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OPINION
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kept parking secrets.
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FEATURES
PCC’s dirty laundry gets a thorough
airing from Guillermo Ruiz.
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ISSS
Football team wins on last
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Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California
VoL 74 No. 1
COURIER
Thursday
September 24, 1992
Community college fees to increase 70%
By AL SANTANA
News Editor
As the 63-day budget squabble
between Gov. Pete Wilson and the
Democratic-controlled legislature
саше
to an end, they managed to
agree on one thing that will affect
community college students in Cali¬
fornia: Fees will be raised by 70
percent beginning Jan. 1, 1993.
The increase has sparked a de¬
bate among school officials and
students over whether tuition should
have been increased.
The new fees will jump from $6
to $10 per unit for most community
college students. The budget accord
sets no limit in units to be charged,
so if a student takes 16 units, he will
pay $160.
For a student who holds a bache¬
lor’s or any other advanced degree,
taking classes at any of the state’s
107 community colleges, fees will
increase from $6 to $50 per unit,
starting next semester.
These students will not be able to
qualify for any financial aid given
by the State of California and, the so
called “differential fees” will not
affect those students seeking job
retraining or those who are on wel¬
fare.
Originally, the Republican gov¬
ernor had proposed to increase fees
by as much as 233 percent for the
two-year-institutions. He sought to
implement a $20-per-unit fee with a
cap of $200 a semester.
Because of David Mertes, Chan¬
cellor of the state’s community
college system, the general fees
climbed only S4 a unit. The newly
approved tuition hike is the result of
a 63-day stalemate between Gov.
Wilson and the state Legislature that
helped to alleviate a $10.7-billion
gap between anticipated revenues
and the cost of paying off the deficit
from last year’s budget.
With no new taxes on the negoti-
With no new taxes on the negoti¬
ating table, the budget could only be
balanced by cutting expenditures and
raising some fees among state de¬
pendencies.
In addition, $1 billion was cut
from general school funding for the
fiscal year that started July 1 .
A worst case scenario would
have been for students who have
earned more than 90 units and are
attending any community college.
Wilson’s original budget draft
asked to raise fees for those students
to $112 a unit.
But state college administrators
with the help of some Democrats in
the lower house- managed to get the
fees lowered to $50 a unit for stu¬
dents who have earned a bachelor’s
or any advanced degree and wished
to remain enrolled in the community
college system.
Dr. Jack Scott, superintendent-
president, said that although the new
fees are “unpopular,” community
colleges could not have received
belter treatment in the recently signed
budget.
“The fees are moderate compared
to what [Gov. Wilson] originally
Summer’s over
Photo by CHRISTY VANCE/ The COURIER
IT’S STILL THE SAME OLD STORY: A student contemplates joining the ever-lengthening line
of hopeful registrants making their way to D building opening week. PCC registered 23, 673 students
this fall before closing registration on September 1 1 .
proposed,” he said. “It’s not a great
deal, but it’s the best we could ob¬
tain.
“It’s not as accessible as it used to
be, but it’s still the best deal a stu¬
dent can get. Education at commu¬
nity colleges will still be accessible,”
said Scott.
Stuart Wilcox, dean of students
and records, said community col¬
lege tuition should be raised in order
to help close the
gap between sub¬
sidized education
and the real cost
of it.
“The state
population has
been picking up the
cost of education
for a long time, and
the population is
saying: We don’t
want to pay any
more taxes.
Therefore the [state] government
has to say: Those who arc using the
service of higher education have to
start paying a little more of the total
cost.”
In a poll conducted by the Los
Angeles Times last week, the vast
majority of Californians think that
support of schools should be the
state’s top priority.
However, when asked if they
“would be willing to pay extra state
or local taxes in order to restore”
funding costs for education, the
answer was virtually evenly split: 48
percent yes, 47 percent no.
Even among people with chil¬
dren in public schools, or people en¬
rolled in a public educational insti¬
tution, only half of them favored
new taxes to finance education.
Meanwhile, Wilcox said that some
portion of the student body will be
seriously affected by the new fees.
especially those who belong
ю
“low-
income generating” families.
By that, he meant that students
whose annual family income net
$12,000 or less will be forced to
leave community colleges.
Wilcox declined to give a spe¬
cific number of students who may be
affected at PCC, because, as he put
it, “It will be a personal decision to
make” to attend college or drop out.
But oppo¬
nents of the fee
increase said that
implementation
of higher fees at
the two-year-
schools would
jeopardize low
income students’
chances to enroll
in these institu¬
tions.
Chung Cheng
Wong, coordinator of external af¬
fairs of Associate Students (AS), said
that the new fees are both outrageous
and pathetic. “The state is supposed
to further education among Califor¬
nia residents, not to deprive them of
...Please, see “fees,” page 4
‘Gov. Wilson is trying to abridge the
education rights of the residents of
California. The new fees will force
many students to give up their
education.’
