PCC Courier 10/02/2014

COURIER VOLUME 110 ISSUE 6

The independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena since 1915

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PASADENA CITY COLLEGE

October 2, 2014

EDITORIAL The Board should rescind Rocha’s severance package

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BOARD SUED OVER ROCHA SEVERANCE PAY Philip McCormick Editor-in-Chief

A lawsuit filed on Thursday by a nonprofit group seeks a court-ordered reversal of former president Mark Rocha’s $400,000 severance package, alleging that the Board of Trustees violated open meetings laws.

Californians Aware, the group suing the school, claims that the Board hid the discussion of the severance package under the title

of “anticipated litigation” on its closed session agenda items.

“There is no reference in any agenda for any Board meeting [that] indicated that the Board was discussing or took action to provide a severance package to Dr. Rocha,” the lawsuit states.

The suit also asserts that California Aware received a letter from Mary Dowell, attorney for the Board, saying that the Board had not violated the Brown Act and, therefore, the Board was

“not obligated to ‘cure or correct’ any of its actions leading up to the final Agreement and Mutual General Release with Rocha.”

Californians Aware requested in its suit against the school that the Board “cure and correct” its mistakes and rescind Rocha’s severance package. It also calls on the court to force Rocha to return the money.

Furthermore, it asks that the board to “disclose each date and

under which agenda item the Board discussed Rocha’s severance and/or resignation.”

Academic Senate President Eduardo Cairo said that based on what he had read in the suit, he thought the allegations sounded valid.

“The district never noticed or discussed Rocha’s retirement severance package…” Cairo said. “That’s a severe black eye on our Board of Trustees for OPEN MEETING page 2

Ballerina dances back to class

File photo by Daniel Nerio Former President Mark Rocha.

Former VP files lawsuit against school district Philip McCormick Editor-in-Chief

Daniel Valencia/Courier Jessica Lauren Taylor in the quad arching back with her fan down.

Mick Donovan Online Editor

She rehearsed the piece for more than a year, and when she got up on stage her mind went blank for the first eight counts of the song. It was traumatizing. She stared at the judges, lost, and then she regained her composure.

She stayed on stage, and she danced.

Backtrack some years. She was 8 and she begged and begged her mother to let her dance.

Her mother signed her up for one week of class.

The first thing she did in class was cry, as she had no idea what she was

doing in a class full of 6-year-olds. By the end of the week, she was in love with it.

By the age of 14 Jessica Taylor trained seriously, on a scholarship, for 40 hours a week and competed at Youth America Grand Prix in New York.

“Dance is my life. I know everyone says that, but I don’t know any other way to live. At one point, I worked almost 40 hours a week at a retail job and I wasn’t really able to dance for that period of time,” Taylor said. “I just couldn’t function. It wasn’t me.

I have to dance—it’s what I do. It’s everything I do. I stop what I’m doing and dance and my friends are like ‘Oh

SPEAK OUT! Should the Board rescind Rocha’s severance package?

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I N S I D E

my God! She’s dancing again!’ It’s who I am.”

Since she was 8, Taylor has competed at dance competitions, trained in professional ballet companies, performed with companies in major productions, made appearances on talk shows like Good Day L.A. and Bonnie Hunt, and performed as a dancer in the movie Honey 2.

“Students come to me, and sometimes I need to re-train them, that’s not the case with Jessica,” said Ellen Davis, Taylor’s performing/communication arts instructor.

All of this success wasn’t always BALLERINA page 7

ALICE LECTURED Guest speaker encourages students to think bigger

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Former Vice President Richard van Pelt filed a lawsuit against PCC on last week, alleging that the district breached his contract and failed to reimburse his business expenses while employed by the school, according to court documents.

The suit claims that van Pelt is owed at least $185,000 in severance pay for the time he was on administrative leave until he was “wrongfully” terminated, according to the suit. “… In the event that Richard van Pelt the Board intends to act to terminate this employment contract prior to its termination date,” van Pelt’s contract states, according to the suit. “The District shall pay the administrator as severance pay…”

The suit does not identify when van Pelt was formally terminated, only that he is owed money for the period between June 2012 and June 2013.

The suit also lumps in van Pelts lawyer and court fees he had to pay when LED Global, a lighting firm, sued him, Facilities Services Supervisor Alfred Hutchings and the district in 2012. They were accused of soliciting bribes in exchange for the $5 million lighting contract for the school, but the case was dismissed in early 2013 because it had no merit, according to court records.

Van Pelt also claims in the suit that the school never took the necessary steps to investigate the matter fully before firing him and only eventually took action to “justify the malicious actions of Rocha and General Counsel Gail Cooper.”

LAWSUIT page 2

A FUTURE LANCER Piazza cook aspires to jump out of the kitchen and into the classroom

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NEWS

2 COURIER

October 2, 2014

Math department creates new pathway for students

Monique LeBleu and Anthony Martinez Staff Writers

A new math program and its course books has created a pathway that gives students a more practical and interesting way to fulfill the general education

requirements in order to obtain a degree or transfer.

