2 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION
POLICE BEAT By John Fordiani
Man goes rogue in Library Sept. 18, 2:11 p.m— Officers responded to the Library for a disturbance. According to the report, witnesses stated that a man was “going crazy” in the East Reading Room. Witnesses told the officers that a man grabbed a computer keyboard and slammed it on a table. The man who is not a student was located by officers near the ITEC Building. The man suffers from mental health issues and agreed to be self-committed to a psychological evaluation. A report was taken.
Transient caught sleeping in Marsee Auditorium Sept. 21, 7:33 a.m.—Officers responded to the Marsee Auditorium for a transient who was sleeping inside a room. According to the report, a custodian discovered the man while cleaning. Officers talked to the man who said he found an unlocked door, and was just trying to find a place to sleep. The officers issued the man a trespass warning, and advised him if he returns he’ll be arrested. A report was taken.
Man almost stole a bike Sept. 21, 1:56 p.m—A police cadet observed a suspicious man trying to cut a cable to a bicycle near the Humanities Building. According to the report, officers caught the man in the process of trying to steal a bike. The man was arrested for attempted petty theft, and possession of burglary tools. The man also had $72,000 in warrants for drug and theft charges. The man was transported to Torrance Police for booking. A report was taken.
NEWS
Alleged burglar arrested near campus Grant Hermanns and Phil Sidavong
Sports Editor and Features Editor @ECCUnion_Grant and @ECCUnionPhil
Helicopters circled low and police cars swarmed Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Chadron Avenue as officers searched for and arrested a burglary suspect on Monday across from the El Camino campus. The suspect broke into a house on Atkinson Avenue, two blocks away from the EC campus, around 2 p.m., Gardena Officer Nick Pepper said. The neighbors witnessed the burglary taking place, Gardena Sgt. Brian Messina said, and the police were then called as the suspect and a second suspect ran out of the house. As the second suspect got caught right outside of the house, the first suspect fled west down Manhattan Beach Boulevard, escaping view from the police, but not before the helicopter spotted him hiding in one of three houses on Chadron Avenue, officers said. Officers from Gardena, Inglewood, Redondo Beach and Hawthorne police departments proceeded to form a perimeter of the area in order to enclose the suspect before he could escape. Around 3 p.m., the K-9 unit drove around the houses warning residents to remain indoors until given
Jo Rankin/ Union A Gardena police officer escorts the alleged burglary suspect to a police car after being found by police officers at Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Chadron Street. the all-clear, as well as giving the want to surrender,” Officer Pepper take one of the police dogs behind He was brought outside with no suspect one final chance to surren- said. “99 percent of the time, they the house on the corner of Chad- shoes on, and he was limping as he der. surrender.” ron Avenue and Manhattan Beach was helped into the ambulance. “Most of the time when they see After no response from the sus- Boulevard, in which they found the Messina said that it “was a reguthe dog, they hear the dog, and they pect, the officers proceeded to suspect and took him into custody. lar takedown; nothing exciting.”
New online program helps students research careers Career Coach allows students to see direct connections between careers and salaries in the L.A. area and college programs
Money missing from students backpack
Lorenzo Gutierrez
Staff Writer @ECCUnionLorenzo
Sept. 23, 11:05 a.m—An officer responded to the police lobby for a theft report. According to the report, a student told the officer that $10 was stolen from his backpack while he left it inside the North Gym. The student was in a basketball class, and after class he opened his bag an noticed his money was missing. A report was taken.
Possible idenity theft Sept. 23, 3:10 p.m. An officer responded to the Administration Building for a possible idenity theft report. According to the report, a woman, who is not a student, told the officer that someone is using her identity to enroll in classes. The report was forwarded to the Detective for a follow up investigation. A report was taken.
Hit-and-run in Lot H Sept. 28, 10:18 p.m.— An officer took a report for a hit-andrun that occurred in the second level of Lot H. Sept. 28, 10:18 p.m.— An officer took a report for a hit-andrun that occurred in the second level of Lot H.
Gardena Sept. 21, 12 p.m. A green fluorescent bmx bicycle was stolen from a home in the 2400 block of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Sept. 24, 10:32 p.m. A wallet and cell phone were stolen from the 2100 block of Redondo Beach Boulevard.
Torrance Sept. 20, 10 p.m. An unknown suspect pried a door lock to a vehicle and stole the third row seats in the 17200 block or Ardath Avenue
OCTOBER 1, 2015
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Jorge Villa/ Union Jake Carlson, 20, communications major and Nicole Taborelli, 19, radiological technology major kiss in behind the administration building.
