PCC Courier, September 26, 1975

jiManrw»*»xwtx <к-х.о» ^44- 8LVP CoROcMA PASQUAL .CALIFORNIA /л Paramedical Bldg. Vibrations The employment of an engineering specalist to study the vibrations in the PCC Paramedical Building is under consideration by the Board of Trustees. During the past 17 months, staff and students using the upper two floors of U Building have reported suffering headaches, eyestrain, fatigue, vertigo and nausea. These symptoms are reportedly suffered only while in the building. The reports cite the cause as low-level vibrations that emanate from the building’s powerful air- conditioning and chemical exhaust equipment. The vibrations reportedly affect the inner ear. Dr. Armen Sarafian, president of PCC, said during the summer, the school made some modifications in the system and no new complaints of nausea have been reported. But there have been some complaints of mail¬ boxes rattling and microscopes going out of focus. According to Life Science Department Chairman Dr. John S. Babel, tests have been made since the modifications, and the vibrations “are as bad as ever.” Engineers Dr. John W. Reed of Las Vegas, Nev., and Raymond C. Baird, Free Parking of Santa Monica, are being considered by the board, according to PCC ad¬ ministrators. The expert that is hired will make extensive studies of the building vibrations and determine the validity of the complaints. Dr. Reed was recommended to PCC by experts at Caltech, who cited him as the unquestionable authority on vibrations and their effects. His firm, Kinometrics, Inc., has worked for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), assessing the effects of vibrations caused by underground atomic ex¬ plosions. He proposed, in a letter to the ad¬ ministration, to study U Building for a long period, measuring the vibration both day and night, when the air conditioners are running and when they are not. Once all the data is collected, he would gauge the vibrations' possible effects, if any, on the building's users. Dr. Reed's charge for the service is $8300. In his letter, he explained the cost was to cover personnel expenses, as well as those of transporting and operating sophisticated and sensitive equipment. At a July 28 board meeting, Dr. Sa¬ rafian recommended the Board of Trustees hire Dr. Reed. Board member Charles Briscoe, who has a background in engineering, said he was “not impressed” with Caltech’s estimation of which expert was “the best.” He added that he was uncon¬ vinced the cost was necessary. He recommended a different, local and less expensive consultant, Baird. Dr. Babel has been attempting to see the purported problem corrected since he heard the first complaint of vibration-initiated discomfort. “ When the complaints were brought to the architects’ attention, they made adjustments and changes in the air conditioning and exhaust systems, according to administration reports. The architects hired two consulting firms to explore the problem. However, the complaints did not stop. THE MANY FACES OF SCATMAN— Scatman Crothers was inter¬ viewed last Thursday by the PCC television section. The students went to the filming location in Pasadena where the movie “Friday Foster” is being made. The film is based on the comic strip of the same name. Crothers plays a minister. Crothers is a longtime musician a d entertainer and can be currently seen in NBC’s “Chico and the Man” as a garbage man. Cornelius Awarded at Sacramento Fair Philip Cornelius, associate professor of art, added to the list of awards he has won when he received the $500 first prize in the ceramics division at the California Exposition and State Fair this summer. The award marked the fourth time in PCC CouXieSi VOL. 40, NO. 2 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA SEPTEMBER 26, 1975 Riders Needed for New Shuttle System Everyone knows that parking is a perennial problem at PCC. But this semester something is being done to change that situation. It’s called the shuttle bus system. Initiated by the Student Senate last semester, the shuttle bus system is now operating and costs students only 10 cents a ride. The scheduled pickups are 7 : 30, 8 : 30 and 9 : 30 a .m . at the Lake Avenue Congregational Church parking lot and the Sears parking lot on the corner of Michillinda and Foot¬ hill. The buses leave PCC at 12:05, 1:05 and 2:05 p.m. Parking at the lots is free. Art Garr, college facilities planner, has worked closely with the Student Senate on the project. He said that “The students are doing all the work. “We would like to keep the adminis¬ tration out of it and let the students run it,” he said. As to how the bus system was doing the first week of school, Garr replied, “It’s picking up, we had two bus loads last Friday for the first time.” Garr indicated that a lot of planning was done by students no longer here. “The senators made the selections. Ralph Champion (Senate president last semester) and his senators worked like Trojans. We made trips around the area to find where people could park cars. We made a presenta¬ tion to the Board of Trustees and they okayed a three-month trial run.” Free Parking “The parking lots we use are free and there are 100 spaces each. It’s a great civic contribution. “The bus company we are now using is Embree. We sent bids to Embree, Russell and Associated. We also ad¬ vertised for two weeks in the Star News.” To students using the shuttle bus system now, it may not seem like a great deal is being expended for the buses, but the figures say otherwise. For just three months’ use, it costs the school between $12,000 to $14,000. However, Garr added, “If