PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
VOL. 77 No. 6
™ COURIER
Serving the PCC Community for 75 years
THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 30, 1993
Student raped in lot 1;
assailant still at large
□ The assault
occurred at 9:30
p.m. last Thursday.
Campus police urge
students to request
escort service.
By RODNEY MITCHELL
Associate Editor
An unarmed assailant assaulted
and raped an 18-year -old female
student last Thursday night in park¬
ing lot one located on the corner of
Colorado Boulevard and Hill Av¬
enue, according to campus police.
The assailant was described as a
white male, 30 to 35 years old, 5 feet,
8 inches tall and weighing about 180
pounds. He had brown hair and
eyes, clean shaven, wearing a white
T-shirt and white tennis shoes. The
victim reported that the assailant
was driving a light brown late model,
Honda Accord.
According to a Pasadena Police
report, at approximately 9:30 p.m.
the victim was grabbed from behind
while she was walking to her car,
and pulled into the assailants’ ve¬
hicle. Once inside the vehicle, the
victim was sexually assaulted. She
managed to escape when the at¬
tacker became distracted by the
voices of students near his vehicle.
Using this opportunity, the student
lunged from the car and ran to the
nearby students. The assailant im¬
mediately sped off.
The victim then
drove home and her
parents reported
the attack to the
Pasadena Police.
The victim was
examined at Hun¬
tington Memorial
Hospital.
This is the first
reported rape at
PCC in 11 years,
according to
Sgt. Vince Palermo, supervisor of all
security on campus.
Campus police reminded stu¬
dents that they provide an escort
service for students and staff. They
can be picked up from classrooms or
offices any time of the day or night.
A student or staff member must con¬
tact the campus police and give the
room number and the time they need
the service.
Palermo said, “This is a relatively
safe campus, but I strongly urge
anyone who has any fears to take
advantage of this service.”
He also stated that the parking
lots are patrolled throughout the
night, however, personal are not as¬
signed to constantly patrol the park¬
ing lots. Palermo reported that the
Pasadena Police Department is in¬
vestigating the case. “They have the
man power and the resources,” he
said.
Even though there has not been a
reported rape case in 1 1 years, Kent
Yamauchi, assistant dean of special
services said that during his profes¬
sional career at the college, he has
counseled numerous students who
have been sexually assaulted, but
not necessarily on campus. A stu¬
dent could be assaulted one block
off campus and the incident would
not be under the jurisdiction of the
college and would not be entered in
the college’s crime
statistics. But he
conceded that most
cases of sexual as¬
sault go unreported
which backs up the
statistics from the
Pasadena Police that
two-thirds of all rape
cases go unreported.
Pasadena Police re¬
ported 53 cases of
rape in 1992.
Many victims
hold to secrecy out of shame, said
Yamauchi. Some victims are under
the impression that they were some¬
how responsible for the attack,
Yamauchi explained. “It is better to
open up and gain understanding
that the victim was not responsible
for the attack, and be able to shift the
Please see RAPE, Page 6
♦ Sexual Assault data compiled from
across the United States last year:
78 rapes take place every hour.
1,871 rapes occur a day.
59,916 attacks take place m a month.
683,000 attacks occur a year.
Only one rape has been reported
on campus in the last 11 years.
_ Source: Pasadena YWCA rape crisis center.
REGINA PARIS
/
THE COURIER
A student walks alone in parking lot 1 where last Thursday night a
female student was sexually attacked at 9:30 p.m.
Proposition 174 at a
glance.
Scholarships worth $2,600 from taxpayer money
would be provided to students who switch from
public schools to any institution of their choice.
It calls for a shifting of funds of approximately
$1.3 billion from public schools to support
about 500,000 students taking classes in private
institutions.
Anyone able to sign up 25 children could open
a private school and be eligible for voucher
subsidies.
Three new members
picked to fill AS posts
□ External affairs, campus activities and
academic affairs positions are covered after
members are sworn in last week.
College
officials
criticize
Prop.174
By ALFREDO SANTANA
Editor in Chief
Proposition 174, the school
voucher initiative that will appear
on the November ballot was criti¬
cized by college officials, who
said the initiative is badly written
and would hurt the community
college system if it is passed.
The measure would provide
parents with children in kinder¬
garten through 12th grade with
school vouchers worth $2,600
from taxpayer money allowing
them to switch to any institution
of their choice.
The voucher plan was defined
by Dr. Jack Scott, superintendent-
president, as a “very poorly writ¬
ten proposition” that would fur¬
ther economic woes in the com¬
munity col¬
leges. He ex¬
plained that
since the state
government
funds K-12
along with the
community col¬
leges, the two-
year institutions
stand to lose
about 10 percent
of their general
revenue. Money
would be taken
out of the state education budget, not
from the individual school district
budgets.
“Proposition 174 will decrease the
amount of money allocated to the
community colleges,” Scott said. “It
would adversely affect the way our
colleges are funded.”
Asked about the claims raised by
supporters of the iniative who say the
voucher system will save the taxpay¬
ers money the more they use it, Scott
said that the schools will sufferaloss
of $ 1 .3 billion in revenue that will go
directly to support the education of
about 500,000 students enrolled in
private institutions.
“It’s a very weak argument to say
the initiative will save us any
money,” he said. “Without a doubt,
before it can save us money, the
vouchers will immediately reduce
the funding of our public schools.”