The Math 450, 250 and 150 program includes creative and custom-made course books that were created by a group of PCC math professors and team leaders who worked together to compile them in a more fun and interac-

Keely Ernst/Courier Professor Roger Yang and Professor Linda Hintzman hold the math textbooks they created while standing in the Math Department offices on Thursday, September 25th.

tive way.

The textbooks offer more cohesive and easier-to-digest breakdowns of math concepts that many students often struggle with. The concepts aren’t any less intensive than those taught in the standard algebra classes but they’re described in practical terms that are more accessible to students.

And on top of all that, the books are made here at PCC and significantly cheaper than other math books, available at a cost of around $28 to $30.

The books include real-world word problems, colorful graphics, and hands-on, visually stimulating puzzles.

“We wanted to start off doing something new and different so that students would be interested and hopefully maintain that interest throughout the semester,” said Linda Hintzman, mathematics professor and team leader and creator of the initial Math 450 course and book. Puzzle “manipulatives” such as Algebra Tiles, Geoboards, and C-Rods are used in setting up the pre-algebraic puzzle and word problems featured in the books.

The number of students showing improvements has progressed significantly to show that the courses and books are working.

“We’ve actually had a few that

went all the way from [Math] 450 up through our Calculus sequence,” Hintzman said.

Over a four-year period, the grade improvement rate over all has increased 1 to 5 percent with each year that the new math courses have been offered.

The “Fifties” math course evaluation process never ends and is constantly evolving through required input and feedback provided by professors teaching these new classes. Hintzman and fellow math professor and book and course team leader Roger Yang go over the feedback daily to determine the need for updates and changes.

“Even now, there’s mistakes in the book,” said Yang, the course book and the S.L.A.M. video companion episodes are available online for students to review.

Math 150 and 250 are part of S.L.A.M., Statistics and Liberal Arts Math.

Yang emphasized how the curriculum and books were designed to accommodate students, such as those in the Liberal Arts, by removing the “heavy machinery” that might prevent a student from continuing on.

Yang said that the creative input for the S.L.A.M. videos “simply came to together” with folks like David Steiman at Lancer Lens and math professor Jay

Cho. “We do [the videos] about once a week,” said Yang. “Sometimes we’ll film two episodes in a week, if I can put it together…by the end we are somewhat delirious, so that’s another reason why the videos are slightly ridiculous,” Yang said.

Specifically to Math 150, the main focus of the staff of 10plus who created these textbooks was to promote critical thinking through problems relevant to everyday life. Lab activities scattered throughout the books give students the opportunities to work with Microsoft Excel, calculating living expenses and working with loans. Other activities encourage students to discuss and demonstrate concepts such as probability in groups.

Hintzman said that the greatest thing to come out of these courses is the overall change in students’ feelings towards math.

“They’re not hating their math.

They’re not dreading their math.

They’re realizing that math is not going to be the gatekeeper that’s going to prevent them from reaching their goals,” she said.

“More than grades or success rate is that attitude shift and that’s something we really focused a lot on.”

Band of Sisters honors and educates female veterans Samantha Molina Staff Writer

Noticing a lack of space for female veterans to come together, Veterans Center Specialist Carol Calandra founded the Band of Sisters monthly lunch to celebrate, honor, and educate the more than 250 female veterans on campus.

Calandra spearheaded the founding of the Band of Sisters as a way to reach out to the female veterans on campus after having difficulty getting the women together for different projects. The monthly meetings began last year with only four people attending the inaugural luncheon but has grown as the meetings continued.

“Females in general don’t like to identify as veterans,” Calandra said. “Unlike their male counterparts who generally keep their military identities with them, the

OPEN MEETING Continued from page 1

them not to make this public.”

Cairo said that he didn’t think Rocha deserved to be compensated to retire if it was his choice and that he was in favor of Rocha being made to return taxpayer money.

He also said that the Senate was losing trust in the Board because of lawsuits like this.

“If you look at past Board agenda’s, you’ll see numerous ‘anticipated litigation’ items,” Cairo said. “You start to wonder what else is the Board lumping

female veterans are like chameleons. Once they are finished with their service they go right back to being students. I wanted to provide a space for them to meet others that share similar experiences.”

The first meeting of the semester was on Sept. 19 and Calandra said the room was packed with female veterans.

The topic of the meeting was “Succeeding in Education.”

Associate Vice President of Student Services Cynthia Olivo gave the students tips on how to succeed at PCC and reflected on her own struggles in education.

“We provide resources and referrals specifically tailored for our female veterans,” Calandra said. “We welcome inspirational female veteran leaders in our community who understand the struggles specifically related to the female veteran population.”

The group is important to

Calandra and the students because there are 280,000 women who have served in the military during the post-9/11 era according to the Disabled American Veterans. Calandra also reports that female veterans are at the highest risk for homelessness and suicide.

“In our Band of Sisters we hope to foster kinship not only among our female veteran students but also within the communities that support our female veterans,” Calandra said.

“One of the main goals of our Band Of Sisters is to recognize and assist our female veterans in succeeding here at PCC.” The group also creates a network for the student veterans to support their female brethren and develop friendships.

