New community college diversity rules sparks political fire

Share: As of mid-October, California Community Colleges are instructed to implement diversity, equity, and accessibility (DEIA) policies that were first introduced in 2020, though professors across California are pointing to how their free speech may be impeded by the implementation of these policies in their tenured reviews.    Several California community college professors recently filed lawsuits against local leaders in response to their districts’ implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) on campus. California community college districts had until Oct. 13 to incorporate the rules …

Students appreciate extra sick days provided by new state law

Share: In the latest blitz of legislative action in the state, Governor Gavin Newsom signed on Oct. 4, 2023 a California Senate Bill that increased the number of  sick days per year from three to five.     Students at Pasadena City College welcome the new changes with relief and appreciation.  Renzo Palomino is a freshman biology major at PCC, complemented on the new law not for himself, but for his mother who works as a dental assistant and FedEx employee.   “She thinks that law will benefit …

PCC set to create first responder training facility in Fall 2024

Share: Pasadena City College is planning a first responder’s hub that will house the new wildland firefighter program, fire technology classes, EMT program, and a paramedic program. “I think it’s a good thing,” said EMT instructor, Joseph Kalilikani. “I think that the opportunity to put students closer to their goals, because most of our students are in the Fire Department route, so being in the neighborhood of the Pasadena training grounds, and the fire science stuff, and if the paramedic program gets off the ground …

BLOTTER: Person parks car on stairs at Galloway Plaza

Share: Monday, October 9, 2023:  10:54 a.m.: Animal Control was called to help catch a bat that was flying inside the CA building stairwell. 1:28 p.m.: A student reported her backpack was stolen from the locker rooms in the CA building 7:44 p.m.: A man pacing by his vehicle was reported by a student in Lot 4 level 3. The man was also spotted with an unidentified substance on his hands that he had gotten from his trunk. The responding officer approached the man who …

Low crime continues at PCC, yet fear persists

Share: The Clery Act federally requires all colleges and universities to record and publicize specific campus crime statistics and safety policies. PCC’s Annual Campus Safety Report covers crimes reported on the main, Foothill, Rosemead, and PCC’s Northwest campuses. This year’s Annual Campus Safety Report shows nearly the same rate of low crime since 2020, a trend consistent since 2016 even considering the recent decrease in enrollment due to the pandemic.  Of reportable crimes, the largest numbers are mostly property theft. In 2022 across all four …

W building set to be demolished in 2024, replaced with new academic building

Share: The W building next to Pasadena City College’s Aquatic Center will no longer house faculty or have classes scheduled as of January 2024, as it is set to be demolished and replaced with a new academic building, under PCC’s new Facilities Master Plan.  The Facilities Master Plan (FMP) was approved by the Board of Trustees in May of 2020 though it was not put on the ballot until the 2022 midterms. The $565 million Measure PCC bond to fund the plan was overwhelmingly passed …

BLOTTER: Don’t spray paint your bike in the shower

Share: Monday, October 2nd, 2023:  8:03 a.m.: Transient reported in the Quad covered in a blue tarp.  10:19 a.m.: Staff reported a student received threatening text messages indicating she was being followed while on campus. 11:28 a.m.: Staff reported a male seen spray painting a bicycle inside of a shower stall in the GM-building mens locker room.  4:28 p.m.:  Facilities reported a transient loitering inside the GM-building mens locker room. Officials were unable to locate.  Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023: 1:24 p.m.:. A Staff member reported …

PCC students support Newsom’s new gun laws to improve safety

Share: On Sept. 26 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed off on SB 2 and SB 368 that both push for additional restraints on gun control and assert gun safety by raising tax on guns and ammunition, limitations on where individuals can carry a gun, microstamping hand cartridges, preventing potentially harmful individuals from any possession of a gun, and more.  As gun control has remained a disputed conversation, the state’s new gun regulations were followed by more controversy on whether Newsom’s decision to sign off …

BLOTTER: Martial arts instructor reported for yelling at students

Share: Monday, September 25, 2023: 2:48 a.m.: A PCC student reported they were waiting at a bus stop and someone began to curse at them. Pasadena Police was contacted and responded to the location. 6:10 a.m.: Facilities reported a window was broken at CEC in room 137. 8:44 am: Fire alarm was activated in the FS building. Facilities confirmed they were working on the fire alarm.  9:51 a.m.: Staff reported a homeless person sleeping on the ground near the IT building.  12:51 p.m.: Student reported …

Stay in your lane: PCC reminds students to stay away from staff lots

Share: PCC has unveiled a new set of rules in its parking regulations to ensure staff and students are parking where they should be in an email in late september.  This email introduces changes to its preexisting parking rules and the email seems to show distinction between where staff and students are allowed to park.  Effective immediately, the updated rules state that student workers and professional experts will no longer be able to park in any staff-designated parking lots at any time. Violators of this …