Chung Cheng Wong,
coordinator of external affairs
Associated Students
Campus police call for arms
By EDWIN FOLVEN
Special Correspondent
Campus police officers presented a policy to the
Board of Trustees at its last meeting that would author¬
ize them to carry firearms at night and during high risk
situations. The Board decided to allow members of the
administration’s executive committee to review the
proposal and make rec¬
ommendations before
making any decisions
regarding the policy.
“A firearm is the
only piece of safety
equipment that we
lack,” said officer
Ralph Evans, presi¬
dent of the PCC Po¬
lice Officers Association. “I don’t want to see any of the
officers get shot because they can’t protect themselves.”
Citing newspaper reports of a rising firearm homi¬
cide rate in the San Gabriel Valley, and the escalation of
gang violence in Pasadena, Evans explained the impor¬
tance of arming the officers. The policy is divided into
two parts, and upon approval by the Board, would only
allow officers to carry guns during specific situations.
Part one calls for firearms to be openly displayed in
holsters from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. During that period,
officers patrol off-campus sites, and have encountered
several incidents when lives were potentially in danger,
Evans said.
“We’ve had robberies in progress at the Skills Cen¬
ter, where the suspect is inside the building but we can’t
do anything but wait for the Pasadena police. Some¬
times it takes them up to 45 minutes, and then it’s loo
late,” he added.
“The main thing is
officers need to be pre¬
pared for any situation.”
Campus police officers
have often encountered
injured robbery victims
in need of assistance
while patrolling, Evans
said.
“When people need a cop, they don’t slop to dis¬
criminate between a campus policeman and a city po¬
liceman. They’re looking for someone to help them.”
The proposal also calls for officers to carry concealed
firearms on weekends, holidays, and during high risk
situations. These situations include the transportation of
money on and off-campus, during the service of search
or arrest warrants, and during events involving off-
campus patrons.
Eteass. see “ARMS,” page 7
Financial aid programs cut
‘I don’t want to see any of the
officers get shot because they can’t
protect themselves.’
Officer Ralph Evans,
president PCC Police Officers Association
By ELIZABETH LARA
Staff Writer
California's budget crisis slashed
PCC’s financial aid program by 15
percent.
“It is a big loss to students,” said
Karla D. Henderson, assistant dean
of scholarships and financial aid.
Last year, approximately 4,132 stu¬
dents received financial aid. With
the growing number of students
enrolling every year and a commen¬
surate demand for aid to help with
the costs, more and more students
seek aid and are granted less. The 1 5
percent cut, equating to nearly $1000
per student, affects all state-funded
programs, including the work/study
program.
The work/study program, which
usually has 30 students can now
accommodate only 20 students. In
addition, Cal Grants
В
and C have
dropped from $1400 to $1100 per
student These are funds that do not
require repayment and are issued on
need and GPA.
The Board of Governors Grant,
which covers enrollment fees up to
$60, was unable to repay PCC for
the waived fees granted to students
receiving financial aid. Last year,
there was a shortfall of approximately
$36,000.
“The institution stands to lose,”
said Henderson who predicts for it to
happen again this year “at a signifi¬
cantly higher level.”
PCC student Hien Doan, a finan¬
cial aid recipient believes this 15
percent cut takes away from the
students.
“A student’s income is low and it
is hard to work and go to school at
the same time,” she said.
With the recession in effect, jobs
are scarce and an alternative to work
is school. Many students are return¬
ing to school and finding less aid to
slay there. Enrollment rises almost
600 students per year, which will cut
the distribution of aid at minimal
amounts, Henderson said.
Foreign students tuition unaffected by budget’s resolution
By PATRIA ABELGAS
Staff Writer
There will be no changes in tuition for foreign
students and non-residents within the foreseeable fu¬
ture, according to Dr. James P. Kossler, assistant super¬
intendent for administrative services.
Tuition may go up slightly because of inflation but
foreign and non-resident students are already paying the
full cost of instruction, Kossler said.
Cost of instruction determines how much non-resi¬
dents pay for tuition. It is set by the community college
board and not by the state.
“This is not part of what has just happened (during the
budget crisis). What they did in Sacramento will not
affect foreign students,” said Barbara Griffith, foreign
students office counselor.
Foreign students and non-residents are currently pay¬
ing S 1 04 per unit. F- 1 visa students, other visa holders and
non-residents are not covered by the ADA (average daily
attendance), money paid by the state to community col¬
leges for each full-time student enrolled.
According to Griffith, there are approximately 600 to
700 F-l visa students presently enrolled at PCC. She said
that there are more than 1 ,000 foreign students on campus
this semester. The tuition generated from these students
does not go to the state’s general fund but immediately
goes to the college.“Financially, these students do not
drain the college. They actually help,” Griffith said.
The foreign students don’t take seats away from other
people. They pay for our teachers. ”
But even though there may be no projected increase
in tuition, some foreign students are still worried. A
foreign student, who requested anonymity, said “It’s
so expensive. We pay so much money but we have no
guarantee that we can get the classes we need.”
I