“Its not just a support group it’s a way for us to connect with the other female veterans,” added student and U.S Marine Randi

into these items, if they could put Rocha’s severance package in an item like that… Who was going to be possibly be suing the school in that case?”

Board members did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

The college had announced Rocha’s retirement in late August, saying in a statement that he would receive $403,826, plus up to $16,000 in “reasonable” legal expenses from the District.

“The terms of the severance package are in the best interests of all parties,” Board President Anthony Fellow said in that

prepared statement. “Despite challenges and concerns that Dr. Rocha faced from various College constituents groups, with the support of the Board, he continued in his mission to improve the College.”

In late 2013, the Board renegotiated Rocha’s contract to extend to 2017. The severance agreement was changed from only covering 6 months of severance pay to 18 months pay, which comes out to a little over $400,000.

Paul Ochoa/Courier Randi Stenkamp, Marines; Carol Calandra, Veteran Center Specialist; Jessica Ruano, Navy; and Cindy Ohara, Army/Navy, pose in front of the Veterans Resource Center on Monday.

Stenkamp.

The next Band of Sisters luncheon is Thursday, Oct. 16 at noon in CC 212. The meeting will be focused on the “save the boobies” movement for Breast Cancer Awareness Month with guest speaker Carrmita Veliz, a

PCC Health Services registered

LAWSUIT

per was sexually harassing him.

Van Pelt reported the misconduct to Rocha, who “laughed and mocked the complaint,” saying that “everything Cooper does is done with [Rocha’s] approval and Authorization,” according to the suit.

The suit claims that van Pelt and Hutchings were terminated as an act of retaliation because of this incident. Hutchings sued the school for wrongful termination in 2013 and in April the school reached an unknown settlement with Hutchings outside of the court and the case was dismissed.

Continued from page 1

The Board did not return requests seeking comment on this story.

Van Pelt and Hutchings were both placed on administrative leave (and later terminated) by the school after search warrants were served by the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office in June of 2012. The DA had served the search warrants based on information that LED Global representatives gave to the DA. In the lawsuit, it states that Hutchings told van Pelt that Coo-

nurse and family nurse practitioner Jonalyn Tran discussing self-examinations, cancer fighting foods and diets and recognizing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

OPINION

October 2, 2014

Courier

2012 JACC General Excellence Award-Winner Editor-in-Chief Philip McCormick Online Editor Mick Donovan News Editor Paul Ochoa Opinion Editor Justin Clay Features Editor Kristen Luna A&E Editor Samantha Molina Lifestyle Editor Monique LeBleu Sports Editor Daron Grandberry Photo Editor Nagisa Mihara Chief Photographer Concepcion Gonzalez Online Photo Editor Daniel Valencia Scene Editor Charles Winners Staff Writers: Ahmad Akkaoui, Reina Aldape, Daniel Axume, Raymond Bernal, Dezarae Balbas, Joey Calderon Guzman, Hannah Gonzales, David Grubaugh, Tiffany Herrera, Daniel Johnson, Matthew Kiewiet, Anthony Martinez, David O’Connor, Ashley Park, Sho Tanaka

Staff Photographers: Justin Clay, Keely Ernst, Ansis Hoheisel, Erica Hong, Ryan Kevin, Chris Martinez, Daniel Nerio, Paul Ochoa, Kevin Peraza, Scott Spencer, Ian Tomlin, Daniel Vega-Warholy, Saul Villegas, Rayna White Faculty Adviser Nathan McIntire Photo Adviser Tim Berger Advertising Manager Daniel Nerio

The Courier is published weekly by the Pasadena City College Journalism Department and is a free-speech forum. Editorials and comments are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the institution and its administration, student government or that of the Pasadena Area Community College District.

The Courier is written and produced as a learning experience for student writers, photographers and editors in the Journalism Department.

Phone: (626) 585-7130 Fax: (626) 585-7971 Advertising (626) 585-7979 Office: 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., CC-208 Pasadena, CA 91106-3215 © Copyright 2014 Courier.

All rights Reserved.

COURIER

Editorial: Not so fast Mark Rocha

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The severance package that was awarded to Mark Rocha upon his retirement has been a huge point of contention since the news broke in August.

But just when it was beginning to look like the Mark Rocha versus the world saga was just starting to come to an end, more fuel has been added to the fire.

The non-profit group Californians Aware is accusing the Board of Trustees of violating open meeting laws by not properly referencing any action to offer Rocha the package on the meeting agenda.

The suit is calling for the

school to rescind the package and for Rocha to give back the money.

Californians Aware is alleging that the board intentionally misled the public by listing the negotiation as “anticipated litigation” on its closed session agenda items.

Rocha’s original agreement from 2010 stated that if he was terminated without cause, he would receive a severance payment equal to the lesser of the remaining term of his contract or six months pay.

When Rocha’s contract was renegotiated through 2017,

the severance agreement was changed to be equal to the lesser of the remainder of his contract term or 18 months pay which comes out to a little over $400,000.

Why would the board extend Rocha’s original contract back in 2013 when he still had a few years left on his original deal?

