The Budget & Resource Allocation Committee met last Thursday to discuss some of the much needed help the Governor’s proposed budget for 2014-2015 would provide PCC and the challenges the budget still faces. Robert Miller, Co-Chair of the committee, updated the members on the status of the Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan (SERP) agreement.

Friday marked the initial “conceptual design” phase of the Centennial Facilities Master Plan when stakeholders had the opportunity to help create the vision for a new and improved PCC that would provide students with the facilities they need to be better prepared for the future. He also emphasized that the work they do must create a vision that will last long after they are gone and capture the founder’s original vision of a glorious institution while still looking toward the future.

As Executive Board members of the Associated Students gathered Wednesday to give an update on the status of their activities and to discuss budgets, the topic of added enrollment priorities created a platform for differing opinions on the way priority enrollment should be decided. Second priority would be given to graduating and graduation initiative students.

The Associated Students helped PCC celebrate Black History Month on the Quad last Thursday in hopes of giving students a better understanding of black culture through food.

A spike in the amount of money paid to faculty for duties performed outside the classroom got the attention of the Budget Resource and Allocation Committee, which may look into ways of reducing the millions of dollars spent on so-called “release time.”. The paid time, known as release time or reassigned time, involves assigned duties for faculty that is performed out of the classroom or is not part of an instructor’s traditional role, according to Robert Miller.

A member of the Academic Senate accused President Mark Rocha of “unprofessional, dismissive, degrading and sexist” behavior during Wednesday’s Associated Students meeting after he allegedly called her “crazy” in an email. Melissa Michelson, the Academic Senate’s ad hoc town hall committee chair, read a speech at the Associated Students meeting and said she was subjected to intimidation and rude remarks by General Council Gail Cooper and inappropriate words from Rocha in a recent email exchange.

If Hebba Griffiths had one wish, it would be to have a few extra hours in the day. Between being a mom of two young children and overseeing a number of student programs as the interim associate dean of student life that include all Trio programs, the flea market, Project Leap, and Dream Keepers, Griffiths’ time is stretched thin.

The Associated Students aired its concerns Wednesday about student workers being barred from participating in the Campus Climate Survey distributed by the administration. Last week Student Trustee Simon Fraser raised the question of why students are not included in the campus climate survey that assesses the campus work environment and conditions for employees.

When the Center for the Arts officially opened in January, President Rocha stated that it would “transform the landscape of the PCC campus and ultimately transform the lives of our students.”. By designing a building that is well on its way to being certified as a premier example of sustainability and energy efficiency, the center is on the road to achieving the message of those words.

The first month after its introduction, more than 80,000 young immigrants between the ages of 16 and 31 applied for the chance to be authorized to work in the U.S. and have a two year reprieve from deportation. At the end of its first year, the DACA reached 455,000 participants. The program resulted in many DACA-eligible young adults obtaining licenses, getting new jobs and the chance to open a bank account.

The Board of Trustees decision to suddenly change speakers for the upcoming commencement ceremony was met with strong opposition by AS executive board members.

Following the disappointment in the change of speaker for the upcoming commencement ceremony, the Associated Students board shifted gears to discussing matters with accreditation and getting a better handle on how to deal with the concerns some students may have in regards to the GM building. Fleming also noted that the Accreditation Commission for Junior Colleges (ACCJC), which is responsible for accrediting PCC, was having difficulty in attracting more participation from faculty to be a part of the peer-review process.