Faculty and Staff
Speak Out on the
Board of Trustees
see page 2
Regulators
Mount Up
see page 7
Lancers
Steal
Show 44-7
see page 8 f
P ASA DEN A
COLLEGE
COURIER
Since 1915
VOL. 87 N0.5
www.pcc-courieronline.com
SEPTEMBER 27, 2001
On Campus
Counselor
Reflects
on WWII,
Terrorist
Attacks
By Kevin Awakuni
Staff Writer
It’s been almost 60 years since
PCC counselor, Harry Kawahara,
was put in an internment camp dur¬
ing World War II. Since then, 11
American presidents have come
and gone, and World War II has
now given way to the war on ter¬
rorism, but the same underlying
fears of all things not “truly
American” still remain.
“There are some chilling paral¬
lels,” Kawahara said, comparing
the hostility that Arabs have faced
since the Sept. 11 attacks on the
World Trade Center and Pentagon,
and the backlash that Japanese-
Americans confronted after Pearl
Harbor. “It brings back some unfor¬
tunate memories of what happened
to us. Simply because we were
Japanese, we were seen as disloyal,
and placed under immediate suspi¬
cion as saboteurs or spies.”
The parallels are chilling indeed.
Since the attacks, more than 350
Arabs have been placed under
arrest in connection with the
attacks. The Associated Press has
reported that “scores of Arab stu¬
dents have dropped out of college
and left the country, many of them
after being called home by parents
fearful of war and anti-Arab senti¬
ment.”
Kawahara said, “It was our hope
that people would learn from their
past mistakes, however this has not
proven to be the case. Just like the
aftermath of Pearl Harbor, when
Japanese-Americans had to endure
threats, fire-bombings, and all man¬
ner of humiliations and name-call¬
ing, Arab-Americans must now
face the same trials.
In contrast to past administra¬
tions though, President George W.
• see Racism, page 3
Five Football Players
Arrested for Burglary
By Jake Armstrong
Sports Editor
Five members of Pasadena City
College’s Lancer football team
were arrested on charges of grand
theft and burglary in connection
with a “grab and run” at the
Burlington Coat Factory in
Arcadia.
The suspects entered the store
before closing time on Sept. 20
and began filling their arms with
clothing from the racks in the
store’s urban streetwear depart¬
ment. Store security guard
Manuel Gastellum became suspi¬
cious of the group after noticing
that the suspects were removing
items from the racks in large num¬
bers without trying them on.
Gastellum then called the Arcadia
Police Department and alerted
them to a possible shoplifting,
agent Bruce Smith of the Arcadia
police said. Minutes later, the sus¬
pects ran out of the store and into
the parking lot, where they were
seen putting merchandise into a
parked car.
Barakaz Saleem,
wide receiver, is in
jail awaiting trial.
The Arcadia police responded
to Gastellum’s call and officers
were on the scene in time to catch
three of the suspects before they
were able to leave the lot.
The police found more than
$400 worth of clothing and video¬
ESL Student Suffers
Heart Attack and Dies
Matt Robinson
Editor In Chief
A PCC student being taken to
the Student Health Center because
he didn’t feel well died of an
apparent heart attack on Monday
afternoon. Michael Avina, a 20-
year-old ESL student, went into
R224 complaining that he was
feeling ill. Professor Lola Proano-
Gomez notified the campus police
that a student needed help. A
cadet responded to the call and
brought a wheelchair to transport
Avina to the health center. In
front of the U Building, Avina fell
out of the wheelchair uncon¬
scious. The cadet used his radio
and immediately summoned para¬
medics.
. “We got a call in the student
health center that someone was
down outside the U building.
When we arrived, other people
were already there. We gave the
student oxygen and administered
CPR until the paramedics
arrived,” said Jo Buczko, college
health nurse.
Attempts to revive Avina were
unsuccessful, and he was trans¬
ported to Huntington Memorial
Hospital where he was pro¬
nounced dead at 4:25 p.m. An
autopsy will be performed to
determine the exact cause of
death. •
Avina, a student in Mary
Winterfield’s ESL class, sought
• see Avina, page 4
Thieves Rip Off Projectors
By John Kaufeldt
Staff Writer
Colleges and universities
throughout the country have been
hit by a rash of liquid crystal dis¬
play (LCD) projector thefts. The
projectors which cost on average
about $6,900, transmit light
through three panels of glass in
order to project an image onto a
screen. The projectors are used in
“smart classrooms” on campu,
and the college owns 100 of them.
Three have been stolen from PCC
so far and many more from col¬
leges nationwide.
“More than 40 LCDs have
been stolen in Southern California
alone,” said Philip Mullendore,
chief of the campus police.
“In most cases, the thieves did
not force entry into the rooms
because teachers left the rooms
unlocked allowing the culprits
easy access. They would then use
tables to reach the LCDs, then dis¬
connect them and cut the cables
that hold them and just simply
walk back out the unlocked door,”
said Lt. Brad Young of PCC cam¬
pus police.