And why would the item not be presented out in the open?

And why would they agree to triple his severance package?

The board unnecessarily renegotiated a contract with an unpopular president, agreed to pay him a huge amount of mon-

ey if he left, and then watched him walk away with the bounty months later. And since these negotiations were secret, the public has no way of knowing why the board agreed to this.

If it turns out that the Board intentionally hid the negotiations, they should have to rescind the decision and Rocha should have to give the money back. Reversing this huge payout would be the first step in restoring public faith in an organization that has lost some measure of it in the last couple of years.

Hannah Gonzales Staff Writer

the negative effects would be to parade around on stage in a a having body image problems bathing suit and high heels? and eating disorders. Another To be fair the Miss America criticism is the amount of monpageant, and many pageants in ey pageants cost. However, most general including global ones people have a bigger complaint: such as Miss Universe, does give the sexualization of young chilaway scholarship money to their dren. It’s easy to see how many contestants. However, only to former contestants can have a women who meet the condinegative body image if they are tions that include being between forced to compete with makeup, 17-24 and that have never been provocative pregnant. It is ‘‘... why aren’t there also a way for outfits, hair extensions and any beautiful pluswomen to have flippers (false a platform in teeth that hide size contestants and which to spread why do women have their ideas and baby teeth).

Highly network in ways to parade around publicized they wouldn’t on stage in a bathpageants for get anywhere young women, ing suit and high else. Many of however, claim heels?’’ them advocate that their paggender equality eants, or any pageant at all, isn’t and women’s rights. Many of about looks, but about young these women have gone to or women stepping up to the plate plan to go to a university. to become role models.

They work hard to make On the Miss America pageant charities or public service events website it even states that Miss successful and often start their America should be the ideal of own campaigns for a cause of grace, beauty, and intelligence. their choice. They learn to speak If Miss America claims that all with poise and are required to that’s is required to become it’s stay up to date on current or next winner is intelligence, grace, controversial events. and beauty, then why aren’t there These young women aren’t to any beautiful plus size contesblame. Yes, they spend too much tants and why do women have money on clothing, makeup, and

entrance fees, but most want a chance to campaign for their platform and win money for their education. That’s not so bad.

What is bad are beauty pageants for children and young teens. Beauty pageants that have parents feeding their children “pageant crack,” a blend of pixie sticks and energy drinks, and having them wear outfits that should only be worn by adults.

Beauty pageants that say they are an equal opportunity competition but don’t select contestants who are transgender or who don’t conform to the thin figure only standard. Beauty pageants have women slather on obscene amounts of makeup and wear bathing suits with high heels as if that’s the ideal requirement for health and fitness.

C.E.Os and the board of directors for pageants must look to change the rules to continue to be a positive role model for women. Otherwise, women will be faced with hypocrites for role models who advocate for change in society but don’t bother to criticize a competition that only serves as a reminder of how society shouldn’t treat women.

Beauty in the Miss America pageant is only skin deep Beauty pageants have come under the spotlight once again after John Oliver, in a mix of investigative journalism and comedy, mocked the Miss America pageant from everything to it’s scholarship claims to the bathing suit portion of the competition.

Beauty pageants have long been a popular topic in the news, but lately the contests for females of all ages have been catching some slack from critics who say that beauty pageants are sexist and harmful to the well-being of young women.

Pageants have been a long-standing tradition in America, dating back to the late 1800s when they were used to attract tourism to cities. Today, beauty pageants attract many companies that hope to use the pageant as a platform to advertise their products and young women looking to the win the crown.

Many would-be hopefuls, looking to compete, start as children or teens. In news article by the GlobalPost, the author criticizes pageants as having a negative effect on children who compete in pageant circuits throughout America. Some of

VOICES:

Do you think the Miss America Pageant values the education of the participants?

“A woman should be able to do whatever she likes. If it’s wearing a bathing suit and being fit, that’s fine.”

Elizabeth Mercado, theater arts

“I don’t see the point.

Any educational contest shouldn’t have anything to do with having a pretty face.”

Michael Valdivia, biology

“I don’t think it’s educational. I think scholarships should be based on hard work, test scores and grades, not looks.”

Marylin Villanueva, political science

“It’s better than stripping, that’s for sure.”

Joshua Cuy, photography

Reporting by: Justin Clay

Note to Readers Letters to the Editor The Courier welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be about 300 words and may be edited by Courier staff. All letters must contain your full name and a correct daytime phone number. Letters can be delivered to the Courier office in CC 208 or sent by email to clay.courier@gmail.com Corrections The Courier staff endeavors to ensure accuracy in all aspects of its reporting. if you believe we have made an error, please contact us at (626) 585-7130 or via email to mccormick.courier@gmail.com

“It’s the same as getting a scholarship based on sports. That’s someone’s passion and it can lead to better opportunities.”

Cody Rivera, architecture

Photos by: Paul Ochoa

ONLINE POLL RESULTS Online, we asked: Do you trust online dating sites when it comes to finding “The One” ?

