PCC Courier,

INSIGHT SPORTS SPORTS AWARDS ON A MISSION: While some complain others go out and do something GENDER EQUITY?: Several female coaches have an opportunity to speak on the ever contro¬ versial Title IX THE YEAR'S VERY BEST: Staffers vote on what was most memorable this year in sports Visit us on the World Wide Web @ PASADENA CITY COLLEGE http: //www .geocities, com/ ~ pccnewscourier/ VOL. 83 NO. 28 PASADENA, CALIFORNIA The /-4 Courier THURSDAY MAY 7, 1998 Don't That Campus Police: The prices for breaking parking lot laws may surprise drivers By MAN DANA TOWHIDY Courier Staff Writer Students who fail to obey stop signs in the parking structure could be cited up to $169 for a moving vio¬ lation by campus police. Vehicle code 211 13 A allows cam¬ pus police to cite drivers for violation of vehicle code 21461, which is defined as failure by the driver to "obey official traffic control devices;’ The average fine for this ticket is $149, but can range anywhere from $113-$169, based on a judge’s dis¬ cretion. Until now, students who ran the stop signs were merely given warn¬ ings even though officers could have given them tickets. However, as more drivers ignore the signs, tire CHRIS GARCIA / THE COURIER Please see CITATION, page 8 Most times, campus police officers merely issue warnings instead of tickets. FACULTY SENATE BEAT Senate Discusses Final Exam Times Debate: AS president believes that people should have a day off before taking tests By LUIS E. REYES Courier Staff Writer A debate on when the final exams should be taken arose at the two-hour Faculty Senate meeting last Monday after¬ noon. “Students should have the right to have a day in between the last day of class and the first day of finals,” said Aaron Schaefer, Associated Students president. The AS brought up that issue at a meet¬ ing last semester. With finals just around the comer, however, the problem had not been resolved. Ellen Ligons, faculty senate president, asked whether or not teachers would have to be paid another day for supervising lab¬ oratories if the finals schedule were to be revised. “My question is whether or not [the] faculty will need to be paid for another day of work if the schedule changes,” said Ligons. In a memo sent to all faculty, Ernestine L. Moore, vice president of student and learning services, clarified the time arrangements for the finals. Wednesday will be the last day of regu¬ lar classes and next Thursday will be a non-teaching day. Please see DEBATE, page 9 “My question is whether or not (the) fac¬ ulty will need to be paid for another day of work if the schedule changes, ” Ellen Ligons, Faculty Senate President “It wasn’t as confusing as it looked (on Monday), ” Dr. James Kossler, College President, said about the argument that erupted during the senate meeting Index ■ Voices on Campus, page 2 ■ Two takes on the media, page 2 ■ Proposition 227, not good, page 3 ■ Classified staff art exhibit, page 4 ■ 'Inscape' is on the stands, page 4 ■ Daijobu and Frontside profiled, page 5 ■ Faculty choir's musical gifts, page 7 ■ Tracksters qualify for states, page 9 ■ Saraf's last stand, page 9 ■ At the Plate debuts, page 10 ELECTION RESULTS DeOcampo ‘Totally Elated’ Over Big Victory Associated Students: Arechiga, Lakshmipathi claimed wins in their contested races By HECTOR MERCADO Courier Staff Writer After weeks of campaigning,' the votes have been counted and the results are in. Robert DeOcampo was elected AS president, as projected in last week’s issue. Winners in the contested races were. Margaret Arechiga, vice-president of academic affairs, and Suresh Lakshmipathi, vice-president of public relations. DeOcampo. who received 401 votes out of 448, was “totally elated” about winning with such a strong backing from the students who voted. As president, one of DeOcampo ‘s goals is to get stu¬ dents more involved in AS meetings. Eventually, he wants to form “town hall meetings” on campus. He plans to do this by informing students about student govern¬ ment functions in a timely manner. “If I have to, I’ll go to each classroom to get the word out,” said DeOcampo. “I would like to see the clubs get more involved.” DeOcampo also wants to make the college more accessible to all members of the community. He wants returning students and single mothers on welfare to know that they can come to PCC and start a second career. Another one of his goals as president is to take a tour of the campus with the campus police to locate “unsafe zones” on campus and make them safe by cutting back shrubs for better visibility. Arechiga, who won her race with 242 votes, or 54 per¬ cent, was “happy and relieved” that the election was finally over, and that she won her seat. One of her goals as vice-president of academic affairs is too create a position of student advocacy to resolve conflicts between students and faculty members. This way, a student can pick up a form at the depart¬ ment office and resolve the argument through mediation. Arechiga would also like to hire an ombudsmen, a person who would be paid by the college to resolve argu¬ ments that may arise anywhere on the campus. Her per¬ sonal goal is to make the college, which is one of the largest schools in the nation, number one in academics. SUMMER SCHOOL UPDATE Few Courses Available For Summer Sessions Registration: Associate dean cites limited state funding as the main reason By ALISHA GOMEZ Courier Staff Writer As the summer term quickly approaches, students should be aware that the availability of sum¬ mer classes is limited. “Typically this college doesn’t offer so many classes during the summer -as a semester because the classes are only six weeks long, compared to 18 weeks for ones dur¬ ing the regular year. “Class time is three hours com¬ pared to one hour, which means room space is used up more, and there is not enough space to offer more sessions,” said William Farmer, associate dean of instruc¬ tion. Farmer also said that class avail¬ ability depends on how much the state will pay for the cost of summer school. The college’s state-allocated funds pay for a certain number of students, and administration tries to get as close to that number so that they will not be spending more money than they have been given. “We are offering more classes this summer than in previous sum¬ mer sessions. We base our decision, on what classes and sections to offer, on past years; the patterns of enrollment, courses that are closed first from previous summer ses¬ sions,” Farmer said. Summer sessions tend to offer lower or entry-level classes rather than upper level elective classes because most students want to focus on their basic classes during the summer. Lower level classes are also the most popular with students. ...class availability depends on how much the state will pay for the cost of summer school, William Farmer, Associate Dean of Instruction, said of the funding situation. Registration LUZ DE LA TOBA / THE COURIER Lines at the registration office may be filled with disappointed students because few sections will be offered this summer. Administrators blame it on budget limitations.