TORCHES Welding class is so metal Page 10» Volume 107, Issue 11
COURIER Pasadena City College
The independent student voice of PCC. Serving Pasadena Since 1915.
Online edition pccCourier.com Facebook PCC Courier Twitter @pccCourier April 25, 2013
Winter term a hot topic again
Record breakers
‘13-14 calendar with winter up for consideration by committees ANTHONY RICHETTS Online Editor
Antonio Gandara / Courier Stephen To repeats as butterfly champion at the South Coast Conference Championships over the weekend. The swim team broke a dozen school records on their way to the most successful swim meet in school history. Story / Page 12
Academic senate has no confidence NICHOLAS SAUL Editor-in-Chief
The Academic Senate overwhelmingly approved a vote of no confidence in President Mark Rocha and his administration. The final tally was 23 in favor of the vote, with none against, and only one abstention. “President Mark Rocha, the president-superintendent, has repeatedly violated the regulations and spirit of shared governance,” the senate resolution reads. “The Academic Senate of Pasadena City College has no confidence in President Mark Rocha to maintain a healthy shared governance system, implement major changes responsibly,
John Novak / Courier The academic senate raise their hands in approval of the no confidence item.
or provide effective leadership to the campus community, and/or communicate accurately to the Board the recommendations of the Academic Senate
and the input of the campus community.” Rocha immediately responded to the vote, expressing his disappointment but assuring faculty that it will not have a negative impact on campus collegiality. "While I am disappointed in the Senate's action, I will rise in the morning to work with a renewed commitment to move the college forward into a bright future," Rocha said in an official statement. "Nothing will change the high regard and profound respect I hold for every single faculty member at PCC." This marks the second official vote of no confidence in President Rocha's
Bribery scandal set for trial NICHOLAS SAUL Editor-in-Chief
The bribery scandal involving two high ranking school officials that rocked the campus last summer will finally be going to trial. Richard van Pelt, the former vice president of administrative services and former Facilities Supervisor Alfred Hutchings were fired after the school found out that they were being investigated by the District Attorney’s office for “conflicts of interest.” After months of hearings, the trial was finally set for Oct. 15. In the complaint filed July 26 in Los Angeles Superior Court, LED Global LLC and its two principals Robert Das and Saila Smith accused van Pelt and Hutchings of a host of illicit requests on top of a solicitation of bribes. According to the complaints, van Pelt and Hutchings had offered LED Global a “purchase agreement” to the tune of $5 million for energy-efficient lighting after the company agreed to numerous
requests, including expensive travel for van Pelt and Hutchings to Mumbai for a factory site visit. “During the course of making arrangements for the factory site visit to Mumbai, Hutchings and van Pelt began to make unusual and expensive requests,” the court document says. The requests included business class travel, accommodation at five star hotels (the Four Seasons in Mumbai), an excursion to the Taj Mahal, more than $2,000 worth of Cuban Cigars, and the demand for prostitutes, which, LED Global denies providing. Van Pelt and Hutchings also allegedly requested they be paid $250,000 in commission for the contract they made with PCC, and after introducing LED Global to other community colleges, “to be personally paid by [LED Global] a 5 percent commission on the value of any contract entered into between LED Global and any other college in the State of California.” These commissions were to be paid to an off-shore bank account, according to Continued on page 10
Winter intersession will again become a major issue on campus as the PCC Calendar Committee has, with large majority, approved a 2013-14 calendar including a winter intersession that is now making its way up to the Board of Trustees for final approval. Eighteen of the 20 members voted to send the proposed calendar to the Academic Senate, where the Senate voted unanimously to approve it. It now currently waits for the College Council’s approval before being presented to the board. The College Council meeting scheduled for April 24 was cancelled. The action to approve/deny the proposed calender with winter was on the agenda for that cancelled meeting. Philip Ricards, a member of the Calendar Committee, felt the old system was the way to go, and he disagrees with the board’s decision to eliminate winter. “We wanted to change the calendar back to the way it was before, to its proven and effective system that we’ve had since 2004,” Ricards said in an interview. “The effects of having a winter intersession have been well documented, and the board should have seen the difficulties that come with removing it.” Another committee member, Matthew Henes, explained that the possibility of not having a winter intersession did arise during the committee’s meetings. “When we made the decision [to include winter] it was relatively easy to make,” Henes said in an interview. “On the agenda for the last few meetings we’ve had a calendar with winter and a calendar without it. In meetings where [committee cochair] Robert Bell was present, we would discuss a calendar without winter, when he wasn’t present, we were working on a calendar that includes it.”
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Courier adviser is still in limbo NICHOLAS SAUL Editor-in-Chief
No one knows who will be advising the Courier this upcoming fall semester. Last month, the Courier’s adviser, Warren Swil, was put on paid administrative leave after an official complaint citing “employee misconduct” was made against him. “We are not actively looking for an adviser for the fall,” Bob Bell, senior vice president and assistant superintendent, said in an interview on Tuesday. “We haven’t even begun that process.” Because the complaint was and remains confidential, rumors swirled that Swil was placed on administrative leave as punishment for what the Courier had been publishing. Just two days prior to Swil being escorted off campus, President Mark Rocha openly chastised the Courier, and made it clear that he had a problem with its coverage. However, the individual who filed the complaint against Swil confirmed with the Courier that he did make a formal complaint against him, but did not go into detail about it. The complainant wishes to
Lissett Matos / Courier Warren Swil outside of the newsroom.
remain anonymous, and referred the reporter to his lawyer, Kevin Rehwald, who also declined to comment. School officials say they won’t begin the search for a new adviser until the outcome of the independent investigation, something they admit can take weeks or months to conclude. “While there is no specific time limit, it is common practice for an employee placed on administrative leave to remain in said status until such time that the matContinued on page 11