Results as of 5 p.m. Wednesday:

Yes: 26% No: 58% Undecided : 16%

Vote at PccCourier.com

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COURIER

October 2, 2014

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Rayna White/Courier Rayna White/Courier Rayna White/Courier Shawn Sholtis and his dog Idol play with some toys to show the A dog being carrying around in a backpack at As the gates open, teams, people and pets start walking to raise money for the annual Wiggle Waggle Walk at the Pasadena Rose crowd what attack dogs are made of at the Wiggle Waggle Walk the Wiggle Waggle Walk on Sunday, Sep. 28.

Bowl. in the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Katie and McKenna are enthusiastic and ready to have Bella take part in the dog walk around the Rose Bowl during the Wiggle Waggle Walk on Sunday, Sep. 28.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier A great dane looks around at the many people during the Wiggle Waggle Walk.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier A dapper dog waits at the start line for the walk to start.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Participants and their canine pets follow the route of the Wiggle Waggle Walk at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Rayna White/Courier Dogs sport costumes for the Wiggle Waggle Walk. After the walk there is a costume competition.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Steve McNall, president of the Pasadena Humane Society, thanks the many guests of the Wiggle Waggle Walk for their attendance and cooperation.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Mark holds his pug Toby as he looks around during the Wiggle Waggle Walk.

E. Hong/Courier Many people dressed their pups up during the Wiggle Waggle Walk.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Shanore readjusts Lola’s collar for a comfortable walk down the path.

Rayna White/Courier Tiffanie Puente’s weimaraner, Billie, is dressed up as a cowboy for the Wiggle Waggle Walk at the Rose Bowl.

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COURIER

October 2, 2014

5

Rayna White/Courier Rayna White/Courier Rayna White/Courier Shawn Sholtis and his dog Idol play with some toys to show the A dog being carrying around in a backpack at As the gates open, teams, people and pets start walking to raise money for the annual Wiggle Waggle Walk at the Pasadena Rose crowd what attack dogs are made of at the Wiggle Waggle Walk the Wiggle Waggle Walk on Sunday, Sep. 28.

Bowl. in the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Katie and McKenna are enthusiastic and ready to have Bella take part in the dog walk around the Rose Bowl during the Wiggle Waggle Walk on Sunday, Sep. 28.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier A great dane looks around at the many people during the Wiggle Waggle Walk.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier A dapper dog waits at the start line for the walk to start.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Participants and their canine pets follow the route of the Wiggle Waggle Walk at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Rayna White/Courier Dogs sport costumes for the Wiggle Waggle Walk. After the walk there is a costume competition.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Steve McNall, president of the Pasadena Humane Society, thanks the many guests of the Wiggle Waggle Walk for their attendance and cooperation.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Mark holds his pug Toby as he looks around during the Wiggle Waggle Walk.

E. Hong/Courier Many people dressed their pups up during the Wiggle Waggle Walk.

Daniel Vega-Warholy/Courier Shanore readjusts Lola’s collar for a comfortable walk down the path.

Rayna White/Courier Tiffanie Puente’s weimaraner, Billie, is dressed up as a cowboy for the Wiggle Waggle Walk at the Rose Bowl.

FEATURES

6 COURIER

October 2, 2014

Piazza cook aspires to be a future Lancer Kristen Luna Features Editor

Late one evening when a father and son returned home from school, they found the mother and wife of their family unit collapsed and lying helpless on the floor. She had previously been diagnosed as a diabetic and it appeared as though her health was worsening.

Since she was without help that day, both the father and son decided that one of them would have to stay home with her while the other would be able to continue attending school.

When Javier Valdez came home that day to find his mother on the floor, his family was residing in El Sereno and he was attending East Los Angeles Community College alongside his father. While his mother’s health was suffering, their landlord received a substantial offer from a prospective buyer, forcing them to move out.

Having to move to Lincoln Heights, Valdez made the decision to drop out of school and look for a full-time job so he could help take care of his family. Being the only child, he tried his hardest to be the best son.

“They gave me life, shelter, everything I could ever ask for,” Valdez said. “So whatever I can give them in return, I’m more than happy to do.”

Now, Valdez works 12 hour days in the Piazza serving food to students to help his family make ends meet.

Valdez, 22, is from Guada-

Saul Villegas/Courier Javier Valdez, a cook in the Piazza at Pasadena City College, poses on Thursday, Sept. 25 in front of the equipment he uses for work every day.

lajara, Mexico and immigrated here with his parents at the age of three. They lived in Echo Park for eight years alongside his three uncles and cousins, two aunts, and both parents in a two-bedroom house. Even now, Valdez looks back on those memories fondly.

In 2001, Valdez was 9 years old when his father had to receive a kidney transplant due to his bad habit of drinking. The

operation saved his life, but sadly left him handicapped. Now with both parents at home in poor health and having to complete at-home dialysis for his mother, he continues to work full-time but aspires of going back to school.

“I always try to have a foot on the happy side. It’s easy to be negative but that’s not going to do anything,” Valdez said.

“Honestly, if I were to go back

to school, I would like to come here (PCC) and work part-time.”

