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AFTER THE VERDICT, WHERE WILL
WE FIND A NEW CONTROVERSY?
What will addicted O.J. viewers do after the
trial and can Southern California recover ^
from an O.J. overdose? J.
SEARCHING FOR A FEW
GOOD MECHANICS?
PCC’s auto mechanics class
teaches the fundamentals of .
automotive repair >
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
FINISHES 9TH AT
RANCHO SANTIAGO
PCC still ranked 5th in ,
Southern California JC poll '
• THOUSANDS TAKE TIME TO REMEMBER LOVED ONES AT THE ROSE BOWL • BOARD MEMBER UNDER FIRE
AIDS quilt:
sewing love
in Pasadena
By DREW McDIARMID
Courier Staff Writer
It was stories like Joyce Boden’s
that took center stage at the event
that brought The AIDS Memorial
Quilt to Southern California last
weekend.
She was 29 years old when the
disease took her life. Now two years
later, her mother, two sisters, and her
grandmother stand in silence in her
memory.
A panel commemorating her life
will be added to the 11,000 being
unfolded on a foggy, misty morning
outside the Rose Bowl. Joyce’s
mother would find comfort and sup¬
port in the many others gathered
around a collection of patchwork
memories.
“It is the first time her quilt will be
seen in public,” her mother said
proudly.
The display spread out on the
grass outside the Pasadena landmark
represents just a third of the panels
that make up more than 33,000 sewn
memorials to those who have died
from AIDS.
Scott Bakula, star of television’s
“Quantum Leap” joined other celeb¬
rities to call attention to the quilt’s
presence.
“I am here to help with the aware¬
ness. To get the word out and let
people know they should experience
Please see QUILT, Page 5
♦ For more pictures of the
AIDS quilt, please see page 4
P.J. DATRl/THE COURIER
Quilt panels representing more than 1 1 ,000 deaths as a result of AIDS were displayed over the weekend.
Members clash
as turmoil rocks
AS government
By JOSE INOSTROZ, Courier Staff Writer
The Associated Students Board voted 4-0-1 Tuesday
to begin impeachment procedures against Stephanie
Thraen, coordinator of external affairs.
The action was taken after a two-hour special meet¬
ing that included students voicing support and opposi¬
tion of Thraen.
Amidst calls for Thraen’ s impeachment were charges
that not enough board members were present to vote on
impeachment. That meeting was the second in a day and
the third in a week.
In the first special meeting at noon, student govern¬
ment unanimously approved to take a stand in favor of
Affirmative Action.
The meeting was a continuation of the AS Board’s
Sept. 2 1 session in which the issue of Affirmative Action
came to the forefront. After the board opened discussion
on the agenda item proposed by Teshami Coleman,
coordinator of cultural affairs, and after considerable
audience input, the AS postponed a vote and made a
decision the following Tuesday.
At the Sept. 21 meeting, Coleman read a joint
resolution by the Black Student Caucus, La Raza Unida
Caucus, and the Women’s Leadership Caucus which
was drafted at a meeting of the California Student
Association of Community Colleges (CalS ACC), a state¬
wide student lobbying organization.
The resolution asked that student government, “bear
the responsibility to advocate Affirmative Action.” It
also demanded that “top priority be given to legislation
and policy supporting and defending the ideas of Affir¬
mative Action and to oppose any attempt to dismantle
Affirmative Action programs and policies.”
“I ask the board to take a stand on Affirmative Action
as it affects all of us adversely,” Coleman said after
reading the resolution.
As the board discussed the issue, some indicated they
Please see BOARD, Page 3
“We need to
recognize
students and
their
concerns... I
am sorry that
it had to come
to this, it is
unfortunate.
We needed to
take a stand
due to the
overwhelming
request of the
student body, ”
Kim Smoot,
AS executive
vice
president
• TRUSTEES CHANGES SCHEDULE
Board meetings
moved back to
Wednesdays
By PAT ROBISON , Courier Staff Writer
The Board of Trustees has changed
its meeting schedule from the first
and third Tuesdays of each month to
Wednesdays instead. According to
the new schedule, the board, will
meet on Oct.4 and 1 8. Meetings will
still be at 7 p.m. in the Circadian.
Board member Walter Shatford
II said the board traditionally met on
Wednesdays but to accommodate a
schedule conflict, they began meet¬
ing on Tuesdays about a year ago.
That conflict was in trustee
Susanna Miele’s schedule. She had
classes at Mount Saint Mary’s Col¬
lege where she is pursuing a master’s
degree in physical therapy.
Since she is taking this semester
off from her studies, her schedule is
no longer an issue.
Beth Wells-Miller introduced a
motion to resume the old schedule
“As long as it’s not a problem for
any of the others to go back to
Wednesday, then I’d prefer that
day,” said Miller. There were no
objections to the change.
