Share: After the Chancellor’s Office temporarily suspended student withdrawal regulations due to the global pandemic, PCC students can now drop classes through excused withdrawals (EW) and have their enrollment fees refunded through June 14, according to the campus website. Prior to the novel coronavirus shutting down campus life, students only had until the second week of the semester to drop with a refund. With this temporary change, refunds will be automatically allowed for each student that drops a course. Currently, classes can only be processed …
PCC clubs expected to struggle with remote elections
Share: On April 28, Executive Vice President of Associated Students Christopher Theung released a series of guidelines for remote club elections to members of Inter-Club Council (ICC). These guidelines are intended to help clubs that plan to hold remote elections for the new officers that will be taking over in the fall. The guidelines contain recommendations about conducting an online election from planning to execution, including checklists, things to consider, and resources for voting. An example is also provided at the end of the document …
PCC’s new triage teletherapy: ‘You don’t need to be in crisis’
Share: Amid PCC’s coronavirus closure, the Personal Counseling department has shifted gears to help students cope through triage teletherapy appointments until the campus reopens. During normal times, students may access the department’s in-person therapy sessions up to eight times during the regular term and six during intersession. “These telephone triage appointments don’t count towards people’s session limits,” said Jason Vasquez, a counseling psychologist for the department in a zoom call. “We know that people need extra support right now. So that’s why we wanted to …
‘Pain in the ass’: PCC exasperated by federal stimulus rules
Share: At their April 22 meeting, multiple members of PCC’s College Council expressed their frustration with new guidelines from the federal Department of Education (ED) regarding the disbursement of federal stimulus money. “Let me just go on record: Betsy DeVos is a pain in the ass,” said Dr. Michael Bush, assistant superintendent and vice president of business and college services. “The legislature passed this really neat thing for higher education and then the Department of Education got a hold of it.” PCC has received $15.2 …
Haircuts can kill: America not ready to reopen
Share: Is getting a haircut, or a few hours of fun in an amusement park, really more important than saving lives? Protests against the COVID-19 ‘safer at home’ orders have spread across the nation, and the concerns expressed couldn’t be more disingenuous and outrageous. These protestors claim they are exercising their First Amendment right, which allows them to voice their demands like reopening amusement parks and other superficial places like hair salons. This is a terrible move on the part of the protestors. The only …
PCC loans 275 laptops to students so far during shutdown
Share: PCC’s Information Technology Services (ITS) department is providing laptops for technology insecure students and faculty to loan amidst the campus’ closure, which began on March 19. During this period of remote instruction, access to technology is critical for students and faculty to resume their classes online. Students without it are faced with the possibility of having to drop their courses or revert to pass/no pass credit for the spring semester. “I was pretty stressed out at first knowing that we were moving online and …
COVID-19 can’t stop PCC’s journalistic triple threat
Share: Now that she’s cooped in her house due to the quarantine, Caitlin Hernandez has to keep busy so she won’t catch a case of the quarantine blues. Whether she’s updating the COVID-19 landing page, researching for her journalism internship or photographing with her girlfriend, everything she’s currently doing has a purpose. Hernandez is the managing editor of the Courier, as well as a writer and a photographer. She covers a variety of stories, from features to breaking news. On top of all that, she …
Discord server brings harmony to online class
Share: Now that the quarantine has closed the PCC campuses for almost a month, students have been itching to find ways to communicate with each other outside of online conference classes. A group of students have found a solution, through the form of Discord. Discord is a social networking app that was originally designed for gamers, where members can chat through audio, video, and text. Over 60 students have congregated within the Center for the Arts Simulator (CAS), originally set up by student Justin Gonzales, …
PCC students petition for Pass/No Pass grading
Share: Updated: As of April 2, the deadline for a student to choose a pass/no pass grading option for spring 2020 classes has been extended to June 5. Unit limit rules for pass/no pass classes have been suspended for the time being. Follow:
Navy captain shouldn’t walk the plank for COVID call
Share: The captain of one of the largest warships ever created was relieved of command as COVID-19 spread throughout the walkways and bulkheads of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). As over 600 of the 5,000 sailors aboard have tested positive for the virus, Captain Brett Crozier faced a difficult choice: sit by and do nothing, or plead for help. He chose the latter. The situation started when a sailor came into contact with the virus while on shore leave in Vietnam, after which the virus …