Valdez grew up learning to work on motorcycles and classic cars with his father and with his aspirations of going back to school, he hopes to one day open his own tire shop or electric auto repair shop. With the future of the auto industry producing more electric vehicles, Valdez believes he would be one of the few ahead of the game

in providing an auto body shop that specializes in working on electric cars.

“It’s embedded in me,” Valdez said. “I really enjoy taking stuff out of my car and putting it back to see what’s inside.”

Valdez started working as a cook in The Piazza cafeteria a year ago and said his experience has been enjoyable because he gets to interact with countless interesting people on a daily basis.

“Sometimes I’ll see familiar faces which makes my working experience a little more pleasant because it’s not just the co-workers who are nice and cool, it’s also the people and the environment itself,” said Valdez.

Valdez’s coworker Gus Garcia-Pinto works beside him on most days cooking for PCC students and described Valdez as “a very good guy.”

“I really like him, he does everything and he helps me out a lot,” Garcia-Pinto said. “It’s so much fun working with him.”

Despite what Valdez has been through in his life and continues to endure, when Valdez looks to the future, he is strong enough to remain optimistic.

“It’s the roads you travel that shape you into the person you are today,” Valdez said. “So even though there were negatives, I’m grateful that they at least had a positive outcome on my behalf.”

Psychology professor talks sex, love and relationships Anthony Martinez Staff Writer

Most students grow up hearing the metaphor of “the birds and the bees” and listening to brief, and often frightening lectures on sex education. Sexuality is a much deeper concept than likening it to sex itself, however.

Gender identity, sexual orientation and thorough anatomy lessons are aspects of sexuality that are glossed over in middle school and sometimes high school sex education classes.

Human Sexuality, the appropriately titled Psychology 25 class, discusses such topics that students may have missed out on previously. Taught only by Dr. Jennifer Noble this semester, students have a safe environment to learn and explore the components of sexuality. “[Students] learn about a lot of topics that are talked about in the media, but maybe they don’t have good background on,” said Noble. “Sexual orientation and gender issues are definitely hot topics and we spend a lot of time talking about those.”

While it might feel awkward to discuss such a private subject, students should not shy away

from the judgment-free nature of the class.

“A lot of students wouldn’t know [what] questions to ask because they haven’t even been open to these topics,” said Noble.

Understanding sexuality is an “extremely important” concept for students, according to Noble, since sexuality is part of everyday life.

“You are addressing sexuality in your everyday life all the time…whether it be sexual orientation…relationships, love, it’s all related to sexuality,” he said.

The class is tailored to focus on human interactions and the role sexuality plays in relationships. Students tend to show more interest in topics such as love, intimacy and relationships as a result and generally enjoy the course.

“It was a positive and pleasant experience,” said Phyllis Lun, now a student at UC Berkeley.

“Sexuality is not a commonly discussed topic in our society.”

Lun recalls being fascinated with the “developmental aspect of sexuality” and how sexuality is involved throughout the lifespan. Although Lun wished there was more discussion on sexual assault prevention, time did not

allow for deeper dialogue compared to the main topics.

Martha Castro, who’s currently enrolled in the class, said it’s one of her favorite classes that she’s taken. So far, Castro enjoys the discussions and video clips on gender roles and sexism the most, specifically how men and women are perceived in society.

“Men are being taught in society to view women as objects and that’s creating a problem for us as they are being desensitized,” said Castro.

Additionally, Castro is fascinated with “the effects of love in the brain” since she found out a series of chemical changes occur in the brain during feelings of love.

As for the impact on students, Noble feels that the class acts as an awakening experience.

“It ends up being very empowering because when they can know more about issues related to sexuality, they automatically think of themselves and they automatically understand themselves or their family members better.”

Christopher Martinez/Courier Jennifer Noble is a professor at PCC and teaches Psych 25. A human sexuality class that tries to undertsand how relationships and sexulity influence each other.

October 2, 2014

A&E

COURIER

7

Theorizing ‘girl culture’ with Dr. Chatterjee Ashley Park Staff Writer

Pasadena City College’s Critical Theory Club hosted its first lecture of the semester with guest speaker Dr. Ronjaunee Chatterjee on Wednesday night.

Chatterjee, who is a graduate of Cornell University, presented a lecture called “From Alice to Dora: The Victorian Girl & The Origins of Psychoanalysis.” Her lecture, which revolved heavily around Freudian psychoanalysis, the complicated figure of Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and how girls are represented today, was the perfect topic for the “forward thinkers” and “changers” that the Critical Theory Club wants to attract, according to the club president Charmaine Chong.

“We’re excited to have Dr. Chatterjee come lecture today

because she represents a very different way of thinking… Her theories on girls should be interesting. I think it will encourage us to think bigger,” said Chong.

Even with the audience consisting of mostly females, male audience members seemed to find Dr. Chatterjee’s lecture on girls to be stimulating as well.

“I think Dr. Chatterjee’s young age makes her more personable… Some of the topics would’ve went over my head, but I liked how she talked about current celebrities to make it more interesting,” said psychology student Mike Torhol. “I think her theory on girls also supports the topic of feminism, which is gaining a lot of momentum right now.”