Rules unclear for PDA on campus Tayler Dahm
Staff Writer @ECCUnionTayler
Couples are a common sight on campus however, there have been times when some have gone to far. That raised the question what is to far on EC’s campus? There are no rules and regulations in place for public displays of affection (PDA) in the student code of conduct, according to the Board Policy 5500. The student code of conduct focuses on “academic honesty” and “maintaining an optimal learning environment.” There are two misconduct policies listed in the school’s code of conduct that PDA might fall under. Disruptive behavior, inappropriate conduct and expression is the
first one, and the other is harassment and threatening/violent behavior. “Engaging in expression which is obscene; libelous or slanderous; or which so incites students as to
violation of lawful District administrative procedures, or the substantial disruption of the orderly operation for the District.” according to the Student code of conduct this is one misconduct policy. This policy isn’t specific to PDA.
“The student code of conduct focuses on “academic honesty” and ‘maintaining an optimal learning environment.’” create a clear and present danger of the commission of unlawful acts on college premises, other college property, or while attending any college-sponsored event, or the
“I think kissing and holding hands is OK,” Melia Rozsa, 20 sociology major said. “But if they have their hands all over each other, nobody wants to see that.” EC wants to have an optimal learning environment, and that means the entire campus and not just in the classrooms. It is unclear what the line between acceptable and non-acceptable is, considering it is a public campus.
‘Massacre-threat trial’ stalls due to issues with scheduling Phil Sidavong
Features Editor @ECCUnionPhil
The trial for the former El Camino student accused of threatening to massacre the campus was postponed until Monday morning, Torrance District Attorney Patrick
O’Crowley said. The 35-year old James Lemus, former student, threatened to “create a massacre” last fall and has been in custody ever since. Just recently Lemus was assigned a new public defender, who needed more time to get familiar with the
case. “There were all sorts of issues,” O’Crowley said. “Scheduling issues, that’s it.” Lemus’ next appearance will be on Monday morning, where expert testimony is to be heard about his condition at the start of the trial.
l Camino College has used funds from the Career Technology Education Act (CTEA) to purchase programs and software to help students find careers. One of these CTEA programs is Career Coach (CC). CC helps students “find a good career by providing the most current local data on wages, employment, job positions and associated education and training,” according to the EC website. The CC program has been working since June 2015, but the program was promote at the beginning of this semester, Matthew Kline, ESL instructor, said. This program was an idea of Virginia Rapp, Dean of the Business Division with the help of Tanysha Laney and Irene Graff, Kline added. “I think it’s important to notify or inform students of traditional academic opportunities as well as other opportunities that might not be considered traditional, such the CTEA programs,” Yamonte Cooper, career counselor, said. Since July, the website has had 2824 visits. The most popular career that students are looking are accounting, nursing and advertising-promotion manager, Kline said. The CTEA program is in charge - Continued from Car part thefts. Page 1 Victoria Spinosa, 19, applied physics major had her catalytic converter stolen from her Honda Element in Lot L. “I come back to my car at 3 p.m. and I get in and it sounds completely different. It sounded like a Harley Davidson mixed with a tractor,” Spinosa said. The thefts are costing victims hundreds of dollars to replace the converters and can be a burden for many. “It cost about $1,700 dollars to replace it, and my dad and I welded a
of handling the “state and federal resources to all community college districts to enable individuals to achieve academic, vocational and technical knowledge, and skills necessary to attain employment further their education,” according to the EC website. “The company that makes this is called the Economic Modeling Specialist Incorporated (EMSI) and they make this for other colleges and universities as well, but the one that we have is for our local area, so the information about jobs and careers is for our local area and the programs is about EC’s programs,” Kline said. In addition to that, Cerritos and Santa Monica Colleges also provide this program. Kline said that the Career Coach website is very interactive, the website has a career assessment and also it has a resume builder. Some undecided majors like Gerardo Gudino, 19 learned about Career Center by talking to his counselor. “She recommended me (to) the Career Center,” Gudino said “ She gave me the pamphlet with the online career assessments and websites.” Cooper also said that students with undecided majors, come to the Career Center feeling embarrassed because they don’t know what career they want to pursue. “Our role as career counselors is really to provide opportunities and options that students can be aware of, so they can make more informed decisions,” Cooper said. cage around it so no one will steal it again,” Spinosa said. El Camino isn’t the only place with an increased amount of catalytic converter thefts, Gardena have seen a recent increase in the thefts. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the past month,” Gardena Police Lt. Russ Temple said. “They come in waves, one month it’ll be down then the next month it’ll increase.” In the past 10 days, three catalytic converters have been reported stolen in Gardena, according to Temple.