Category: Opinion

Spring 2012 has been the most volatile semester in the recent history of PCC. The semester that began with protests has ended with more protests and the criminal investigation of two administrators.

Same-sex marriage continues to be the subject of heated debate. California, for example, has recently moved Proposition 8 to the hands of the Supreme Court after judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted against reconsidering the overturning of the measure, saying that it served no purpose and instead was meant to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.

The second ever Road Home symposium at PCC in April shone much needed attention on veterans’ needs, most especially for those stricken with post traumatic stress disorder. But with Los Angeles county reporting a large number of homeless individuals and a high percentage of those being veterans, California’s Veterans Affairs Department needs to modify its tactics.

President Barack Obama’s endorsement of same sex marriage is a strategic maneuver in the game called reelection. It was all just a matter of when the announcement would come.

Courier journalists capture Pasadena City College students response to President Obama’s recent announcement that he supports the legalization of same-sex marriages.

Produced by PCC Courier journalists Antonio Gandara and Karla Sosa.

©2012 A. Gandara, K. Sosa / PCC Courier

Tears of relief, not sadness were shed by Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student who was found guilty of spying on his roommate with a webcam, after a judge made the right call by leniently slapping him with a 30-day jail sentence. However, some might think it wasn’t punishment enough when you throw in the fact that his roommate, Tyler Clementi, was gay and ended his own life by jumping off a bridge after discovering Ravi told others of his encounter with another man.

The maximum sentence for Ravi’s crimes is ten years in jail. Many, including some gay activists, were hoping for leniency in a case of a prank gone wrong, but nobody expected how lenient Judge Glen Berman would be.

Political candidates are judged on everything they do, and have done for that matter. Some may argue that a candidate’s past has no bearing on his present character, and that it has nothing to do with a campaign. That may be the case, but the way they handle a shameful incident from their past tells you a lot about their present character.