New student trustee voted in for the upcoming year

Share: Pasadena City College’s special student trustee election last week yielded Zeinab Raad as the new student voice and symbolic student vote on the Board of Trustees. While the four students contesting for the position ran on similar platforms, such as proper representation of the student body and removing barriers to equity regarding education, Raad won with 47 percent of the vote. “Working with the new board is going to be exciting because I feel so much passion from every individual and knowing their vigor …

Dual Enrollment Classes ‘Paused’ until Fall ‘18 while alternatives are being offered

Share: There seems to be a slight misunderstanding about whether or not the dual enrollment program has been suspended this fall because of a dispute between PCC and Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). From the finger-pointing on one end, and the shields up on the other end, the KPCC story, titled, “Pasadena City College program suspended over who’s teaching it” – sounds alone like there was a mud-slinging fight between two close-knit families under one roof with an unsure idea on how this will get …

Mobile pantry to provide students with fresh food

Share: The L.A. Regional Food Bank’s mobile pantry is scheduled to make one more appearance to the campus community today from noon to 2 p.m. at Lancer’s Pass. With today being the last time to appear, PCC’s contract with the company will end as well, since the deal was to last for one academic year. The plan from Special Services is to work on renewing the contract so they can keep the mobile pantry serving the students into next year, but nothing has happened yet. …

Student trustee candidates advocate for equity and diverse representation

Share: In a forum Tuesday afternoon in the quad, candidates for student trustee explained their qualifications, motivations for running and how they will advocate for students’ interests if elected. The student trustee serves as a liaison between the Board of Trustees and PCC’s Associated Students. At Board of Trustees meetings, they represent the student body, holding the power to make and second motions, participate in discussion and have an advisory vote. The Student Trustee also sits on the Associated Students executive board in an advisory …

Election upset: Incumbent trustee Selvidge loses seat

Share: In a close election yesterday, Trustee Ross Selvidge lost his seat on the PCC Board of Trustees to opponent Sandra Chen Lau. Since 2013, Selvidge has represented the Area 1 district which includes the city of La Canada Flintridge, west Pasadena and west Altadena. Lau was elected to a 4-year term on the Board with 59.05 percent of votes. Selvidge received 40.95 percent of votes. Winning by a margin of 1621, Lau received 5290 votes while Selvidge received 3669 votes. Selvidge initially announced his …

Consulting firm dropped after unsuccessful president search

Share: After choosing an expensive search firm, with less experience and fewer guarantees than others, PCC had to declare a failed, or unsuccessful, search after it witnessed its three finalists for president drop out of consideration. As a result, the college terminated its partnership with the search firm prematurely, bringing PCC back to square one in the process of finding a new superintendent-president. Collaborative Brain Trust (CBT), the consulting firm chosen by the PCC Board of Trustees (BOT) to conduct this past year’s unsuccessful presidential …

PCC implements new student outreach system

Share: To combat the issue of declining enrollment and miscommunication between professors and students, Pasadena City College (PCC) has implemented Early Alert, an outreach system aimed to inform and track students’ progress throughout the semester. The program, still in its pilot phase, is integrated in Canvas and allows for “easier communication and collaboration” between the professors and students, counselor Ingrid Arana said. The system is designed for faculty members to send out communicative indicators to students, such as  “Kudos” or “Flags,” to inform them on …

Former student accuses campus food exec, a sex offender, of inappropriate conduct

Share:   Update 6/6/2018: In response to the comment from the California DOJ and Pasadena Police Department regarding requirements for Yu working on campus, Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing Alex Boekelheide told the Courier through email that the college is not aware of any such requirement regarding employees of independent companies that hold contracts with the college. Boekelheide also said that while the Alhambra Police Department stated that Yu registered the campus as his place of employment in their system, the college has no …