Serving PCC and the Pasadena community since 1915
September 29, 2005
pcc-courieronline.com
Vol. 92, Issue 6
Arnold’s Visit Surprises Campus
Schwarzenneger signs new legislature
and tours PCC’s vocational facilities
Dean Lee
Staff Writer
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
surprised students and staff on
Tuesday when he picked PCC for
the location of a bill signing cere¬
mony. The visit was not publicized
beforehand to ease security con¬
cerns. The governor signed SB 70
sponsored by former PCC president
state Sen. Jack Scott's, D-Pasadena,
that will proved $20 million to
expand vocational technology edu¬
cation in public schools, during a
ceremony in the automotive tech¬
nology shop. Scott also attended the
event.
“This bill is a first-class ticket
into high-tech jobs,”
Schwarzenegger said. “It will put
the spotlight on education. We need
doctors as much as we need
mechanics. There will be more com¬
munication on training between the
high schools and community col¬
leges.”
Schwarzenegger looked under
hoods and underneath several cars
as he talked with students and two
instructors in the auto shop as they
worked on the cars. At one point
Schwarzenegger mentioned that he
was restoring a 1976 jeep. He also
said he liked the looks of a student's
metallic-green 1956 pickup truck
said, Brent Thompson. an automo¬
tive technology instructor
After signing SB 70 the governor
turned and gave David Villalobos an
automotive technology major one of
the several pens he signed the bill
with. PCC president Dr. James
Wesley Wong
/
Courier
Senator Jack Scott, former
PCC president, sponsored
the bill the governor signed.
Kossler was also given a pen as well
as both automotive technology
instructors, Jason Norris and
Thompson.
“I looked around and nobody
moved when he asked for a student
to give a pen to so I jumped up,
Villalobos said. “He gave me a copy
of the signed bill as well.”
In preparation for this event, stu¬
dents moved cars to other parts of
the shop. The room was repainted
and everything was cleaned.
“They said they were going to
repaint this place years ago, you can
see were the paint is peeling off,” an
automotive technology student
said. “But within 24 hours before
Arnold Schwarzenegger came.
However they painted it only where
he spoke.”
During the press conference
Schwarzenegger commented on
how impressed he was with the
auto shop.
“My mechanics are out. I'm tak¬
ing my cars here. Those kids are
great.” Schwarzenegger said.
As a gesture of appreciation, the
automotive students gave the gover¬
nor a “perpetual parking pass” so
he could park at PCC without get¬
ting a ticket while his Hummers are
being worked on
The Automotive Technology
Program was recently awarded a
grant from The Nissan Foundation
to purchase machining equipment
for the Program. Schwarzenegger
saw some of this equipment and
one of two donated cars.
He also met with students and
staff while touring other vocational
programs in the health science and
engineering and technology depart¬
ments
The PCC Associate Degree
Nursing Program (ADN/RN) just
received a governor's grant to
improve the efficiency and success
of the nursing program. This could
help ease the nursing shortage prob¬
lem in California said Susan
Clifford, the Dean of Health
[see Bill signing, page 6]
William Hallstrom
/
Courier
Gov. Schwarzenegger talked to invited guests in the auto shop on Tuesday morning. He signed SB 70
into law after touring several vocational programs on campus. Before he left the auto shop he said
he’s dump his mechanics for PCC students.
Kris Calnon/ Courier
Case Not
Closed
Audit of PCC PD
conducted, results
can’t be shared
Jennifer MacDonald
Staff Writer
When interim police chief Frank
Scialdone was hired last spring, his
duties included conducting a man¬
agement audit, or an assessment, of
the PCC Police Department and
Campus Safety as well as areas
including traffic, transportation and
the cadet program.
The PCC police department is
audited once a year by the state,
however, a detailed analysis like this
one has not been done in over 20
years. The audit covered about 15
areas within the department but
details of the report will not be dis¬
closed to the public because it is a
management report and deals with
personnel matters, said Peter
Hardash, vice president of adminis¬
trative services.
“The department has a bunch of
hard working people who care
about the college,” Scialdone said.
“They care about providing a safe
campus for students and staff.”
There were just some minor
changes that needed to be made, he
added.
Although the issue of officers
carrying weapons on campus was
addressed in the report, specifics
could not be disclosed. According
to Dr. James Kossler, president of
AS Left Out of Governor’s Visit
President Kossler apologizes and
says the matter was out of his
hands, as “this was not our event”
Steve Carillo/ Courier
AS Member Hans Holborn is upset because AS board
members were not invited to the press conference.