With current events relating to women happening in our society, such as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson’s

speech on feminism, the lecture was appropriately timed.

Dr. Chatterjee’s goal, however, was not to force a certain perspective on to her audience members but to instead simply explain her theories on the role of women and her own theory of “girl culture”.

“Girl culture is a notoriously porous term,” said Dr. Chatterjee in an e-mail. “But I am generally interested in ‘girl culture’ as that which designates the visibility of the ‘girl’ to various realms: consumption and consumerism, media and literature, and social and political issues.”

Chatterjee is currently a candidate for a PhD in English, focusing on 19th century literature and critical theory, at University of California, Los Angeles.

Concepcion Gonzalez/Courier Dr. Chatterjee Ronjaunee presents her lecture “From Alice to Dora: The Victorian Girl & The Origin of Psychoanalysis” in Harbeson Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 24.

‘Kiss Me, Kate’ talk explores African culture in theater Matthew Kiewiet Staff Writer

PCC instructor Dr. Christopher Jimenez y West was featured in last week’s “Talkback Tuesday” at the Pasadena Playhouse following a dazzling performance of Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me, Kate” starring Wayne Brady and directed by Sheldon Epps.

The focus of the conversation between Dr. West and Epps was the nurturing of African culture through black theater

BALLERINA continued from page 1

meant to be. Initially, Taylor’s mother didn’t want her to pursue a career in dance. She wanted to shield her daughter from the potential destructive forces to self-confidence that dance can sometimes be known for.

“Dance is competitive, it’s hard, it’s based on what you look like-your weight, all of that,” Taylor said. “When I was 11,

groups.

“In the 1830s and 1840s, white actors would portray caricatures of blacks,” explained West. “To see a performance like ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ in the year 2014, it shows progress.”

“Kiss Me, Kate” is Cole Porter’s musical version of William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” It won a Tony award for Best Musical in 1949.

“We were able to infuse our spirit and our soul,” said Eric B. Anthony, who played the part of Gremio. “We told the story our way. This isn’t a new thing, just

they would ask my mom, ‘Are you not feeding her? She looks so skinny.’ And then when I got older, it was ‘Oh, don’t eat sugar, don’t eat bread, don’t have soda.’

You hear that all the time, ‘What is wrong with you?’”

Taylor did not let the stereotypes or the judgments weigh her down. She trained hard and still does today. She may be classically trained, but she doesn’t feel like a traditional ballet company swings to her beat.

new for our age.”

West compared these black theater groups to the Negro Leagues for baseball.

It gave them a chance to flourish where the oppressive society did not.

Sheldon Epps commented how the theater gave the black community a “sense of wholeness,” because it was something that they were very proud of.

Dr. West was a bit emotional at this point as he emphasized how this inspired him to always “find a way to find a way, to find a way.” The audience applauded in agreement.

“I’m classically trained, so my ‘calling’ is [joining a] ballet company,” she said. “But in my experience, it’s a very hardcore, judgmental field. So if you don’t fit certain molds, then you’re not going to get picked.”

Ballet can be extremely judgmental, but Taylor isn’t shy about having found her own voice and using it.

“For me, I cannot just overlook things like that. It just pisses me off. I have an opinion about

“Kiss Me, Kate” will run at the Pasadena Playhouse until October 12. Wayne Brady plays Fred, who is the director, producer, and lead actor in his Baltimore theater’s production of “Taming of the Shrew.” The conflict off stage ties in with the on-stage conflict and goes together wonderfully with an array of witty dance and musical numbers.

“Kiss me, Kate” has been performed more than 1,000 times on Broadway and will run at the Pasadena Playhouse for another 14 showings.

things and I don’t like when people ‘judge a book by its cover,’” Taylor said. “Just because I don’t fit the mold, that doesn’t mean that I’m not properly trained. It doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with me.”

Taylor did not get to attend a normal school growing up. She received a full education and got her high school diploma but never experienced an on campus life. Today she is studying dance at Pasadena City College and hopes to transfer to Cal State LA and receive a degree in theatre arts and dance.

She was initially unable to take higher level courses despite her professional background. The school structure required her to take introductory courses before she could get into the advanced class. She is still learning a lot, however, and her art form is constantly growing.

“A good student with a good

attitude can get a lot out of a beginning class. She’s got a great attitude,” Davis said. “She’s a lovely person and student. She’s the real deal.”

Whether it is with a larger scale ballet company like American Ballet Theatre, a smaller one like Lines Ballet, or a new and unique dance group, there is definitely no other option than dance in Taylor’s future.

“I have respect for a lot of major ballet companies. But a lot of those are based on sort of a cookie-cutter format and I don’t know that I fit that,” Taylor said.

With the evolution of the artistic fields, the proverbial ‘beaten path’ isn’t necessarily a bad one, but it definitely isn’t the only one.

If it’s what you love, you don’t give up on it.

“Anything you do that you love tests you,” Taylor said. “You can’t second-guess yourself.”

Daniel Valencia/Courier Jessica Lauren Taylor sits in the quad on Thursday, Sept. 25.