the students use the buses, we will get more. We have an option clause in the contract for that purpose. And, wherever necessary, we can have more routes.” Elsie Bonilla is one of those few persons who has been with this project from its conception and is still seeing it through. She is on the Senate’s Trans¬ portation Committee. “It’s going kind of slow now,” she said. “We figure we need approxi¬ mately 225 riders a day to keep the project going. With that number of people, they (the Board of Trustees) , would probably keep it going. “We are using small buses now and we have another bus on stand-by. We’ll also try to locate a parking lot in Altadena.” Ms. Bonilla further explained why many of the solutions students sug¬ gested cannot be used. Multi-I.evel Parking “If we built a multi-level parking facility, we would have to use 150 spaces for the structure. This would give 450 spaces, which would only be an extra 300 spaces. “It costs $2500 for just one parking space. For 450 parking spaces, it would cost $1 million. So it is out of the question that we can get that kind of money for more parking spaces. The parking lots that the Lake Avenue Congregational Church and Sears are donating would cost us more than $400,000 if we wanted to purchase them. “And if we tried to acquire land around PCC for more conventional parking spaces, we would lose tax revenue from the community due to the loss of homes.” Like Garr, Ms. Bonilla stressed the point that more students must use the system more frequently. She added that the Transportation Committee is looking to extend the bus route out to El Monte to accommodate more students. And if approved, the system would be free. “We are prepared to make as many facilities available for the students’ use as are needed. This is providing that the buses are filled to capacity. “But if they don’t start using the system now. the project will be ter¬ minated. The Board of Trustees is watching us closely. “The board gave us complete control over the operation and we want suggestions from students on what hours would be best for them and what areas would be most convenient for pickups.” Students interested in expressing their views on the shuttle bus system may soon have that opportunity. A Sports Activity Card Gives Students a Deal ALLT'DA'I X HOUR. 1 BOOR . MO PARKING WVYKXXWt ; s2 FREE PARKING— The above graph shows where parking is available around school. Time limits are from one hour to all day. Students who are willing to come early enough or walk a little may find ample parking without the price of $20 per semester, 50 cents per day or a ticket courtesy of the Pasadena Police. A sports discount card, providing students with free admission to all college football and basketball games except play-offs, is now on sale in the College Bank for $5. Conference To Deal With Campus Unrest Members of PCC’s Board of Trustees are slated to participate in two conferences concerning the various problems afflicting con¬ temporary colleges. Board member Roger Gertmenian will serve in an observer capacity at a seminar to be held in Palm Springs beginning this evening and continuing through Sunday. Trustees and faculty members from other colleges will also be on hand at the event, which will deal with unrest on college campuses, specifically on how to prevent and control such disorders. Board President Robert J. Considine and members Charles F. Eckels, Robert L. Spare and Charles F. Briscoe, will travel to Miami to par¬ ticipate in a convention there October 2 through 4. A broad spectrum of college and university problems will be discussed during the event, which will be attended by representatives from institutions throughout the nation. Gertmenian, a member of the PCC Board for five years, discounted a common belief that there were too many such conferences, resulting in excessive expenditures. The card exempts students from paying the usual $2 admission fee at each football game as well as the obligatory $1.50 fee for basketball competitions. “It’s a bargain,” said John M. Eikenbery, dean of student activities. “With the discount card, the sports enthusiast only has to spend a minimal amount of money.” Dean Eikenbery also pointed out that all other PCC sports do not charge admission. Better Deal The sports discount card was initiated because the student body card was discontinued. Dean Eiken¬ bery suggested that the sports card may be a better deal since it is more fair to students. “I believe that each activity should support itself.” he said. "The problem with student body cards was that 25 per cent of the student body was supporting costs for all. “The main objective of the card is to increase concern for college athletics,” Dean Eikenbery said. He added that attendance was up 30 per cent last year and he hopes that the discount card will help attendance to continue to rise. In addition to the bank, cards may be purchased at the gate before any football or basketball game. Dean Eikenbery has also encouraged school organizations and clubs to help sell the card. They would then be able to obtain a percentage of all money collected. First Week Sales The College Bank reported that the sports discount cards sold well during the first week of school. All profits made by the card will repay some of the costs encountered by the Athletics Department. the last 11 years that Cornelius has been honored at the fair in Sacramento. He has now captured the top prize twice. His entry was selected from a field of more than 1000 works submitted by potters throughout California. The ceramics division was judged by Peter Voulkos, professor