BLOTTER: 11 students trapped in elevator

Share: Monday, March 18, 2024 1:02 a.m.: The Pasadena Police Department was notified of a red SUV recklessly driving in lot 11 near the Child Development Center. When the officer arrived the vehicle was unable to be located.  10:29 a.m.: A student reported being stuck in the elevator on the second floor of the C building. The officer and facilities personnel helped retrieve the student from the elevator safely.  12:07 p.m.: An officer conducted a traffic stop in lot 8. An Uber driver was warned …

Bonds to bombs: A quaint community college’s global impact

Share: The PCC Foundation, a non-profit that raises funds for Pasadena City College (PCC), holds investments in several major polluters and weapons manufacturers including ExxonMobil and RTX Corp (formerly Raytheon), a Courier analysis of the foundation’s financial disclosures found. The findings come at a time when students across the nation, including PCC, are urging their institutions to divest from companies implicated in climate degradation and Israel’s ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Since the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine on Oct. 7, 2023, …

Fired kinesiology dean files discrimination claim against PCC

Share: The Board of Trustees is set to name a new permanent dean of kinesiology, health and athletics (KHA) at their March meeting after former dean Dyan Miller was terminated in August 2023 following a months-long investigation into Miller’s conduct at Pasadena City College (PCC).  In a claim for damages served to PCC’s Office of Risk Management Services in mid-February, Miller accused the college, members of the KHA department and the Assistant Superintendent and Human Resources Vice President Robert Blizinski for creating a hostile work …

New state program offers system impacted students money for college

Share: A new state pilot program intended to help formerly incarcerated students has debuted at several community colleges in California, to ease their transition and reintegrate education into their lives.  The Hire UP program will pay students for time spent in class and doing homework. It is a $30 million state initiative modeled after guaranteed income programs.  The program was formerly restricted to those in prison, foster children, and CalWORKs recipients. California Community college systems like Santa Rosa Junior College, Sonoma County Junior College, and …

Activists successfully pressure Pasadena to pass ceasefire resolution

Share: The City of Pasadena officially passed a bilateral ceasefire stating a return of all the hostages still held by Hamas. On Monday, March 18, the Pasadena Convention Center was packed with an energetic crowd as the city council discussed whether the city should take an official position on the war in Gaza.  Before the meeting started, a pro-Palestinian crowd gathered a rally with chants outside the Convention Center. Police presence was also heavy as crowds entered the premises, with passions running high, as constituents …

BLOTTER: Art critique gone wrong

Share: Monday, March 4, 2024 1:06 a.m.: An officer advised a female sleeping east of the R building to leave. 2:29 a.m.: An officer advised a male walking through parking lot 7 to leave and told him that the campus was closed. 8:16 a.m.: Staff reported an encampment in the staircase landing on the west side of the E building. An officer advised the occupant of the encampment to leave. 10:46 a.m.: Staff reported a male yelling at himself and setting up an encampment on …

Hostile public comments disrupt structure of Academic Senate meetings

Share: Over the last several months, the Pasadena City College Academic Senate (AS) drew ire from a professor and one particularly derogatory student when they stopped publicly airing their meetings on YouTube, momentarily banning public comment on non-agenda items before moving them to the end of meetings.  Like many public governmental bodies, the AS started livestreaming their meetings over YouTube as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but sporadically live streamed, recorded, and published meetings before the pandemic, beginning as early as 2012. The AS …

Courier sweep! Our state journalism awards roundup

Share: This story has been updated to include links to our award winners This past weekend, The Courier attended the Journalism Association of Community College’s (JACC) regional competition in La Jolla, California. Writers and Editors attended workshops and other keynotes to learn more about the industry and also competed in several on-the-spot competitions. The competitions ranged from timed writing assignments to wider ranging video and social media components. The Courier managed to bring home 24 total awards across 15 competitions along with a mail-in contest …

Two new members to join the Board of Trustees in April

Share: Two new trustees have been elected to the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees along with one who returns after running unopposed in last week’s election.  The two new trustees are James Aragon from Area 2, which encompasses Northern Altadena, the national forest and parts of Pasadena and Ryan Liu from Area 6 which includes portions of Arcadia, El Monte, Rosemead, San Gabriel and Temple City. Tammy Silver represents Area 4, which covers parts of Pasadena, East Pasadena, Temple City and San Gabriel, and …

Final approval awaits for PCC foster youth housing

Share: Pasadena City College is set to open a housing complex for foster youth in Pasadena near the Foothill campus to house PCC students in the foster youth program at the college.  In late February PCC met with First Place for Youth to set the final details for the housing complex and added an additional ten to twelve units, up from the initial 6 units. The ten to twelve units won’t immediately be available when the complex opens.  There was a lot of back-and-forth between …