“The LCDs have serial num¬
bers on them which have been
entered into the National Crime
Index Center (NCIC) which is
maintained by the FBI,” said
Michael Hole, Chief of police at
Long Beach City College.
“The LCDs are a high-end,
state-of-the-art projection system
that can be used for other than just
educational purposes. They can
also be used on home entertain¬
ment systems or can be hooked up
to computers for higher resolu¬
tion,” said Young.
“Used LCDs can get from $900
to $1,000 on the black market. It
just depends on the traffic for
them,” stated Hole.
Several colleges around the
United States are now installing
security alarms on their LCDs.
“The Long Beach school is
going to an alarm system that will
be hooked up to each unit. When
the units are disabled, an alarm
will go off in the campus police
office which will tell officers what
room its being stolen from,” said
Hole.
“We have removed eight LCDs
that were not being used at this
time, and are keeping close track
on those that are in use. We are
using surveillance cameras to pro¬
tect them,” said, Young. PCC is
also monitoring the other schools
closely looking for a pattern on
the thefts.
If apprehended, the suspects
can be brought up on criminal
charges of burglary, grand theft,
and if there is more then one sus¬
pect, conspiracy, Hole said. The
punishment can vary depending
on the past criminal history of the
suspects.
Lt. Young warns that when the
suspects are caught, they will be
charged and prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law.
Chief Hole also advises faculty
and students to pay attention to
surroundings. If something does¬
n’t feel right, then most likely
something is amiss.
“Instructors should remember
to lock the darn doors when
they’re done with the classrooms.
Everyone should be cautious of
anyone trying to sell an LCD,”
advised Young.
tapes in that car.
Wide receiver Barakaz Saleem,
defensive backs Olajuan Le Shore
and Darryl Moore, and linebackers
Leon Collier and Otto Evans were
all arrested on charges of burglary
and grand theft. Le Shore and
Saleem pleaded not guilty to the
charges at their arraignments.
Burglary and grand theft are both
felonies and carry a maximum
sentence of five years in prison.
Le Shore and Saleem are await¬
ing trial in the Los Angeles County
Men’s Central Jail. Their bail is
set at $15,000. Moore is not in
custody, but is waiting for an Oct.
1 1 court date.
The district attorney did not file
charges against Collier or Evans
pending further investigation.
Other members of the football
team were contacted and have pro¬
vided information that has been
helpful with the investigation,
Kirk Pedersen, investigator of the
Arcadia Police Department, said.
“Some guys went to the store
and some guys did some bad
stuff,” Lancer head coach Tom
Maher said when asked about the
arrest of his players. Maher insist¬
ed that none of his players, other
Darryl Moore, defen¬
sive back, was
released and awaits
trial on Oct. 1 1.
than Saleem, were in custody. A
call to the L.A. County Sheriff’s
inmate information line yesterday
at 7 p.m. confirmed that both
Saleem and Le Shore were both
still incarcerated and enjoying the
hospitality of the county jail in
modules 5600 and 5900. They
will be there until their next court
appearance.
Maher said that Le Shore, a
starter from Fort Wayne, Indiana
was cleared of all charges.
However, Frederick Mesropi,
assistant district attorney, said Le
Shore is still being charged with
the crime.
In addition to trying to raise the
$15,000 in bail money, Le Shore,
who is currently enrolled in 12
units, still needs to come up with
the $1,253 in out-of-state enroll¬
ment fees he owes the college.
The players involved in the
incident were suspended immedi¬
ately by coach Maher and they did
not dress for last Saturday’s game
against Golden West, Robert
Lewis, interim public relations
spokesman, said.
Shuttle Goes Airborne,
Crashes Near Library
i b**-r«*
A PCC shuttle van
containing nine passen¬
gers crashed in front of
Shatford Library
Wednesday, destroying
the walkway railings
and surrounding bushes.
The van was trav¬
eling south-bound on
Sierra Bonita, failed to
make a left turn and
instead hit a curb,
knocked over an elec¬
trical cabinet. The van
bounced and skidded up
to the library where it
hit the railing and spun
once. Witnesses said
the van was completely
airborne before it hit
the library lawn at an
estimated speedof 50
miles per hour.
The accident
shattered the van’s
• -.1
head lights and
destroyed its front
bumper. The force of
the spin also took off
the right rear tire,
throwing a hubcap sev¬
eral yards away.
“There were
three confirmed
injuries,” said Sgt.
Steven Lester of campus
police. One student was
transported to
Huntington Hospital
complaining of back and
neck injuries.
'шшшШ
Shuttle
passenger and
student, Wals
Lam said the
driver was
attempting to
turn left on
Colorado
Boulevard
Joe Nai-vaez/Courier
while running a yellow
light.
“He was supposed to
stop when the light
turned red, but he kept
going straight forward
and the van smashed
into the bushes.”
The student driv¬
er, Phat Cam, was taken
to St. George Medical
Center for examination.
Lam described Cam as
being a safe driver in
the past.