these charges, which were not made by
someone maliciously, but were in fact picked
up later and used that way ,” Stewart said. He
added that Georgilas’ remarks were disturb¬
ing not only to that particular employee, but
to other classified employees as well. He
said he understood that “in the heat of the
battle,” mistakes could be made, but he
stressed that the classified senate will stand
up for its members to ensure they are “treated
with the utmost respect and dignity,” par¬
ticularly when their loyalty or citizenship is
questioned.
Dr. Jeanette Mann, the board vice presi¬
dent, said it is important that every person
who comes before the board be treated with
respect.
Trustee John Marlin spoke of the quality
of the classified staff, saying “I am certainly
very grateful for the tremendous classified
personnel we have here at this college.”
Walter Shatford, the longest serving
trustee member, advised everybody that “any
criticism as to the on the job qualifications of
a staff member has to be done in closed
session.” Shatford also encouraged those
who might feel there is a problem to “firstlry
and work it through those who are in charge,”
so to save the board a “considerable amount
of time.”
Then, Mike Olsen, a new PCC student
who graduated from high school in 1 967 and
served in Vietnam addressed the board. He
said he received “nothing but help” from the
Please see VETERANS, Page 3
ENRIQUE ARMENDARIZ/THE COURIER
Student Jose Olvera calmly waits for Martha Daec to withdraw a pint of life saving blood. More than 1 50 pints were donated.
Blood drive ‘a success’
By JAMES WHALLEY
COURIER STAFF WRITER
The Red Cross always needs blood,
and PCC students, faculty and staff helped
boost the regional supply last week.
The Pasadena chapter of the American
Red Cross, in cooperation with PCC’s
Caducous Club, conducted the two-day
blood drive and surpassed its goal of 150
pints.
“There is a need for blood, and it is not
just sitting on a shelf somewhere. People
have an obligation to their own commu¬
nity to give it,” said Deborah Alter, Red
Cross field representative . She added
PCC has been working with the Red Cross in
this way for years.
The blood collected on campus goes
through a battery of tests, including one for
antibodies to HIV, the virus known to cause
AIDS, and tests for syphilis, Hepatitis
В
and
C viruses, and HTLV-I, a virus known to
cause a rare form of cancer. According to
information provided by the Red Cross, this
stringent testing makes the blood supply
safer than ever.
After the screening, the blood enters the
health care system within four days via
hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange coun¬
ties. In addition to use by patients undergo¬
ing surgery, an adequate supply isabsolutely
essential for patients being treated for can¬
cer, severe burns, and traumatic injuries
caused by auto accidents. Patients with
blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia,
hemophilia, anemia or low protein pro¬
duction also rely on the willingness of
donors.
“Every time you donate a pint, you can
save four people’s lives,” Alter said, re¬
ferring to the process where the donated
blood is split into several components to
meet the needs of different patients. The
platelets, for example, may give a child
with leukemia a chance to live, while red
cells may help an accident victim. “Only
four percent of the population are donors,
yet 90 percent of the population will use
Please see BLOOD DRIVE, Page 4
Social science department
□ U.S.C. professor
recounts history of
gang culture and
current state of
affairs.
By SUSAN LYNN SWANN
and JAMES WHALLEY
COURIER STAFF WRITERS
America’s gang problem will not
be solved by the current “get tough,
on crime” strategy, the solution lies
in a balanced approach with a “get
smart” component of social pro¬
grams, said Dr. James (Diego) Vigil,
an expert on gangs.
Vigil addressed a capacity crowd
last Wednesday in the first of a series
of lectures sponsored by the social
sciences department at PCC. He is a
professor of anthropology and re¬
search fellow for the Center for
Multiethnic and T ransnational Stud¬
ies at the University of Southern
California.
The lecture entitled “A Rainbow
of Gangs: Addressing the Needs of
Our City ’s Street Youth” focused on
the history and evolution of gang
culture in Los Angeles since the
1930’s and the state of affairs and
solutions for today.
“The gang problem stems from a
breakdown of social control,” said
Vigil. “We have to look at some of
the factors contributing to the situa¬
tion such as families, schools, and
negative and hostile interaction with
the criminal justice system. We
have to unravel the roots of these
problems within that breakdown of
social control in order to come up
with some resolutions.