Paul Aranda, Jr.
Staff Writer
Members of the Associated
Students missed a rare opportunity
to attend a bill signing by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, on campus
Tuesday, Sept. 27, leaving many
frustrated and disappointed.
In an attempt to keep security for
the appearance effective, it was not
announced until Monday, leaving
most of the campus unaware of
what was scheduled to take place.
Hans Holborn, A.S. vice president
of external affairs, upon learning
about the visit from an outside
source, stayed up in his campus
office until 1 a.m. preparing a pres¬
entation to personally thank the
governor on behalf of PCC students
for signing AB 982, saving the stu¬
dent health center on campus.
AB 982 requires all students on
campus, including those receiving
the state fee waivers, to pay the $13
health services fee upon enrolling
for classes. This income is vital for
the student-run health center, which
provides many free services to stu¬
dents, such as STD testing and cer¬
tain immunizations. Included in the
presentation were over 1000 post
cards signed by students and collect¬
ed by Holborn and his staff over a
period of five business days. Along
with the cards were more than 120
letters, thanking the governor for his
support.
After being denied access to the
governor's appearance by campus
security, a visibly disheartened
Holborn stood outside the entrance
of Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium
alongside many students who had
gathered to voice their opinions of
the Governor. “Associated Students
are the voice of the students on and
off the campus,” he said. “It is defi¬
nitely disheartening and discourag¬
ing because this shows that the A.S
is less important than we thought.
We thought that we made a signifi¬
cant contribution to the voices of
the students here. Obviously we
don't. All I wanted to do was give
him this and say thank you. That's
all I wanted to do.”
Student trustee Nicolas Szamet,
elected to sit on the board of
trustees as a student representative,
was not informed of the visit even
though other members of the board
were not only informed, but also
invited to attend the signing.
Holborn's frustration with the
administrative staff and the board
of trustees was evident as he sighed,
stating that his title is just a title.
“They [the board] don't care about
A.S. evidently,” he said.
In an attempt to explain the col¬
lege's position behind the governor's
appearance, PCC President Dr.
James Kossler explained that the
governor's staff asked that for secu¬
rity purposes the visit be kept on a
“need to know” basis. Kossler said
that many individuals, including
faculty leadership as well as student
leadership, were not invited for this
very reason. “In fairness to the
Governor's staff, the space where
the bill signing and press conference
was held, the auto shop, was very
small. The governor only had about
an hour to be on campus,” he said.
Kossler, however, was pleased
that the governor was able to meet
with faculty and students in various
vocational classes.
“I'm sincerely sorry if any mem¬
bers of the campus family felt left
out,” Kossler said. “Unfortunately,
this was not our event. However,
there should be a lot of positive cov¬
erage of PCC's students and the fac¬
ulty as a result of the governor's
visit.”
Thousands Turn Out to Protest Iraq War
SUPPORT OUR
LET THEM C
Orlando Pina
/
Courier
Supporters of all ages expressed their frustration as they
marched to protest this country's military presence in Iraq.
Keith Lubow
Staff Writer
PCC students were among what
Los Angeles police estimated to be
15,000 anti-war demonstrators who
marched and spoke in downtown
L.A. last Saturday, and who made
demands such as “Bring the troops
home now” and “Fund people's
needs, not the war machine.” The
event was organized by the national
activist organization Act Now to
Stop War and End Racism, which
also staged similar rallies the same
day in San Francisco and
Washington, D.C.
Crowds gathered on Broadway
Street at Olympic Boulevard, where
they prepared for the march by lis¬
tening to speeches, beating drums
and making signs. At noon, the
march began, led by “Born on the
Fourth of July” author and activist
Ron Kovic in his motorized wheel
chair.
Demonstrators held peace signs
and fists in the air and waved home¬
made signs. Some of the common
themes on signs were calls for the
withdrawal of United States troops
from Iraq and for President Bush's
impeachment. Some protesters
masked their faces with bandannas.
Among the interest groups that
participated were the Free Palestine
Alliance, the National Lawyers
Guild, the Office of the Americas,
and U.S. labor Against War.
Organizers used a public address
system from a flat-bed truck to lead
the marchers in call and response:
“What do we want? 'TROOPS
OUT!' When do we want it?
'NOW!'” The calls echoed down
Broadway as the procession passed
historical downtown buildings such
as the Orpheum Theatre. The side¬
walks were lined with a mix of
shoppers, photographers and pro¬
testers.