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Illustration by Rocky Wu
With more security cameras, students wouldn't have to feel uneasy about leaving- their cars in the parking lot.
Security a Concern
for Cars on Campus
Stacey Wang
News Editor
With the number of auto thefts
that occur at PCC, students should
be wary when parking their cars on
campus.
In the last three weeks, four cars
were reported stolen and eight stu¬
dents reported that their vehicles
were vandalized. Most of the cars
were older model Acuras and Hon-
das.
Of the cars reported stolen, all of
the owners confirmed that they left
their doors unlocked, Chief of
Police Peter Michael said. “We
need to educated students that auto
thefts do occur on campus,” said
Michael.
Although there are cadets sta¬
tioned at each of the parking struc¬
tures, the program is currently
short-staffed and cannot always
monitor each level.
Beside cadet surveillance, there
are only a few security cameras
monitoring certain parking lots, but
none are in the parking structures.
However, a proposed increase in
the daily parking fee would allow
police to purchase, security cameras
and put them at the entrances and
exits of the parking lots.
Along with funding, money
needs to be allotted to cover staff as
well.
“It doesn’t do any good to put up
cameras that can’t be monitored,”
said Dr. Jim Albanese, vice presi¬
dent of administrative services,
“There’s only so many cameras we
can have and so many people we
can have monitoring them.”
Student Kevin Kwok feels that
additional cameras are necessary to
ensure the safety of his car.
“The more eyes watching our
cars the better,” said Kwok, “If
there were more cameras added, I
wouldn’t have to worry about my
car while I’m in class.”
Since last year, parts from the
exterior of Kwok’s car were stolen
on two occasions and inone inci¬
dent, his car was vandalized in
parking lot 5.
Many students, like Kwok,
believe that cameras act as a deter¬
rent to stop crime from happening.
In addition to cameras in the
parking structures, the administra¬
tion is planning to add more cam¬
eras around other parts of the cam¬
pus as well.
Most of the cameras that current¬
ly survey the campus are well over¬
due for maintenance or upgrade.
Some of the cameras are over 10
years old and need to be replaced.
The administration is already
proposing to replace current cam¬
eras on campus and adding more.
“We plan to move ahead with it
as soon as there is funding for it,”
Albanese said. The administration
is hoping to start planning for cam¬
pus cameras in spring.
A Growing Bicycling
Population Becoming
Campus Safety Issue
Teresa Baxter
Staff Writer
The fullness of bike racks on
campus seems to indicate that a
growing portion of the PCC popu¬
lation has been choosing alternative
means of transportation to get here.
At any given time, it is obvious that
skateboards, scooters and bikes are
a visible presence at PCC, but little
is known to the reasoning behind
this trend.
It may be that the price of park¬
ing is not affordable to students on
a limited budget; the unpredictable
fluctuation of fuel costs could also
be a factor, or possibly, some may
feel that they are doing their part to
save the earth’s ozone layer.
Many campuses have policies
and campaigns that recognize this
sub-culture of cyclists, informing
them of the hazards that may be
confronted and possible solutions
for avoiding a potentially tragic
incident. In 2005 a University of
Washington professor was seriously
injured when a campus bicyclist ran
into her, outside of their campus
library.
With each semester’s influx of
new students, the issue of proper
safety and guidelines for bicyclists
on campus has not been addressed,
in an easily accessible and informa¬
tive way. The fact that some cyclists
are visibly riding bikes on campus
or skateboarding through the quad
is an example that most are not
informed regarding ongoing proce¬
dures. The PCC campus police are
doing their part.
They have offered many sensible
tips, for bikers, which are easily
attainable by accessing the
www.pasadena.edu/police web
site. There are also several postings
of signs by PCC police, at various
entry points, citing C.V.C 2111 3f.
These postings literally state that
there is no tolerance for skateboard¬
ing, roller skating or bicycling on
campus. Citations are issued, regu¬
larly, to those who choose not to
conform.
“I feel that if the word could get
out about PCC policy, it would
eliminate many of the safety
issues.” said Campus Police Officer
Michael DeSpain, “The majority of
the students here utilize common
sense and the campus police are
always approachable in offering
student’s safety tips.”
A related issue is navigating from
home to the campus, safely. The
city of Pasadena attempts to be
bicycle friendly, by posting the
proper signage around the city lim¬
its, but there are obvious points
where a posted sign does not coin¬
cide with a designated bike lane. As
noted by a PCC student, getting to
our college is not an easy taste.
Graham Waldo, 19, commutes to
PCC, daily, peddling his way from
Oak Grove Ave. to Hill St. He tries
to adhere to the city’s rules, but
most times he rides on sidewalks,
unless a pedestrian is apparent. At
those times he ventures on, to what
he calls, shared road space, hugging
the curb. Waldo notes that he has
Continued on page 3
Firefighting
on the steep
slopes —
on a rooftop
in Pasadena.
See Page 6
Employees From Thailand Talk
About Coup in Their Homeland
Raul Cabral
Staff Writer
To the majority of the PCC stu¬
dent body, the recent coup in the
country of Thailand is nothing
more than another political struggle
in a faraway land. Yet, the revolt
has had a direct impact on a special
sector of the PCC community.
A number workers at 1-8 Food
Service on campus are either from
Thailand or of Thai descent.
Panawan Thammathi, who works
in the cafeteria and has all of her
family living in the Asian country,
believes the revolt, which began on
Sept. 19, will have repercussions.
“To me, I think the coup is bad
for the economy,” she said. “In my
country, we believe in Democracy,
but we also believe in and follow the
king’s and queen’s wishes,” she
said, referring to King Bhumibol
Adulyadej’s appearance on Thai tel¬
evision with Gen. Sondhi Boon-
yaratkalin, which many considered
to be a unquestioned show of sup¬
port for the government’s over¬
throw.
At the same time, Panawan
believes the coup is generally
Continued on page 3
Women’s Soccer:
at ELAC, 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 29
Illustration by Daniel Bens
Even with signs posted, the safety of students are still at risk because some
bicyclists still ignore them.
Cerritos, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 3,
Robinson Stad.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, Sept. 28
• University Rep. Visit: UC Irvine
at 9:40 a.m. in LI 10.
• University Rep. Visit: UC Santa
Cruz at 10 a.m. in LI 10.
• PCC Artist Talk With Sandra de
la Loza at 5 p.m. in C233.
• CA Tomorrow — Campus Change
Network at noon in Circadian.
Saturday, Sept. 30
• University Rep. Visit: Transfer
Advise at 8 a.m. in LI 10.
• Fulfillment Fund College Fair at
11:30 a.m. Will be held at UCLA
campus.
Sunday, Oct. 1
• Flea Market at 8 a.m. in Quad.
The Only Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915
Volume 94, Issue 6