Share: Monday, December 04, 2023 12:39 a.m.: Person reported their tablet was stolen from the quad. 9:35 a.m.: Person reported a transient possibly using drugs In parking lot 5 level 3. Officer responded and found no evidence of drugs before advising them to leave. 10:35 a.m.: Staff reports a student fainting of CEC-126. Paramedics responded to the scene but the student refused transportation to the hospital and was instead picked up by a family member. 3:17 p.m.: Staff reported seeing a suspicious man huffing something …
FAFSA Simplification Act aims to make financial aid more accessible
Share: As one of the nation’s premiere transfer schools-Pasadena City College and its students are majorly impacted by changes to the FAFSA applications in the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle-such as increases in federal grants and a streamline of the application process. The FAFSA Simplification Act was originally passed by Congress in 2020 with the goal of overhauling and simplifying the student financial aid process. This act changes the method of measuring a family’s ability to pay for college; the previous Expected Family Contribution (EFC) method has …
PCC’s Anti-War Club takes to the streets, demands ceasefire
Share: As conflict continues between Israel and Palestine, causing PCC students, led by the Anti-War Club, to take action to the streets of Pasadena City Hall. On Saturday, December 9th, PCC’s Anti-War Club worked in conjunction with Tempest Collective, an organization aimed to educate those unaware of global issues. Members from Tempest Collective began their teach-in by remarking that their objective is to aid this movement, not perceiving opinions. PCC Geography professor Hector Agredano commented on the significance of speaking out and hosting the teach-in. …
SUPER BLOTTER: Person found unconscious in classroom after huffing laughing gas
Share: Monday, November 20, 2023 2:37p.m.: School staff reported a male that was lying on the ground unresponsive near the tennis courts. The person left the when officer arrived. 10:39p.m.: Pasadena Police requested assistance from PCC to check the main campus for a missing person who was last seen on campus at approximately 1:30p.m. that day. Tuesday, November 21, 2023 12:25p.m.: School staff reported an individual fainted inside of C-345, possibly due to huffing. Paramedics were contacted, and the subject refused transport to the hospital. …
4-year universities and community colleges swap degree programs
Share: Amid transfer season, higher education alternatives are beginning to materialize for students who struggle with paying high tuition. While community colleges typically offer associate’s degrees and four-year universities with bachelor’s degrees, the opposite may soon be true. In other states, four-year universities such as Butler University in Indianapolis and the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis have either implemented or are preparing to implement new, two-year colleges after Chicago’s Loyola University started the model in 2015. The effort comes in response to rising college …
Dual enrollment soars, but can PCC keep up high numbers?
Share: Amid changing demographics for community colleges, PCC presented new enrollment strategies to the Board of Trustees at the Nov. 15 Board meeting. This comes at a time as California community colleges are experiencing enrollment returning back to pre-pandemic levels, but now with a different demographic. As of this academic year, the under-20 demographic has become the majority of students attending community college, surpassing the 20 to 29 age group for the first time. This is in part to high school students who are taking …
New PCC foster youth housing program begins in early 2024
Share: At the November Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees approved a five-year contract to rent out a six-unit housing complex near PCC’s Foothill campus, a first of its kind for the college to support its foster youth who face significant challenges obtaining secure and clean housing while in school. Because foster youth face some of the highest rates of housing insecurity and homelessness at PCC, their needs were prioritized for PCC’s first ever housing project that directly provided free housing to those in need …
Three PCC trustee seats up for grabs in March election
Share: Three members of Pasadena City College’s Board of Trustees (BOT) are up for reelection on the March 2024 ballot, where voters in areas two, four, and six from Altadena to Rosemead will have the opportunity to elect their trustee. Prior to Board Member John Martin from district six announcing his decision to not run for another term after serving as a PCC Trustee for over 40 years, he was facing off against PCC alum Ryan Liu. In area six, after Martin dropped out, Liu …
PCC students advocate for zero carbon by 2030
Share: Several PCC Students have joined the grassroots efforts to align Pasadena City College’s policies with Pasadena’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030. On Nov 14, several PCC students attended the Pasadena City Council meeting of the Municipal Services Committee to ensure that the city’s new water and power plan is true to its Zero Carbon by 2030 resolution. This goal puts Pasadena 15 years ahead of the state’s goal of a zero-carbon 2045. Also in attendance were representatives from several local climate organizations, …
Trustees approve PCC Presidential search timeline and committee appointments
Share: At the November Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting the board publicized and approved the PCC presidential search timeline, committee appointments and a document outlining what PCC’s constituency groups, shared governance and on-campus community is looking for in their next permanent Superintendent-President. The preliminary preparations and creation of the search profile have been going on since late September when the Board hired AGB Search to facilitate the process. As a part of the undertaking since their hiring, AGB Search has hosted several listening sessions with …