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 …

PCC’s Queer Alliance zooms into the Spring semester

Share: Had the semester remained in person, PCC’s Queer Alliance (QA) club would be hosting weekly meetings every Thursday afternoon. The new reality of remote learning and social distancing led QA to come together virtually on April 25, where members talked about their favorite latest Netflix shows, share their thoughts on remote learning and keep up with each other while in quarantine.   QA is PCC’s club for LGBTQ+ students and faculty on campus. Since PCC’s campus is closed due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, QA …

Fantasy becomes reality for Courier lifestyle editor

Share: A passion for fantasy and imagination has driven PCC student Haley Risch to a love of writing. Whether it be writing short stories as a child or her reverence for nature as an adult, these interests have culminated into her current position as the lifestyle editor at the Courier.  Her aspiration is to write intriguing and enjoyable things that people can learn from. At the newspaper she has written how-to pieces on yoga and reviews on things such as alcohol delivery and museums. Follow:

Health center delivers virtual yoga to tense students

Share: With the gentle chime of a meditation bowl and the encouragement to practice some mindful meditation, PCC Kinesiologist and yoga instructor Patty Bellali began her first virtual grounding and calming yoga sequence. She calmly led her audience from pose to pose—from mountain to down dog, through every inhale and exhale. She aims to connect new to advanced yogis to their beginner’s lens. The four-part yoga series commenced on Apr. 8 and was advertised by the PCC Health and Wellness department as a part of …

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 …

How a journalist found the major of her dreams

Share: As a part-time volunteer in pulmonary research at USC Keck Centers, full-time journalist, photojournalist and most proudly a teen adviser at the Pasadena Public Library (PPL), Haneen Eltaib leads a very busy life. Eltaib began to give back to her community about eight years ago by volunteering as a teen adviser at the PPL Central Branch as a way to fulfill community service hours for high school. What started off as a school requirement quickly turned into a long-lasting relationship due to her devotion …

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, …