of art at UC Berkeley. Voulkos is an internationally recognized potter who is listed in Who’s Who in American Art and has won awards for his work in European competitions. Cornelius’ winning creation was a porcelain plate that featured surrealistic fine-line drawings of salamanders and cacti. Cornelius made the detailed drawings with a fine-gauge Rapidograph pen. Potters have tried previously to make fineline drawings on clay but have encountered technical problems. Cornelius developed the Rapidograph technique which enabled him to overcome these problems. He felt that the new method may have been partially responsible for his sucess at the State Fair since it helped give his piece a unique “look.” Voulkos, the show’s judge, said that he had never seen anything quite like Cornelius’ entry before. The Berkeley professor said that he was unfamiliar with the technique which Cornelius had employed. However, he stressed that “It’s not so much the technique you use as what you do with it . . . what you express.” Dance Set for Friday Evening A back-to-school dance, sponsored by the Chinese Club, will be held Oc¬ tober 3 upstairs in the Campus Center from 8 p.m. to midnight. “All nationalities are invited,” said Paul Yao, Chinese Club president. Tickets are $2 at the door, and club members obtain a small discount. “The dance will serve as a nice welcome to all the new and returning Chinese Club members in addition to increasing awareness about the club,” Yao said. A band named “Ecstacy” will provide light rock music. Punch will be served along with Chinese and American snacks. The objective of the club is to create identity for foreign students. “Chinese Club members tend not to be as home¬ sick,” added Yao. Interested students and faculty members are urged to attend meetings each Friday in C311. The advisers for the Chinese Club are Carol Imai and Dan Reib. BICENTENNIAL DEBATE Students who plan to participate in the Bicentennial Youth Debates, to be held October 27, might be in¬ terested in attending a speech clinic tomorrow at Long Beach City College. They will be exposed to demonstrations of various types of public speaking by some of the best speakers in the area. A bus will leave for Long Beach from the Bonnie Street entrance of U Building at 8 a.m. tomorrow. About 50 are expected to attend, but there is room for more and those who are interested are encouraged to come. LANCER SIGNERS ACTIVE Whale-watching, back-packing and sailing trips are planned for this semester by the Lancer Signers, according to Gene McGowan, club president. The Lancer Signers is a club for the deaf and those who would like to be of assistance to the deaf. Knowledge of sign language is not necessary to be a member. For more information, visit the Handicapped Office. New Attendant Pool To Aid Handicapped By Chris Sutton Staff Writer An attendant pool, designed to employ students to assist the handi¬ capped on campus, was formed this week at PCC. The Office of Services for the Handi¬ capped is attempting to find students to work on a full or part-time basis to fulfill the varied needs of the handi¬ capped students. Attendants are paid from $2 to $3 per hour. Chuck Havard, spokesman for the office and himself a quadraplegic, said “What we need right now are people to sign up for the jobs that are becoming available. Many handicapped people need someone to help them for only a few hours a day or a few minutes an hour. So those with limited schedules can fit in perfectly.” Havard also pointed out that there are many who are forced to live severely restricted lives simply because they have been unable to find someone to help them for as few as two or three hours a day. The idea of the attendant pool, Havard explained, is to have a ready reserve of reliable attendants when the need arises. “We’ve been able to meet needs pretty much on a piecemeal basis. But if the attendants were already available, more home-bound people would have the freedom to go to school, the store, or wherever, and lead fuller, richer lives.” Those desiring either someone to assist them, or a job helping someone, should contact either Havard or Fran Neumann, director of the office. The Office of Services for the Handicapped is located in the green transportable between the Library and the Campus Center. They can also be reached by calling 7488 or from an off-campus phone, the number is 578-7488. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Both male and female attendants are also needed to provide a backup when someone’s regular attendant is unable to make an appointment. “It’s like walking a tightrope without a net,” explained Havard. “I need to be lifted off this wheelchair for a few seconds each hour to prevent bed sores. They are painful and put some¬ one like myself completely out of action. So unless my attendant shows up when he’s supposed to, I could be in real trouble.” Because of the promptness that is required, an attendant's foremost quality must be reliability. When someone calls to become a member of the attendant pool, they are first inter¬ viewed by Havard or Mrs. Neumann to see that they have the temperament to be an attendant. If they do, then the matching-up process begins. “It’s really a very exciting prospect,” says Havard. “We’ve gotten very positive responses from people who would like to get involved. The need is definitely there. And the enjoyment of getting involved with another person’s life, of feeling needed, as well as the pay, the valuable experience and how it looks on one’s resume makes a handicapped attendant almost the perfect job.” Board To Consider Specialist