Share: In Butano State Park near Santa Cruz, artist and former PCC student, Elexis Padrón, works as a Senior Park Aide-Interpreter, guiding hiking tours and facilitating nature-based art workshops. A science illustration class at UC Santa Cruz helped ignite a realization that maybe she hadn’t chosen the right major–although she values her humanities background now, looking back. Shortly after graduating with a degree in art and community studies (a social-justice focused major), Padrón began the UC Naturalist Program at PCC, earning a certificate that set …
Recovering addicts: Students balance TikTok and productivity
Share: In less than five years, the social networking app TikTok has turned into the most used platform in the digital world. In the first half of 2018 alone, the same year it ditched its previous name, Musical.ly, TikTok was downloaded more than 104 million times on Apple’s app store–surpassing Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. According to data released by the Chinese-owned company, its one billion users worldwide, 100 million of which live in the United States, spend an average of an hour and 25 minutes …
Later, Larry: PCC says farewell to our forgotten mascot
Share: In case anyone was wondering, this is PCC’s current mascot. Larry the Lancer. For some colleges including UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, etc., mascots are the backbone of the school’s identity. A way to bring a campus together in a unified identity. But something about Larry’s yellow eyes and smug face is slightly terrifying which is probably why PCC never brings him out for advertising or games. Luckily for PCC, there are plans right around the corner to introduce a new mascot to …
A moment of reflection: Looking back at the Mirror Pool’s leaky problem
Share: After decades of maintenance, the Mirror Pools still present headaches for the PCC administration after years of leaking water, a dilapidated water filtration system, and stubborn carob trees that rest alongside the pool’s edge. In the early ‘30s, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake off the coast of Long Beach caused structural damage to what was then known as Pasadena Junior College. Over the next few years, the institution went through a dramatic reconstruction phase to rebuild the damaged structures to provide an adequate learning space …
Life hacks: A student’s guide to in-person learning
Share: Students resumed in-person sessions on Monday, Jan. 24, at Pasadena City College, and for many students dealing with the anxieties of day one in the middle of a pandemic can lead to several questions, but who should they ask? Parking PCC has several student parking lots that, at the moment, are free of charge temporarily, not forever. Students would not know this since the parking lot daily permit machines are still accepting money, and the PCC website gives instructions on how to pay for …
How can PCC better contribute to campus sustainability?
Share: Californians around the state are missing out on up to $350 million in unclaimed recycling funds due to a lack of recycling centers in the last five years – only 68% of bottles and cans are recycled, which leaves the rest of the discarded household recyclables to sit in what is known as “recycling deserts.” In a report by Dustin Gardiner from the San Francisco Chronicle, a surplus has been built over the past couple of years because residents do not have access to …
How to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on campus
Share: Despite COVID-related restrictions, PCC students and on-campus groups are finding new ways to embrace their Latinx pride and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. In-person events may be scarce compared to previous years, but student-led PCC groups, along with faculty and staff, have organized a handful of events aimed to honor Hispanic culture and benefit Latinx students. Kicking off the festivities on-campus is the Shatford Library at PCC which is currently offering a curated selection of books, ebooks and videos about Latinx culture, food, music and …
Yik Yak finally cleans up its trash talking past
Share: The app that caused cyberbullying, bomb threats, and hate speech has officially announced their comeback to social media. Yik Yak is an app that sends messages anonymously. The app closed down in 2017 after being swamped with complaints regarding racism, discrimation and threats of violence. Follow: