VOLUME 111 ISSUE 7 ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT PCCCOURIER.COM March 19, 2015

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VOICESSee what members of

the campus think about the school’s chances of passing accreditation

arePAGE 3>>

PAGES 4 & 5>> PAGE 6>>

ESCALANTE INTERIOR SPEAK OUT!Will you go listen to the

commencement speaker this year?

INSIDE

Legendary calculus educator remembered

in exhibit

PAGE 6 >>

Learn about what goes on in this

design class

PAGE 7>>Vote at

PccCourier.com

Spring is on Scene and in the air

Shaunee Edwards/CourierThe city of Huntington Beach hosts “Kite Party,” a kiting event that was open to the general public to watch on Sunday.

Winter getsvoted downagain

Commencement speaker chosenKristen LunaManaging Editor

After last year’s controversial and prolonged commencement speaker search, the Board of Trustees quickly and unanimous-ly voted Wednesday to approve Chad Crittenden, a cancer sur-vivor, triathlete and amputee, as this year’s speaker.

“The committee was moved by this and felt that he would in fact be an excellent commence-ment speaker for our 2014-2015 graduates,” said Interim Presi-

dent Robert Miller, who recom-mended Crittenden.

Crittenden, 46, is best known as one of the competitors’ on season nine of the CBS show “Survivor.” Appearing on the show was a dream of Crittenden’s. He was the ninth contestant voted off, and the second member of the jury after surviving 27 days.

Even though Crittenden did not make it to the end of the show as the last survivor, he certainly has overcome a number of life’s obstacles.

In 2002, Crittenden was diag-nosed with Synovial Sarcoma, a rare and deadly form of cancer, which forced him to amputate his leg just below the knee. Nine months after his surgery, Crit-tenden successfully completed a triathlon and in 2009 completed the New York City marathon.

In an effort to raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foun-dation (CAF), which provides opportunities and support to people with physical challenges so they can pursue an active life

Clery report breaks down campus crime

Daniel Valencia/CourierTrustee Linda Wah, left, Board President Berlinda Brown and Interim President Robert Miller discuss the 2015 commencement speaker at the Board meeting on Wednesday.

Keely DamaraStaff Writer

The Board of Trustees approved the adop-tion of a 2015-2016 academic calendar without a winter intersession on Wednesday night, rub-ber-stamping the recommendation of interim superintendent Bob Miller.

Miller submitted his calendar recommenda-tion – markedly similar to the current calendar – for the 2015-2016 school year to the Board of Trustees along with the winter calendar rec-ommended by the College Calendar Committee and College Council.

During public comment, PCC professor Kristin Pilon argued that there is an ongoing lack of mutual cooperation in shared gover-nance decisions.

“All major campus constituent bodies have approved the return of this college to a calen-dar with winter intersession,” Pilon said to

Matthew KiewietNews Editor

Drug related arrests are on the decline, while robberies and burglaries have become more frequent on PCC’s campus, according to the statistics docu-mented in the recently released Clery Security Report.

The Clery Act, formally known as the “Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990,” was passed after a fresh-

man at Lehigh University named Jeanne Ann Clery was raped and murdered in her dorm room on April 5, 1986. Clery, her fami-ly, and the rest of the student population did not know about Lehigh’s history of violent crime because campus security was not required to alert the public.

Along with explanations and definitions of what certain crimes are, the report demon-strates trends in campus crime on the PCC main campus, the

community education center, and our satellite campus in Rosemead.

Besides robbery and bur-glary, which have increased by three arrests and four arrests respectively, crime has dropped substantially. Most notably, drug violations are down from 25 in 2011 to just two in 2013.

“We’ve got a highly visible and proactive campus security presence that is patrolling the

CLERY page 2

CALENDAR page 2

COMMENCEMENT page 2

style through physical fitness and competitive athletics, Critten-den reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2012 and raised $140,000.

Crittenden spent a greater part of his young adulthood teaching the youth. He started his career working summer day-care jobs which led him to working for an after-school tutoring pro-gram. That ultimately led him to receive an internship to teach a bilingual second grade class in San Jose. After two years, he accepted a contract to teach in

San Salvador, El Salvador.“I think that’s an exemplary

person to come and inspire our student body,” said Board of Trustees President Berlinda Brown.

Last year’s commencement scandal, when the board invited, disinvited and then re-invited Dustin Lance Black, was not only due to inappropriate photos surfacing of Black but was also complicated by confusion about the selection process. This year’s process seemed to have a differ-ent outcome, not only because Crittenden has an inspirational story to tell but also because board members were not able to

suggest their own recommenda-tions.

The process for selecting a commencement speaker is the sole responsibility of the com-mencement speaker committee, which compiles a list of nomi-nees for the board to approve. During this early process, pro-cedure AP5950 states that the board shall solicit suggestions from all members of the campus community and recommend candidates.

If the board approves, the committee must then prioritize the list and work to present the board with their recommenda-tion. The board then votes to

approve or reject the final candi-date that was presented.

Associated Students President and Commencement Speaker Committee member Jordyn Orozco was outspoken about the lengthy process that took place last year and is delighted that this year had a different result.

“It was a pretty easy process this year,” said Orozco. “I think we followed it to a ‘T’ and I think the decision was made with perfect timing because commencement is in a month and a half. But I’m really excited about it – he is a really good candidate.”

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Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1 Continued from page 1campus,” said Police Sergeant Bill Abernathie. “Also, students now a days seem to be more focused on coming to campus for class instead of committing crimes.”

Ryan Yamamoto, an adver-tising major at PCC added, “I feel perfectly safe on the PCC campus, most of the students keep to themselves and I haven’t had any threatening experiences so far.”

In addition to publishing an annual report explaining security policies and disclosing three years worth of arrest statistics, the report must also be publicly available to students, faculty, staff, and applicants seeking employment. Warnings must be issued regarding crimes that may pose a threat to the campus. De-tailed information regarding the Clery Act can be found at www.securityoncampus.org.

PCC Interim Police Chief Steven Matchan said the report is necessary to keeping the cam-pus safe.

“We base everything off of these stats, so that we can make sure that when our people are needed the most, we are able to schedule that based on those numbers,” said Matchan.

realityrally.comChad Crittenden

the board. “Your failure to heed shared governance will only prolong the present pattern of violation.”

Despite the support from the Associated Students and many vocal proponents among the student body and faculty, Miller stated that he did not recom-mend a calendar including a win-ter intersession for this coming academic year because of the adverse effects the immediate change could have on students, the technical problems that could arise with the adoption of winter for the next academic year without proper preparation and his hesitation to make such a major change before the hiring of a new superintendent.

“I want to be clear on this that this is my recommendation that I put a lot of time and effort and thought into,” said Miller. “I certainly believe as we go into the 16/17 year there is a much greater reflection that we as an institution need to do in relation to a winter intersession.”

In the recommendation he submitted to the board, Miller stated the change in the 2015-2016 academic calendar will affect the disbursement of student financial aid. The cur-rent disbursement schedule has already been submitted for the next academic year, as the dead-

line was January 31. If a winter calendar were to be adopted for the next academic year, some students may have to wait for their financial aid to arrive with their spring disbursement.

He also stated that the school needs adequate time to repro-gram the portal that students register for classes through – Banner by Ellucian–to accom-modate a winter intersession. The Information Technology Services department would need to accomplish this by the time summer registration begins on April 9.

The Public Employment Rela-tions Board decision was a point of contention during the board’s discussion of the possible adop-tion of a winter calendar in the future. A clause in the approved Faculty Association contract for 2013-2016 states that calendar

negotiations can be reopened pending PERB’s decision on the Pasadena Area Community College district’s appeal of their 2013 ruling that the district vio-lated the Educational Employ-ment Relations Act by unilater-ally implementing a 2012-2013 trimester calendar.

Student Trustee Marshall Lewis disagreed that the PERB ruling should affect the board’s decision on whether to rein-state winter for the 2015/2016 academic calendar, stating that the FA agreement didn’t inhibit shared governance from chang-ing the calendar.

“It’s a chicken and egg situa-tion, Trustee Lewis,” said Miller. “If we move forward with the shared governance recommen-dation without negotiating the impact of the working condi-tions then we have a problem.”

The Board of Trustees ap-proved Miller’s recommendation for a 2015/2016 calendar with one dissenting advisory vote from student trustee Marshall Lewis.

“This calendar issue only comes up around January and if we continue on that path every single time we talk about the cal-endar it is going to be too late,”

CLERY CALENDAR

COMMENCEMENT

OPINION COURIERMarch 19, 2015 3

VOICES:

“I don’t know. It sounds like they’ll give us a warning, but that’s

about it.”

Linda Hintzman, mathematics

“I’m aware that there were some mistakes

within the report, but I still think PCC will pass

beautifully.”

Anita Bobich, health sciences

“PCC has a great reputation already, so if we don’t pass, it’s just a slippery slope for the

other colleges.”

Stephen Jones, music

“I guess so. I think you must be doing really bad to not pass, so you’re

cautiously optimistic.”

Yelen Aye, visual arts and media studies

Do you think PCC will pass accreditation?

Reporting by: Ashley Park Photos by: Scott Spencer

Courier2014 JACC

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Editor-in-ChiefPhilip McCormickManaging EditorKristen LunaNews EditorMatthew KiewietOnline EditorJustin Clay and Mick Donovan

Opinion EditorHannah Gonzales

Features EditorMick DonovanA&E EditorAnthony Martinez

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Photo EditorNagisa Mihara

Online Photo and Graphics EditorDaniel ValenciaAsst. Online Photo EditorTraece Craig

Scene EditorKeely Damara

Design EditorSamantha Molina

Staff Writers: Ahmad Akkaoui, Daniel Axume, Nataly Chavez, Alex Chhuon, Keely Damara, Alan Flores, Monique LeBleu, Diego Linares, Neil Protacio, Luis Rodriguez, Aaron Salazar, Sammy Wu

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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.

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Nataly ChavezStaff Writer

The crash in Oxnard ear-lier this month involving a Metrolink train and pickup truck is now considered the third major train collision in Southern California. Twen-ty-eight passengers and crew members were injured as they were jolted awake during their morning commute to Los An-geles. The driver, José Ramirez had stopped the truck on the railroad tracks, which managed to derail the oncoming train.

Rail officials quickly tried to reassure us, saying, “Metrolink’s new $263 mil-lion fleet of state-of-the-art passenger coaches performed well in their first test involving a major crash,” as reported by LA Times writer, Larry Gor-

don on February 27.According to the same arti-

cle on the crash, experts noted that the “new cars came off the tracks, despite anti-derail-ing devices.”

The real question is: were these new $263 million coach-es really worth it? The cars apparently were among the first to incorporate years of accident research, front and rear crush zones, improved emergency exits, fire retardant materials and more protective seating designs.

It seems obvious the safety budget should focus on street level railroad safety. Accord-ing to a separate article by LA Times writers Laura J. Nelson and Brittny Mejia, Moorpark Mayor and Metrolink board member, Keith Millhouse stated that “the crossing is one of thousands in Southern

California, and many of them need attention.”

It seems this particular crossing near the crash site in Oxnard has a “history of deadly accidents and is ranked among the two most danger-ous in California.” As this is the second time the conductor was unable to see a vehicle obstructing the tracks.

Prior to Oxnard was the 2005 collision in Glendale that killed 11 people and injured 180 others. Both happened during daylight hours, so there really shouldn’t be a reason for not stopping the train on time.

After Metrolink’s 2008 head-on collision in Chats-worth that left 25 dead and 135 injured, Metrolink faced scrutiny from the National Transportation Safety Board, on how they confront safety issues.

In a 2008 LA Times article by Ted Rohrlich, those issues included “track-side signal op-erations, how the agency en-forced a ban against cellphone use by train operators, and the federal and local requirements that engineers and conductors confirm by radio that they have seen signals.”

Officials have estimated a $30-million improvement for intersections, like the one in Oxnard, are currently await-ing state and federal funding. Dangerous rail intersections have been on Metrolink’s radar for years and should’ve been given the highest prior-ity. No doubt the families of victims, crash survivors and commuters alike would like to finally put their trust back in Metrolink.

Metrolink crash raises questions

Controversy threatens to sink Obamacare How the Supreme Court should rule in King v. BurwellSammy WuStaff Writer

Every President of the Unit-ed States has had some sort of legacy that marked their time in office. For Lincoln, it was the Emancipation Procla-mation. For Roosevelt, there was the New Deal and victo-ry in World War II. And for Kennedy, it was the country’s first space exploration. Will Obamacare be the legacy that defines the sitting president’s administration? The Supreme Court will make a decision soon with the King v. Burwell case.

The issue being debated in King v. Burwell ultimately traces back to the context of the Affordable Care Act, which established federally-run and state-based insurance exchang-es.

In Obamacare’s first year, fourteen states and the District of Columbia decided to set up state-based markets, while the other 36 states opted for a federally-run market using Healthcare.gov.

Section 1311 of the Af-fordable Care Act states that federal subsidies are to be given to states with their own insurance exchange. The plain-tiffs explained that the reason behind this policy was to motivate states to set up their own insurance markets, but in reality, it has caused intense controversy between the fed-eral and state government-one that could possibly threaten the existence of Obamacare.

In King v. Burwell, the federal government’s primary defense lies in the interpreta-tion of one single word written in the part of the Affordable Care Act that creates federal-ly-facilitated exchanges. It says that for every state that does not create its own insurance exchange, the federal govern-ment will intervene and “shall establish and operate such exchange.”

The word “such” suggests that the federal-run market is to be seen as equivalent to that of the states, so states using Healthcare.gov should be en-titled to the same subsidies as the states that do not.

The federal government pro-ceeded to argue that the clause that institutes the federal insur-ance exchange should not be

examined in solitude but rather in a larger picture.

The goal of the Affordable Care Act, after all, is to help give states affordable health insurance, so the notion that states using Healthcare.gov are not allowed federal subsidies defeats the entire goal of the health care reform.

“No sentient following the health care debate could argue, in good faith, that Obamacare’s architects intended for the federal government to set up exchanges without subsidies,” said Jonathan Cohn, a polit-ical journalist for The New Republic. “It would completely subvert the law’s intent.”

The federal government also pointed to the part of the bill that says people who “reside in the State that established the Exchange” can purchase health insurance. Taken literally, this would denote that citizens from states that use federal markets cannot buy insur-ance—something completely absurd.

At the most, the Affordable Care Act is vague, and when any law is vague, the courts will rule in favor of the interpreta-tion made by the agency that wrote the law. The federal gov-ernment thus has the power

to say that all states, whether those using federal or state facilitated markets, are eligible for subsidies.

“There was not a breath during the legislative debate suggesting that Congress meant to deprive citizens in states with federally-facilitat-ed exchanges of tax credits,” said Nicholas Bagley, a law professor at the University of Michigan.

The Affordable Care Act, although far from being per-fect, is not a bad idea. Under the law, citizens will see a more affordable health care system, which will ultimately reduce tax spending on poor overall health and premature death.

“We know that the act will help all people be more engaged to make better, more informed health decisions, and that’s a good thing,” said Leslie Kelly Hall, senior vice presi-dent of policy at Healthwise.

I, along with many other Americans, look forward to the Supreme Court declaring the federal government as the victor in this legal battle.

COURIER4 SCENE

Spring Fever

Tiffany Yip/CourierArtNight attendees sit below a piece at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena on Friday. The event promotes arts and culture to locals in the community.

Shaunee Edwards/CourierKite flyers launch their kites into the air during the Kite Party event at Huntington Beach on Saturday.

Scott Spencer/CourierSkateboards line a wall at Walnut High School in Wal-nut, Calif. on Saturday afternoon, March 7.

Mick Donovan/CourierWaves crash against the pier at Venice Beach on Friday.

#springbreakforever

Shaunee Edwards/CourierA giant octopus kite is launched into the air during the Kite Party event at Huntington Beach on Saturday.

5 SCENE March 19, 2015

Tiffany Yip/CourierArtNight attendees sit below a piece at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena on Friday. The event promotes arts and culture to locals in the community.

Scott Spencer/CourierSkateboards line a wall at Walnut High School in Wal-nut, Calif. on Saturday afternoon, March 7.

Shaunee Edwards/CourierBeach goers walk near the pier at Huntington Beach on Saturday.

Shaunee Edwards/CourierMatthew Serrano of Huntington Beach and his dog Bella sunbathe at Huntington Beach on Saturday.

Mick Donovan/CourierA colorful surfboard sits in the sand at Venice Beach on Friday.

Mick Donovan/CourierA long board in the sand at Venice Beach on Friday.

#springbreakforever

A & E March 19, 2015COURIER6

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New exhibit honors Jaime Escalante’s legacyAnthony MartinezA&E Editor

Live music and chatter filled the air at the opening reception for the exhibit “Jaime Escalante: A Life Con Ganas” on March 5.

The exhibit honors Jaime Escalante, 1969 PCC alumnus and famed educator know for teaching calculus at Garfield High School from the mid-1970s to 1991.

Over the span of his career, Escalante received numerous awards and recognition for his efforts, including the induction into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999.

Escalante passed away in March of 2010 due to cancer. It was after his passing that his son, Jaime W. Escalante, came up with the idea of creating a space to honor his father’s legacy. Working closely with curator Reina Prado, who travelled to Sacramento to meet up with him, the two sifted through the objects, which were in storage after returning from Bolivia.

“My father had taken all of his teaching materials to Bolivia, be-cause of course, when he retired from the public school system in the U.S., he didn’t completely retire in the sense, he kept teach-ing in Bolivia,” said Escalante. “But he wasn’t teaching anymore in the public system, he was

teaching only in universities and then private tutoring or classes. [He used] all of his materials … he had everything there from [the past]. It was just my idea, ‘why don’t I make something out of those materials, make and exhibit or a museum.”

Calling the Circadian its home, the exhibit is composed of Escalante’s teaching materials and manipulatives, personal items such as his iconic hat, images of his classroom and Escalante him-

self, as well as a video projection in remembrance of his impact.

At the time Escalante and Prado started composing the ex-hibit’s displays about a year ago, special consideration was given to the selections since the exhibit’s location was still unknown.

“[We were] selecting items and just being really mindful that we didn’t know what space we would be in, but knowing what would tell his story,” Prado said. “I think I’ve told [his story] as best as I

could, given the resources we had and I think it’s a great overview of his teaching philosophy and his passion.”

Among those in attendance of the grand opening were some of Escalante’s former students. Elsa Bolado was part of Escalante’s noted 1982 calculus class that received a letter stating there were issues with their AP calculus test scores, implying that the class cheated after a previous letter congratulated them for passing.

By the time the class was notified of the issue, they were already entering summer programs as college freshmen.

“We all got together and [Escalante] said ‘it’s your choice, take it again or forget about it,’” Bolado remembered. “We really took it for him, we said ‘we need to show him that what he taught us wasn’t in vain.”

As nerve-wracking as the exam retake was, with facilitators keep-ing a careful eye on every student, everyone achieved the same score as the initial test, except for one student who left the exam early to take her entrance exams at USC, according to Bolado. The events of this particular class would go on to inspire the 1988 film “Stand and Deliver,” in which Edward James Olmos portrays Escalante.

In addition to the exhibit, which runs until April 10, a series of honorary events in Escalante’s name will take place on campus. A live performance of ‘Stand and Deliver’ put on by the Pasadena Playhouse will be held in the Creveling Lounge on March 19 followed by discussions with Washington Post journalist Jay Matthews on March 20 and journalist and author Luis Torres on March 24. A screening of “Stand and Deliver” will wrap up the celebration on April 2 in the WiFi Lounge.

Michelle Gonzales/CourierCommunity members view art displayed at the grand opening of the Jaime Escalante memori-um, “A Life Con Ganas,” which took place at Circadian on March 5, 2015.

Saving the history of the city, one photo at a timeJustin ClayOnline Editor

PCC is in its third year of a program that provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to digitally preserve historic materials.

Digitalization Skills for Librar-ies and Cultural Institutions is an occupational skills certificate program that comprises four courses that prepare students to work in digital repositories for cultural heritage institutions such as museums, libraries and archives.

Linda Stewart is a librarian on campus as well the instructor of the course itself.

“We believe it’s important that students understand all facets

of a digitization program. Our students learn how to develop and execute a project plan,” said Stewart.

The course is available to any students that have taken BIT 25, Survey of Computer Technolo-gy in Business.

Afterwards they are eligible to take an Introduction to Tech-nologies for Digital Collections in the fall, followed by Intro-duction to Metadata for Digital Objects.

Metadata is data that describes and gives information about other data, making it easier to locate. Students are then allowed to take a course on copyright laws while interning at a cultural institution.

“During the summer the

students take an online copy-right class and they complete a 60-hour internship at a local cultural heritage organization,” said Stewart. “All four classes, including the internship for which there is also a nine-hour classroom component are required in order to earn the certificate.”

PCC is part of the Pasadena Digital History Collaboration and Stewart serves as an admin-istrative chair. Stewart says that one of the strategies we use in the cultural heritage communi-ty is to collaborate as much as possible.

“Recently we came upon a series of snapshots that were taken in 1944 of a geology class trip to the Mojave Desert,” she

said. “The photographs had been taken by a student who was evacuated from Japan by the State Department in 1940.”

Librarian and associate profes-sor Krista Goguen coordinates the library credit courses. She stressed the importance in pre-serving historical items and mak-ing them more easily available.

“It’s more than just preserving history, it’s also giving access to it,” Goguen said.

She says that the students in the program gain experience by digitizing items from their own lives. Students can make their own collection through old family photos, or collections of things that they have acquired.

“This sort of project allows them to see the process from

beginning to end and come away with something meaningful to them. They’re mostly work-ing with their own materials,” Goguen said.

The PDHC is having a public scanning event on Saturday May 2 called Capture the Memories at the Pasadena Public Library and it encourages members of the community to bring in family photos of Pasadena.

Students from the program will be on hand to scan photos and some of them can be added to a digital database. Goguen encourages anyone interested in the program that may have questions to contact her.

FEATURESMarch 19, 2015 COURIER 7

For the last two years, the Academic Senate has worked successfully to defend our voices.

The Academic Senate can only continue to do so with strong leaders who are willing to fight for

faculty and students.

Keep the Academic Senate strong. Vote for Cairo, Pilon, Rose, and Perea.

Interior design: It’s what’s on the inside that countsAlex ChhuonStaff Writer

Interior designing, to many, seems like choosing a particular chair or tile pattern.

While choosing those compo-nents are pertinent, they are only a fraction of an interior design-er’s job.

Interior design incorporates both artistic imagination and sharp critical thinking skills to form a blueprint on a paper over 20 inches long.

Heather Kurze, an art profes-sor, emphasizes spacing when teaching interior design.

“Interior design is about how you organize space and its func-tions,” said Kurze.

The function of space is usu-ally not the first thought when the average person walks into a room. However, how far apart tables are in a restaurant and the width of a hallway are crucial when designing a room.

After all, it wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting at one long table jammed with strangers or a busy hallway without the walking space for more than one person.

“Where do you want the fridge in relation to the stove or sink?” asked Ashley Estabrook, a student of Kurze.

The stove and sink should be relatively close. Racing 10 feet across the kitchen with a huge pot of boiling water just to reach the sink is a recipe for disaster.

Even details like the shape of a table can greatly affect a room’s atmosphere.

“King Arthur’s Round Table was such a big deal because ev-erybody was equal,” said Kurze.

Kurze noted that a long rectangular table would not be ideal for peace talks since there is a head of the table who gains immense power from the posi-tioning.

A round table would eliminate that and bring the gazes leveled.

Color, also plays a significant

part when designing a room.“For a law-firm, it’d be a

dimmed down color,” said Sam-my Galvis, a student of Kurze‘s.

Since law firms are a more serious atmosphere, Galvis wouldn’t use bright colors but mellower colors like gray to fit the mood of the law office.

“Sometimes when I look into a room, it just feels off,” Siyuena Deng, an environmental design major said. “And when I look at the details, I can find out why, sometimes it’s the ceilings… sometimes it’s the lights.”

If a room “feels off ”, next time consider taking an interior design class.

Shaunee Edwards/CourierProfessor Heather Kurze speaks with student Siyuan Deng for his Prototypical Layout Law Firm project in the Center for the Arts building on Monday.

Peron doesn’t just produce a standout winning recordDavid O’ConnorStaff Writer

As Lady Lancers basketball coach Joe Peron’s office door opens, visitors can get drawn into gazing at the memorabilia on the wall that gives a small insight into a legacy that is 19 seasons in the making.

The championship-winning coach exudes a positive glow. With a twinkle in his eye and a joyous smile, he recollects how his coaching career has trans-pired, but more importantly at how his basketball program has developed its players to blossom into better people who have es-tablished successful careers and fulfilled lives.

One question changed Peron’s life forever: “Joe, do you want to prolong your career in basket-ball?”

The seemingly simple question was asked by George Terzian, Peron’s former coach and long-time mentor, who was referring to coaxing his student into playing point guard the following season due to the surplus of for-wards who towered over Peron by four to five inches. Peron was hesitant to say the least.

“I never dribbled a basketball for the most part in my life out-side of the paint,” he said.

This didn’t deter Terzian and Peron, as they worked togeth-er for two hours a day for two months over the summer to help him switch positions. The sacri-fices both men made eventually paid off the following season when Peron started at point guard and was part of the histor-ic PCC team that was defeated in the 1983 state championship.

