Share: Over a several month investigation, the Courier sifted through documents, public records requests, interviewed Pasadena City College’s (PCC) swim coach and administration and pieced together a story that showed how the college avoided putting any money towards the Aquatic Center as it decided whether or not to move the pool altogether starting as early as 2016. However, before the college took up the position of not spending a significant amount of money towards fixing the damage at the Aquatic Center in 2016, it also …
New building woes: The shrunken science structure U won’t fit in
Share: Professors in the natural sciences division at the May Board of Trustees meeting raised concerns that current designs for the new U building would not provide sufficient office or lab space to accommodate the classes moving in upon its completion. “So regarding the concerns over the office space, we have been assigned a space of five and a half by six feet which we would argue is inadequate to serve our students,” biology professor Richard Lie said at the meeting. In a separate unlisted …
PCC to change sign-in page to Microsoft redirect starting in June
Share: The Pasadena City College Information Technology Services Team (ITS) has begun changing several login redirects to Microsoft in order to strengthen PCC technological security and direct all of PCC’s resources to a singular login portal. In mid-May the PCC Information Technology Services Team (ITS) announced in an email that several PCC applications such as Google, Canvas, and Rave Alerts would be changing their login system redirects starting on June 18, 2024. When logging into these PCC applications, users will be redirected to a Microsoft …
BLOTTER: A mysterious banging sound and knives aplenty at PCC
Share: Monday, May 27, 2024: Nothing to report Tuesday, May 28, 2024: 10:59 a.m.: Person reported a transient sleeping inside the GM building lobby. The transient was a student. 11:19 a.m.: Student reported a PCC laptop was stolen from their vehicle in Monterey Park. The Monterey Police Department report number was documented. 1:29 p.m.: Person reported hearing a banging sound coming from the GM building men’s locker room. A transient was escorted out of the area. 2:49 p.m.: Passerby reported a male was yelling near …
Divestment calls persist, but path forward still unclear
Share: Efforts to pressure the Pasadena City College (PCC) Foundation to divest from major polluters and defense contractors are pressing on, but the path forward remains unclear due to the foundation’s independent governance, fears of professional repercussions among faculty, and a lack of concrete action in response to student protests and resolutions. Following a 300-person demonstration led by the PCC Anti-War Club in late April, PCC’s student government unanimously passed a resolution calling on the foundation to divest from companies involved in fossil fuels and …
PCC’s campus sees drastic Title IX changes this fall semester
Share: With the recent changes to Title IX’s policies, as well as a recent development amongst administrators in Pasadena City College’s Title IX department, PCC is going to see a noticeable shift in both protocol and the number of Title IX staff on campus in the fall. PCC, along with all other federally funded K-12 schools and campuses across the country, have until Aug. 1, 2024 to comply with these rules, effectively replacing the Trump era changes that were made to Title IX in 2020. …
Here’s what’s planned for PCC’s 100th birthday so far
Share: As Pasadena City College (PCC) prepares for its 100th birthday in fall 2024, the college is planning for a full year of celebrations, gala’s, oral and written histories, fixing the mirror pools, renovating Sexson Auditorium and continued campus revitalization for the school’s next 100 years. “We’re very excited to be celebrating 100 years of PCC,” PCC Spokesperson Alex Boekelheide said. “This is clearly a major milestone in the college’s history. And we think it’s a good chance to really examine how far the college …
With book banning on the rise, California risks following suit
Share: While Pasadena is pushing back on book censorship through participation in events like Banned Books Week, Huntington Beach, Fresno, and other cities across California are becoming the target of efforts to ban books in libraries and public schools. These cities are following a wider national trend in states like Florida, Texas and other predominantly conservative areas. “Book bans are incredibly effective,” said young adult author and national leader of Authors Against Book Bans (AABB) Maggie Tokuda-Hall. “They target places where books are most accessible—in …
AI in the classroom? Policy is still up to professors at PCC
Share: Throughout 2023, educators saw an incoming boom of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools and discussed how to prepare for its impact on their classrooms. Now, as we reach the end of the first full school year since AI came on the scene, PCC instructors have had to adjust their preparations in real-time. “It’s bad out there,” said Dr. Liesel Reinhart, who teaches Visual Arts & Media Studies at PCC. “We are getting a tremendous number of assignments turned in that use various types …
PCC Associated Students Election 2024-2025: Battling Candidates
Share: Pasadena City College is holding elections for the 12-member Associated Student Governing Board (ASG) for the 2024-2025 school year, featuring key positions such as the Student Trustee and the President of the Associated Students. The Governing Board works closely with student committees and faculty subcommittees to advocate for student needs and make recommendations to the college’s administration. Sixteen candidates are running for the 10 open positions on the next Associated Students Executive Board, making the selection process highly competitive. Each committee focuses on specific …