Fate of Measure PCC, LA mayor and CA governor to be decided in November

Share: PCC students and millions of other California citizens will be voting in the upcoming California Midterm Election on Nov. 8.  They will be making decisions on propositions that could affect their daily lives as well as voting in candidates who will be in charge of representing their interests. For some, this election is their first time making these decisions, as in the case of freshman Maki Chen. “I’ve seen nothing for the upcoming election,” Chen said. “I probably need to learn more about it. …

Check your dipstick! and other advice from PCC’s Auto department

Share: Students gather at every corner in the sizable garage of the automotive department at PCC. Cars are raised up on various lifts while each hub gathers to inspect the bowels like doctors primed to operate on their massive metal patients. Solid rear axles sit on table tops for students to master and inspect. Both students and instructors flood in to detail the mechanics behind our cars’ longevity. Jake Younger, a junior at PCC, had an interest in cars since he was a small boy. …

Sisterhood is global: American feminists need to stand with Iranian women

Share: The death of Mahsa Amini highlights global issues that many women endure:violence and oppression. Iran’s gasht-e ershad, otherwise known as the morality police that enforces modesty and dress code, had brutally beaten Amini until she collapsed while in their custody and later died in a hospital. Amini was considered to be improperly wearing her hijab. The violence enacted on Amini should not only be an outcry for radical change for the Iranian people but for the plight of women around the world.  The hijab …

Snowden’s Russian citizenship is a righteous middle finger to America

Share: Is Snowden a traitor, a thief, or a treasonous goon? The public has been convinced by the press, government and others to believe Edward Snowden is a threat to national security. Have we ever considered that whistleblowers, and those who leak the secrets, are important to what we want to believe is a functioning democracy? The most basic tenet of a democratic government is transparency, which is paramount in keeping the population informed. In 2013, as a contractor for the National Security Agency, Edward …

Finally, coffee is back on campus thanks to Cafe de Leche

Share: Tucked away by the E building and the library, Cafe de Leche invites lancers to try out its large assortment of drinks and pastries. Opened by Matthew and Anya Schodorf, Cafe de Leche has three other locations in the LA area, one in Highland park, another in Altadena, and its most recent directly on PCC’s campus. The couple were inspired to open a location at PCC because of Matthew’s history with the school. “My whole family speaks spanish so I took some classes here …

PCC’s screen report: What apps are we using?

Share: On a busy Wednesday afternoon students fill PCCs Piazza, a dining hall made to look like an Italian city square. Some students are socializing and eating, but most are working at their computers with earphones in and a notepad to the side. The rest are relaxing with nothing to do but gaze at their phones, but what exactly are they gazing at? PCC students are using social media to fill in the empty moments in their days, spending one to five hours of screen …

Forget shareholders, Patagonia makes earth its beneficiary

Share: Capitalism prioritizes growth in capital. By definition, it cares about nothing else. So how are we going to go green in an economy that is beholden to accelerating its exploitation of resources? The answer lies partly in more businesses prioritizing environmental sustainability while also remaining profitable. This may sound optimistic, but if we are to thrive in the future this kind of business needs to become more common.  Patagonia is a company that specializes in outdoor recreational clothing. The company’s founder,  Yvan Chouinard, is …

Slammed PCC students struggle to find the fun in reading

Share: Required reading dredges up dark thoughts of stress-induced headaches, avoidable all-nighters, and hard-earned grades for PCC students, but leisure reading is something different entirely.  Extracurricular reading is an aspiration, a fantasy in which homework, jobs, and every other thing that fills up Google Calendars doesn’t exist, in which anticipated books don’t have to be things that will be finished when “someday” comes, and yet some students are still trying to make it a reality. One of these students is Bridget Perez, a third-year child …

Stiffer water laws needed to hold irresponsible Californians accountable

Share: Los Angeles  is one of the most popular destinations in the world. But how do attractions from Hollywood Boulevard to Disneyland impact water usage and waste? In 2014, Disneyland spent 3.35 million dollars on water alone. The exact amount of water being used is unknown because water usage figures are largely private in the state. California is wasting trillions of gallons of water every year. In a dangerous drought exacerbated by global warming, we need to enact tougher water restriction laws. Governor Gavin Newsom …