“We need to look at how far we
have gone in solving the gang prob¬
lem. Should we be harder on the
gangs or take another approach? Take
a soft approach and try and bring
these kid back into society?”
Vigil believes we need to
reconnect them with their families.
The social programs of the 60’s
were making headway in reducing
criminal behavior among urban
youth, but the Vietnam war andother
economic factors eliminated mostof
the programs before their benefits
could be recognized.
“A lot of money that was coming
in for prevention and intervention is
no longer there. The Great Society
didn’t last long enough,” Vigil said.
One relic of the programs started
in the 60’s is Headstart. Successful
since its inception, the program pro¬
vides early childhood education to
prepare children for their first years
in school.
It took the government about 25
years before deciding to fully fund
all areas and all children who would
benefit from this early type of train¬
ing. President Bush, in fact, was the
one who made the major turnabout
and pushed for full funding for
Headstart.
A program eliminated long ago
was The Neighborhood Youth Corps
(NYC), in which teens were paid
minimum wage to spruce up their
neighborhoods. They earned S30 or
$40 a week. Vigil said the program
not only took “at risk” youth off the
streets but fostered pride in their
communities and themselves. Vigil
acknowledged that gangs did exist
while programs such as NY C were in
effect, but that they were “relatively
under control.”
People are scared of what’s going
on today and Vigil feels that we are
taking any solution to feel safe.
“What is happening is that we are
throwing money to suppress gangs
rather than throwing it toward pre¬
vention where it ought to go. We
should be handling the gang problem
the way we raise our children, a little
hard and a little soft. These kids need
to know that they have a stake in
what’s happening. In other words,
that they have a future,” he said.
The explosion of the gangs hap¬
pened in the 70’ s, when, mixed with
crack cocaine, the problem went
wildly out of control. Now in the
90’s the gang issue has become more
than just a ghetto and barrio issue, it
has affected a lot of working class
areas, both ethnic minority and white
working class.
MTV and the media present the
James Dean image with gang mem¬
ber dress and behavior. Movies glo¬
rify gangs. In “American Me,” kids
look at those guys and say, ‘yea, I
wanna be like those guys, I wanna be
bad.’
“Families of gang members are
larger and poorer than the norm. The
homes are so crowded that the chil¬
dren actually spill out into the streets
where they are up for grabs. Street
socialization begins when this hap¬
pens.”
Vigil’s insights are not purely
academic. He says he was affiliated
very loosely with the Chicano gangs
in his central Los Angeles neighbor¬
hosts urban violence talk
hood in the 50’s.
“This year Newsweek Magazine
came out with a report that the crimi¬
nal justice system we have today
costs us $650 billion a year. It costs
more to send someone to prison than
to send him to Harvard. It’s ridicu¬
lous, we’ve been doing it for 1 5 or 20
years,” said Vigil.
Vigil believes there is something
that can be done. “We’re going to
have to so something about our
economy and our educational sys¬
tem. Somehow or other we’re going
to have to figure out a way to have
jobs for people and give them the
training that they require for
those jobs.
Right now it’s a terrible mismatch .
The problems are going to multiply
and affect more and more sectors of
society. The solution lies in the po¬
litical and social will of our popula¬
tion,” he said.
Vigil sums up the social approach
in four words: Attachment, Com¬
mitment, Involvement, and Belief.
Attachment to role models who young
people can use to gain guidance and
counseling; Commitment to a higher
status while overcoming low self
esteem and self image; Involvement
with at risk youth by people who can
make a difference, such as police
officers and teachers; and Belief by
young people in themselves and their
prospects for the future.
“Where’s the soft gentle Ameri¬
can soul that shows a little consider¬
ation?” asks Vigil, “These are
our kids.”
Vigil took questions from the au¬
dience and signed copies of his book
Barrio Gangs.
Gang expert Dr. James (Diego) Vigil opened this year’s social science
lecture series last Wednesday when he adressed a capacity crowd in
the Forum regarding the needs of urban street youth. “We need to look
at how far we have gone in solving the gang problem. Should we be
harder on the gangs or take another approach?”
SELFA SMITH HART/THE COURIER