Shatford said, “We’re not really
doing anything new.”
With the board meetings on Tues¬
day, the administration had one
fewer weekdays to put the package
of background information together
for the board.
Board member Jeanette Mann said
that she welcomes the change back.
“Traditionally
we've tried to
accomodate
the schedules
of trustee
members and
because of
mine, we
needed to
move it to
Tuesday,”
Susanna
Miele,
Board of
Trustees
member, and
graduate
student at
Mount St.
Mary’s
College
• MAN ACCUSED OF GIVING FRAUDULENT INFORMATION ON APPLICATIONS
Police arrest 'student’ for felony grand theft
By GILBERT RIVERA, Courier Staff Writer
He is charged with stealing more than $3,000 from
PCC.
He allegedly has used several aliases during his
lifetime: Bob Edwin Johnson, Robert Edward Johnson,
Colleen R. Johnson, Culleen Robyn Johnson.
He first applied at the college in 1994 as Collen A.
Johnson, 51-year-old Sylmar resident with a G.E.D. as
his highest form of education.
But on Sept. 1 8, however, campus police found out
who this man really is.
His real name is Collen Robyn Johnson, 53, with two
bachelor’s degrees from Cal State Northridge and a
multiple arrest record. Johnson was arrested on that
Monday by campus police for felony grand theft and is
accused of allegedly giving false information on his
enrollment applications.
According to the police report, Johnson said that he
used his deceased aunt’ s social security number when he
registered and did not state that he had two bachelor’s
degrees. The law stipulates students with bachelor’s
degrees who apply to the college have to pay $50 per
unit. Johnson was enrolled at PCC since the fall of 1994
and paid only the normal tuition fee of $ 1 3 per unit, said
Philip Mullendore, chief of campus police.
“Anyone that fraudulently receives services from the
college is liable for criminal and civil action,” said
Mullendore. He also said that PCC has prepared a civil
action suit against Johnson for the full $3 ,3 1 7 amount he
owes the college.
According to Mullendore, Johnson, using the name
Collen A. Johnson, was dismissed from summer school
this year because he allegedly falsified information on
his application. He reapplied this semester, however,
under the name of Robert E. Johnson and again did not
state that he had two bachelor’s degrees.
In a June 19 police interview, officials asked Johnson
if he knew that it was wrong and possibly illegal to falsify
information in order to receive services from the college,
he answered “Yes, but I needed the education.”
Mullendore said that campus police began to key in on
Johnson last spring when they suspected him of sending
“annoying” letters and faxes to several staff members
and students on campus. He is a suspect in those inci¬
dents, however, and campus police are still investigat¬
ing. Johnson could face criminal action if those charges
are proven.
In 1988, Johnson was convicted for threatening public
officials and served three years and eight months in
prison.
SAMUEL HERNANDEZ/THE COURIER
• STUDENT EXCELLS WHERE MOST OTHERS WOULDN'T
Passing The Test of Life
By T AMINA AG HA
Courier Staff Writer
Because of the fast-paced life¬
style Gina Jalbert has, it is natural
for her to forget the philosophies by
which she lives. Before leaving for
a tennis tournament, Jalbert reflects
on the words, “Your life is a test. If
it weren’t a test, you would have
received an owner’s manual.”
These words have special mean¬
ing for Jalbert because she leads a
very active life despite living with
spina bifida, a defective closure of
the spinal column. This condition
affects the spinal cord and can result
in the failure of the vertebrae to fuse.
Jalbert’ s spina bifida is located in the
lower spine, so that her leg muscles
are impaired, but the strength in her
upper body is not.
Since the age of 11, Jalbert has
competed in countless tennis tourna¬
ments. Wheelchair tennis, a sport
that is relatively unknown, enables
her to live a very independent life
and gives her many opportunities to
travel throughout the nation and the
world.
For the past two years, Jalbert has
managed a hectic, hustle-and-bustle
tennis career in addition to her stud¬
ies at PCC. While she may appear to
be an ordinary face in the crowd, in
actuality Jalbert is a nationally ranked
wheelchair tennis player.
She can often be seen wheeling
herself to class or getting a bite to eat
in the cafeteria.
In the summer of 1988, a wheel¬
chair-tennis program got started in
Pomona. For the past 8 years Jeff
Bliss has coached for and coordi¬
nated the Pomona Valley Tennis
Program. Bliss applies his experi¬
ence in able-bodied tennis to coach¬
ing those who are in wheelchairs.
“Wheelchair tennis is almost
identical to able-bodied tennis,” Bliss
said, “except for the second bounce
and the fact that the chair is consid¬
ered an extension of the body.” In his
opinion, it is a lot trickier for wheel¬
chair players to avoid getting in the
way of the ball simply because the
chair is so much larger than the leg.
“I’m most conscious of the fact
that able-bodied players benefit from
Please see JALBERT, Page 4