The question Terzian posed to Peron enable his protege to gain a scholarship to Biola Universi-ty as a point guard and he also played multiple positions due to his experience playing various roles at PCC.

Even after graduation Per-

File photo by Matt ChanContinued on page 8

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kept on coming back to his junior college stomping ground, which gave the John Muir high school product an opportunity to be the assistant coach of the Lancers men’s basketball team in 1990-91.

Two years later, Greg Smith, the Lancer’s women’s basketball coach tried to lure Peron on to his coaching staff with the pro-viso that he bring a few players from his Pasadena summer team, but Peron felt that it would be a tough ask since “the girls are only playing for me because they get free stuff ” and he didn’t want to coach women’s basket-ball or coach with Smith for that matter.

Smith eventually swayed Peron to be his assistant coach, who brought two players with him, while turning his back on men’s basketball and getting paid $5,000 out of Smith’s pocket.

“But it wasn’t for a month, it was for the whole year,” said Peron.

“My second year here, I caught the fire of coaching women’s basketball at PCC and that year we went 26-3,” said Peron. “That’s when I started lik-ing and loving coaching women’s basketball, 19 seasons ago.”

Upon looking back at all the memories Peron has accumulat-ed throughout his career at PCC, the thing that springs to mind is what Smith reminded him in jest.

“You know you’re screaming at the kids the way you said you

don’t like coaches do,” Smith said.

Peron is grateful to Smith for emphasizing the importance of communicating to his players in a way that would get them to im-merse themselves into learning the game of basketball.

“Coach Smith helped me to cater that and be more of a communicator as a coach and to work with these young ladies, them wanting to learn more and grasp the fundamentals of bas-ketball and understanding how basketball works,” said Peron.

Freshman Judith Espinoza, this season’s point guard sensa-tion who finished second in the state in assists and made the All-South Coast North conference team, appreciated the technical advice Peron gave her through-out the season that allowed her to flourish. But she feels that the connection they made contrib-uted largely to her producing a breakout season.

“Creating that relationship with him off the court I felt re-ally made the connection on the court stronger,” Espinoza said. “I knew I was able to count on him with whatever.”

Peron’s coaching record of 451-137 speaks for itself—he coached the first women’s sport-ing team at PCC to a California Community College’s Associa-tion state title in 2008-09 and his team has appeared in the state championships seven consec-utive times from 2004-10 and ap-peared in the state championship game three times (2004, 2005 and 2009).

Peron, currently the lon-gest tenured athletic coach at PCC, compiled a dream run of stringing together 24 or more game wins each season over a nine year period (2002-2012) and accumulated 25 or more wins eight times.

“Of course those winning streaks we’ve had [stand out], beating some of these highly rated teams,” said Peron, who coached and developed 44 players who went on to receive athletic scholarships at four year colleges.

When Peron started over-seeing the women’s basketball program, PCC was ranked poor-ly at No. 79 in the state out of 80 teams. His inspirational and dedicated coaching style yielded a massive turnaround, with the Lancers leaping into the top 10

two years later and remaining there ever since.

It means a lot to Peron that his program has generated enormous success for PCC over a long period of time.

“It’s been great moving up the ladder and PCC basketball team being a recognized basketball team across the state and even across the country as a phe-nomenal team that you have to prepare for,” said Peron.

Sophomore guard Emily Thach acknowledged that Peron is renowned for guiding his team to improved mental toughness and he has a talent for squeezing maximum potential out of his players.

“Off the court he is a really goofy man, but on the court you can tell that he really loves his job and he really loves to do

whatever it takes to win,” Thach said. “If you have a coach like that, who wouldn’t want to play for him?”

The success that Peron sees as the most invaluable is playing a crucial role in guiding his players and students onto four-year uni-versities that provide them with the tools to pursue careers that they love.

“I’d like it to be remembered as a program that these young ladies matriculated through here and they were one of the top programs that helped girls move on to the 4-year level.” Peron said.

“But I like to see them graduate and get on with their careers and that’s what makes me happy.”

8 SPORTSCOURIER March 19, 2015

Scott Spencer/CourierWomen’s basketball coach Joe Peron concluded his 19th season in charge of the Lancers with a 17-12 record. Peron has the longest current tenure of any PCC athletics head coach.

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