SPORTS

8 COURIER

October 2, 2014

Football goes to the wire in victory

Daniel Axume Staff Writer

Coming into Saturday’s game against the College of Canyons Cougars, the PCC football team hadn’t won back-to-back games since 2010. All that changed as the Lancers were able to escape with a well-fought 20-12 win over the Cougars.

With 6:50 remaining in the second quarter, freshman linebacker Anthony Johnson recovered a fumble at the 24yard line in Cougar territory, setting the Lancers up with great field position. After two minutes, freshman running back Timothy Jones ran up between the tackles for a 7-yard touchdown run, putting the Lancers on the board first.

In the final seconds of the first half, the Cougars had the ball on their own 25-yard line. Then, the Lancer defense struck gold after sacking Cougar quarterback Tony Dawson. He fumbled the ball and who else but Johnson was there yet again to recover the loose ball. That gave the Lancers the opportunity to put up more points on the board before halftime and they did. Freshman kicker, Franklyn Cervanka hit a 42-yard field goal, putting the Lancers up 10-0 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Then things got interesting.

Halfway through the third quarter, COC was able to get on the board with a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Da’John Gaines. However, the Lancers special teams unit was able to block the PAT, recovered the ball, and took it all the way to the house for two points. Instead of a 10-7 game, the score was

Photo courtesy of PCC Sports Information Freshman quarterback Dejon Williams and Justin Carroll celebrate during the Lancers’ 20-12 victory. The Lancers improved to 2-2 with the win.

12-6.

After the Lancers couldn’t get the offense moving, the Cougars drove down the field and Gaines was able to rush into the end zone on another 6-yard run for his second touchdown of the night with 1:24 to go in the period. That tied things up at 12, and the Cougars’ kicker, Eric Kreitz, missed the PAT, adding to the Cougars’ miscues.

As the game entered the final quarter all tied up, it was set to be a thrilling finish. With 8:27 to go in the game, the Cougars fumbled yet again. PCC recovered wide receiver Daniel Bernard’s fumble, setting the stage for quarterback Dejon Williams to lead the Lancers to a win. The team needed him, and he came

Hat trick propels women’s soccer Matthew Kiewiet Staff Writer

Powered by a hat trick scored by a freshman midfielder, the Lancers women’s soccer team won its third consecutive game on Tuesday afternoon in their SCC conference opener against ECC Compton at Robinson Stadium.

It was also the third consecutive shutout, as PCC breezed past the Tartars 3-0.

Reggie Rivas was especially pleased with how the squad is coming together.

“I’m really excited,” Rivas said. “If we keep playing like this, we will do really well in conference this year.”

Unlike its two previous games, the Lancers’ offense was able to break through almost immediately. Early in the first half, freshman midfielder Ani Hemelians used her speed and a little bit of finesse to score her first

of three goals on the afternoon.

From about 10 yards out, at a very difficult angle, Hemelians was able to stick the ball in the top left corner of the net, just out of the reach Compton’s goalkeeper.

Hemelians later capitalized on a pair of open shots in the second half to complete her hat trick.

“I just tried to be first to every ball,” she said. “The opportunities were there and I took advantage.”

Sophomore defender Bailey Shaw-Rodriguez was extremely pleased after another defensive clinic put on by the Lancers.

“Wanting to win for each other is big,” she said. “I have a great goalie, and a great defensive line to work with.”

The Lancers will travel to meet conference rival Mt. SAC on Friday afternoon, as they look to improve to 2-0 in conference and grab their fourth victory in a row.

through. Just a mere 20 seconds after the fumble recovery, Williams threw a dart to J. Turner Jackson who scampered 45 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown.

“My receiver told me to give him a chance so I gave him a chance. He succeeded,” said Williams, who ended the game with 76 yards on 6-for-12 passing and 62 rushing yards on 21 attempts.

The Lancers were able to convert on a 2-point conversion, giving them the 20-12 lead.

The Cougars of COC were not going to be taken down that easy, however. They had possession of the ball in the final two minutes of the match, looking to tie the game up. They were able to drive down the field into Lancer territory, converting on two 4th downs during the drive.

But the Lancer defense stepped up once again, as sophomore defensive back Marlon Dobbins read the quarterback’s throw and jumped on it for the interception with under 30 seconds left. The Lancers kneed the ball down and came away with the victory.

“I thought their best part of their performance was their resilience and playing the full 60 minutes,” says PCC head coach Fred Fimbres. “Particularly in the second half, when Canyons came out and made a couple plays and got it tied up at 12.

They kind of stole the momentum away and our guys just kept grinding and they believed and kept playing together.”

Quarterback Dejon Williams felt confident after this win, saying he is feeling good for their game against Cerritos next week.

“We’re striving, but we still want to do better,” he said.

“We’re going to come back hungry.”

“He came through in the clutch and when we needed him to make a play, he made the play,” Fimbres said of Williams.

“He’s a playmaker, no doubt.”

This win gave the Lancers their second win of the young season, already doubling their win total from last year. They now head back home for a conference match-up against Cerritos College at Robinson Stadium.

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