Dona Mitoma, college librarian
who is a member of the Community
College Association of Women,
said the voucher measure would
only threaten the stability of the
community colleges because it
would create abig economic hole
in the system by shifting funds to
private schools.
She added that public money
should be spent on public schools,
adding that revenues for the state-
supported institutions should be
increased instead of decreased.
One task of public schools, she
added, is to accept everybody
who seeks education in the sys¬
tem, a thing that would no longer
occur because fewer resources
would be available if the mea¬
sure is adopted. “The public
schools have the mandate to ac¬
cept everybody, regardless of
race, gender, IQ or anything else,”
Mitoma said. “There’s not
equal protection for children and
Please see VOUCHERS, Page 4
By JOSE INOSTROZ
Staff Writer
The Associated Students Board
voted in three new members last
week to fill positions left open at the
beginning of the semester.
The vacated positions of coordi¬
nator of exterhal affairs, coordina¬
tor of campus activities, and vice
president of academic affairs are
being filled by Howard Kim, Janelle
Gonzales, and Edgar Aguilar re¬
spectively.
Kim, 19, already feels comfort¬
able sitting behind his desk in the
office he shares with student trustee
John Robinson.
Referring to himself as a “politi¬
cian who is not a politician,” Kim
feels that the way to know more
about the school is to get involved.
After filling out an application and
being interviewed by the AS mem¬
bers, he was voted in to become the
coordinator of external affairs.
His duties include representing
AS and PCC student interests at Cali -
fomia Students Association of the
Colleges meetings. “I am the kind of
person who speaks his mind,” he
said.
Already on his agenda is lobby¬
ing against the school voucher initia¬
tive, also known as Proposition 174,
which if it passes could take 10
percent of total community college
funds.
With a full-time load and a part
time job, Kim plans to transfer to UC
Berkeley and study film or medi¬
cine. Although this is his first expe¬
rience in office, he is enthusiastic
about the new student body adm inis-
tration. “The
сияет
administration
is 100 percent geared toward the
students,” he said.
Gonzales, 18, is the new coordi¬
nator of campus activities. A gradu¬
ate of Shurt High School, she said
she has experience dealing with
students. Her main resposibility will
be to organize and plan events on the
campus.
After only one week in her posi¬
tion, she already has plenty of things
to do.
In October , she will organize
the homecoming activities, and a
trip to Magic Mountain is also in the
works. A possible spring dance is
also being worked out.
Gonzales heard about the posi¬
tionaftermeeting with AS president
Sharifa Johka and Cesar Loera, co¬
ordinator of cultural affairs. Even
though this is her first semester at
college, her new job will not be
easy, because she is taking 14 units
and holding a part-time job.
“I’m really excited about this po¬
sition,” she said, adding that she
looks forward to serving students in
any way she can.
Aguilar, 22, Chicano studies ma¬
jor, is the new vice president of
academic affairs. His main respon¬
sibility will be to inform students
about what the school has to offer to
them in terms of academics.
While he is in the process of
developing a plan, he promises, “ to
wake up the student body on this
campus.” One of the things he will
be doing is to set up talks with faculty
and administration to better student
academic situations.
College unveils plans to build a new Men’s Gym facility
By DENIS WANG
Staff Writer
Although the Men ’ s Gym is being
used daily as a facility for the physi¬
cal education department, many don ’t
know that it is the oldest building on
campus. Builtas a high school gym
in 1922, it was later renovated in
1947, and has stood the test of time
and earthquakes to this day. There¬
fore, in order to provide a vision for
improvement to all the aspiring ath¬
letes, PCC just revealed plans to
build a new gymnasium.
Ernie Romine, chairperson of the
physical education department, said
that just as the new Shatford Library
communicated the desire for expan¬
sion of the college facilities, the new
gym will also expand with state-of-
the-art equipment. He added that the
new structure will enable students to
develop a sense of pride and identity
far greater than what they feel for
the
сияет
facility.
On the first floor of the two-story,
66,000-square-foot structure, there
will be locker rooms and skylit hall¬
ways leading to classrooms while
the weight room, main gymnasium,
and offices will be located on the
second floor.
According to Romine, the main
gymnasium, covered by a glass
bubble or skylight will be a full size
basketball court with bleachers that
fold back to give way to two more
full courts, they can also be trans¬
formed into three volleyball courts
or further divided into six badminton
courts.
This versatile gym with a seating
capacity of 2,500 was designed by
the same architects who laid out the
blueprints for the Shatford Library.
It will also provide the possibility of
teaching classes in the facility, said
Romine.
Outside, bleachers will lead down
to an enclosed, bowl-like football
and soccer field surrounded by an
eight-lane, all-weather 400-meter
and track field. Permanent bleach¬
ers on one side will have a seating
capacity of 3,500 expandable to
7 ,000 by the use of additional bleach¬
ers on the other side. Four towers,
one at each corner of the new sta¬
dium will provide light for night
games. The stadium will also be
surtounded by a 15-foot wall for
security, safety and aesthetics. A
new pool with a separate diving area
will also be constructed, Romine
said.
According to Dr. James Kossler,
superintendent of administrative ser¬
vices, the project will be funded by
the state and will cost approximately
Please see PLANS, Page 4