Share: With a tall cup of Diet Coke and the sun shining through the windows, Dr. José Gómez, the Interim Superintendent-President, speaks fondly of the musicians who once walked PCC’s halls, from Eddie Van Halen to Kenny Loggins. The awe and excitement with which he spoke of these legends translates directly to his love and dedication to PCC, not just as an institution but as a community as well. Gómez assumed the role of Interim Superintendent President in late July following former president Erika Endrijonas’s …
C you later: C-Building is now the Jack Scott Building
Share: Celebrating his legacy and commitment to the college, the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees re-dedicated the administration building to honor former PCC president Dr. Jack Scott at a ceremony last Thursday. Scott served as president of Pasadena City College from 1987 to 1995, laying the groundwork for a $150 million bond program that revitalized the college’s facilities and infrastructure. During his presidency, he oversaw the construction of five new buildings, including the Shatford Library. “Even after he began his retirement, although we all …
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 …
Board selects search firm for permanent Superintendent-President
Share: At a special PCC Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting in mid September the board hired AGB Search to conduct a nationwide search for PCC’s next permanent Superintendent-President. “AGB Search is honored to be assisting [PCC’s] governing board with this important undertaking,” Janice Fitzgerald, a Senior Executive Search Consultant from AGB Search said in an email. The board voted 4-1, with two absentees to select AGB Search to conduct this process, according to PCC Spokesperson Alex Boekelheide in an email. This hiring comes after some …
After 3 dormant years, we’re still asking: What happened to the Aquatic Center at PCC?
Share: On Thursday, March 12, 2020, as Swim and Water Polo Coach Terry Stoddard ended another class at PCC’s Aquatic Center and the last students cleared the pool, none of them would’ve known that 3 and a half years later they wouldn’t be allowed back in at all. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and that fateful Thursday the Pasadena City College Aquatic Center has been closed to the public and PCC students. Due to needed repairs and discussions about whether or not the …
Editorial: PCC isn’t doing enough to alleviate textbook costs
Share: After sifting through tons of useless information and ads for the school, staff writer Laura Dux finally found her way to the textbook credit page, still with a functioning PIN. Taking it to the bookstore website in hopes of using it, she is greeted with an error: there’s no place to use it. Welcome to our shared frustration with PCC’s lack of communication. The Bookstore credit became something of a staple for new PCC recruits in the post-COVID era. It offered a sense of …
$200 bookstore voucher ends without a word from PCC
Share: PCC’s previously provided $200 student Bookstore credit has been discontinued this fall as COVID-19 era funding and subsequent programs come to a close, throwing uncertainty into the accessibility of textbooks to the wider student body. “This semester I tried to use my bookstore credit and that’s when I saw the caveat where it’s like we’re not doing the bookstore credit anymore,” third-year PCC student Nathan Nava said. “But, if you receive financial aid, they’ll just take a chunk out of your financial aid. So …
Police arrest PCC student in math class armed with Airsoft gun, knife
Share: According to an email sent by PCC’s Superintendent-President, the Pasadena Police Department and campus police arrested a student in a class on Tuesday evening for concealing an “Airsoft-type weapon and a pocketknife with a long blade.” The student was in a math class in the C-building and campus police were alerted to the situation through PCC’s Lancer Anonymous Tip Reporting System, according to PCC spokesperson Alex Boekelheide. “If you’re not able to use your phone, like if you’re in class or something comes to …
How much cash will the district’s third failed winter cancellation cost?
Share: After an agreement had been made to bring back the winter intersession for the 2023-2024 academic year, the college and the on campus Faculty Association (FA) have yet to come to a settlement number for legal fees and lost wages for the last couple years, according to a FA email sent in late May. This is the first time that PCC has had the winter intersession on the academic calendar since 2021. The Faculty Association has accused The District of negotiating in “bad faith” …
PCC student who was arrested for knife incident in library expelled in unanimous board vote
Share: Jul. 19: The student who was arrested for wielding a knife in the PCC library in late April faced the PCC Board of Trustees (BOT) in a public disciplinary hearing at the July BOT meeting and was subsequently expelled in a unanimous vote in closed session, according to PCC Spokesperson Alex Boekelheide in a text to The Courier. Boekelheide added that he would not have any further comments on this situation and the expulsion of PCC student Zhuowei Liao. Apr. 29: In an update, …