PCC President Supports Ex-Sex Offenders as Students

WEB EXCLUSIVE - PCC President Paulette Perfumo supported allowing registered sex offenders to enroll as students in a news conference with journalism students Thursday. "Community colleges, and actually even four year universities, have always been about helping people rebuild their lives," Perfumo said. She went on to say that incidents like the arrest of PCC football player and registered sex offender Darryl Stephens ought to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

"I think the demarcation really comes in, in terms of is that person being responsible once they get here," she said. Perfumo's views on the matter reflect those of Senator Jack Scott, former PCC president who spoke Wednesday during Flex Day.

She also spoke about increased enrollment and decreased funding, and the seemingly endless construction being done on campus.

Perfumo also stated that there was a significant increase in enrollment this semester, up 4.5 percent from this time last year. "When there is a downturn in the economy, our enrollment surges," she said.

But the increase in enrollment was not matched by the 85-day-late state budget. Perfumo, in an attempt to keep all enrolled students, urged the deans of every division to accept as many additional students as possible into their classes.

"If there was an extra seat, they took an extra student," she said, "so that we could absorb a lot of that growth, and not have to cancel sections and turn students away."

Perfumo believes that the fundamental difference between having a job and not having a job is education, and looks for additional revenue to prevent students being refused educational opportunities.

"Community colleges are the economic engine of our country," she said, more than once.

In addition, Perfumo acknowledged the crowded conditions of the campus and that earlier in the week they did not have a space big enough to accommodate all the employees to have lunch together in one place. "We didn't have the big cafeteria in the campus center because it's offline right now," she said.

She said there was more construction being done in this year of the Measure P Bond Project than in any other year, but assured the class that it would all be worth it.

"If you can't pick up on my passion about this, then you'll never get it," she said.