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A Massacre That Shook the World
In one of the most devastating acts of violence the U.S. has seen in decades, Seung-Hui Cho murdered five faculty members and 27 students at Virginia Tech before committing suicide on April 16. It has been considered the nation’s deadliest campus shooting and has raised major concern over safety among college students, faculty and staff. This tragedy has resurrected the debate of whether PCC’s campus police should be armed or not. Some believe guns don’t belong on a college campus, while others believe the police should be prepared for a possible attack like Virginia Tech.My Phone, the iPhone
With the launch of the iPhone on June 29, Apple has raised the standards for technology, especially phones. The iPhone is a music player, PDA and tablet PC all in one, and has become the epitome of today’s technology. People are still groveling at Apple and Steve Jobs’ feet for bringing this sleek and innovative item into our homes. Now, if only they would lower the price .

Ending A Wizard’s Dynasty
Whether you’ll admit to owning a Slytherin scarf or not, there’s no denying that the Harry Potter series had a great impact on people across the world. The release of J.K. Rowling’s seventh and last installment ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ on July 21 had people waiting in their wizard costumes overnight to get their hands on a copy. Reluctantly for some fans, they don’t have to put their wands away yet because there are two movies left. ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is set to come out this year on Nov. 21.

The Next to Reign
Ending 19 years with Dr. James Kossler as president on Aug. 17, PCC made its transition into a new period and officially welcomed Dr. Paulette Perfumo. As the second female president at PCC, Perfumo has already established herself by signing a contract with Verizon Wireless to upgrade the campus infrastructure network.

Rally For the Jena Six
When 17-year-old Mychal Bell was being tried as an adult and initially faced up to 22 years in prison for attempted murder in December 2006, people across the nation protested. Bell and five other black students, known as the ‘Jena Six,’ were being tried after attacking a white student at Jena High School in Louisiana. PCC students, faculty and staff rallied alongside the nation on Sept. 20, the date of Bell’s sentencing, to demonstrate against injustice. Although Bell pled guilty to second-degree battery as a juvenile on Dec. 3, the yearlong issue has shed light on modern day racism and injustice.

Breaking Ground
Besides forcing students to take detours to class, the reconstruction project of the CC Building was launched with the groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 17. The ceremony initiated the start of an 18-month construction plan to develop what will be the most technologically advanced facility at PCC. Although many students will not be around to see the finished product, the building’s progress will be interesting to see.

SoCal Lights Up
While the fires were at its worst, the repercussions could be felt on campus. Over 420,000 acres were burned in the southern California wild fires. Hitting hardest in the San Diego County area, the wildfires lasted from mid-October to mid-November. Whether it was the home of a loved one in jeopardy, the air quality or even one’s daily commute, last year’s wildfires would be a catastrophe hard to forget.

Text for Safety
An instant cell phone text message sent to students, faculty and staff might one day be what save lives. Launching the first campus-wide emergency SMS alert system in early November, PCC police have made their move to a safer campus as a part of a more aggressive policy for safety implemented by PCC Chief of Police Peter Michael.

A Self-Sufficient Faculty
After over 30 years of representation from the California Teacher’s Association, the faculty at PCC decided to end their relationship in September by creating the PCC Faculty Association. Although the 2 to 1 margin decision to oust the CTA seemed like a direction many faculty members hoped for, it eventually led to one of the biggest controversies of the year. As expressed by many faculty members at a general information meeting on Nov. 15, some were concerned that there was a lack of communication from the new union’s administration and that the 1 percent fee did not decreased as promised by the end of the year.

New Beginnings
We may be tempted to spend the down time finding out if Jamie Lynn Spears’ boyfriend is the baby daddy, if he is pretending to be the baby daddy to protect the baby daddy or if he is really the baby daddy but is pretending to be the fake baby daddy for a baby daddy that doesn’t exist.

However, having the first female and African American candidates be considered for presidency in the November elections and the possibility of lowered tuition fees for college through Proposition 92 on the February ballot are some issues we should be focusing on in 2008.

We have yet to see what the year has in store for us.

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