The QC, Vol. 89, No. 03 • September 19, 2002

              The Voice Of Whittier College Since 1914
September 19,2002
QUAKER CAMPUS
http://web.whittier.edu/qc
ALLISON CORONA/QC ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
We can see deary now, the fliers are gone... Foronce, nature,
not advertisements, is visible through Whittier windows.
See story on page 5.
Bodey resigns
■ COR
by Christina Gutierrez
QC News-Co-Editor
Junior Vivian Bodey officially
resigned her positions as COR Secretary and Interim Vice President
at the weekly COR meeting on
Monday night,
Sept. 16. "I never
thought it would
come to this," Bodey
said at the meeting,
in tears. "My philosophy completely differs from that of the
Executive cabinet.
[COR] has gone in a direction it
never should have gone. We need
to focus on students' wishes and
needs instead of our own personal
issues."
Bodey, who was elected COR
Secretary last December, took on
the duties of Interim Vice President
when senior Carrie Stone vacated
the-position last spring. Bodey was
slated to return to her secretarial
duties after this week's elections.
AccordingtoseniorCOR president Jess Craven, to fi 11 the vacancy
We did it again
Last week's Editorial generated a response in defense of
American freedoms.
Opinions, Page 2
"I'm not a quitter. I
mean, I still smoke."
Vivian Bodey
Former COR
Secretary
that Bodey's resignation creates,
COR can either hold a special election, or he himself will ask permission from COR to appoint another
secretary. "[Bodey's resignation] is
unfortunate, but I respect and support her decision." Craven said. "We
can't go a whole year without a
complete Executive Council, so I'll
have to appoint someone at the COR
retreat this Saturday."
Until a permanent secretary is appointed, COR Administrative Assistant
Fern Costales takes
on the duties of Interim Secretary. A new
Vice President will be
selected in this
week's elections.
"I don't have the same passion I
used to," Bodey said. "I have gotten
too bogged down in things that are
unimportant to my position. Hopefully, COR will work to correct its
faults."
Bodey has hope, however, that
the programs she started in COR,
including Whittier's new peer-mediation system, will continue even
without official input.
"I'm not a quitter," Bodey emphasized. "I mean, I still smoke."
95-101 sex offenders
reside in Whittier area
SAFETY
by Christina Gutierrez
QC News Co-Editor
Between 95 and 101 registered
sexual offenders live in the city of
Whittier at any given time, including one serious sex offender on Penn
and at least two others in close proximity to the College, according to
Community Relations and Crime
Prevention Officer Alan Dela Pena
of the Whittier Police Department.
California Penal Code, Section
290, also known as "Megan's law,"
defines registered sex offenders as
anyone "convicted of specific sexual assault crimes against adults
and children."
Dela Pena emphasizes the fact
that relative to the number of sexual
offenders in L.A. County, the proportion living in Whittier is actually
quite low. "Out of nine and a half
million people living in L.A. county, 18,000 people (about 5.27 percent of the population) are registered sexual offenders, and of these,
153 are classified as high risk," he
said. "In Whittier, there is a population of 85,000, and only around 100
(about 8.5 percent of residents) are
registered sexual offenders. Whittier also has only one resident classified as a high risk offender." The
name and picture of this high risk
offender is on display in the Whittier Police Station's front office for
viewing by concerned citizens.
According to Dela Pena, although there are potentially dangerous individuals living in Whittier, there is no immediate cause for
concern. "The police department
keeps close tabs on all of the registered sex offenders," Dela Pena said.
Senior Liz Holt shares this attitude, stating, "Honestly, I don't
think about [the offenders] I know
we have a few in close proximity to
the school, but it's not the first thing
on my mind.
"However, you should not be
complacent," Dela Pena cautioned.
"That's where you start getting into
trouble. Alcohol and drugs in and
around campus are a big part [of
putting yourself into a potentially
risky situation] so people, students
especially, have to be aware of what
they are doing and what they are
getting themselves into."
Megan's law, the section on the
penal code outlining procedures
having to do with registered sex
offenders, was enacted in 1996 after a 7-year-old girl named Megan
Kanka was abducted, raped, and
murdered by_ a man who, as it was
later discovered, had a history of
committing crimes of a sexually
violent nature. The law requires that
sex offenders notify the police station any time they move, and if they
move to another city, they must
notify the station in the town they
leave as well as the one in the town
they move into.
Sex offenders are divided into
three categories: high risk, serious,
and other. Only information concerning offenders classified as "high
risk" or "serious" can be made available to the public. According to the
law, high risk sex offenders are
those who are likely to be repeat
offenders. They must have been
"convicted of multiple violent
crimes, at least one of which was a
violent sex crime," and they must
"pose a greater threat to the community."
Any member of the public who
is not a registered sex offender can
have access to information about
high risk offenders without having
to prove a "need to know."
Serious sex offenders are individuals who have committed offences such as: "assault with intent
to commit rape, child molestation,
kidnapping with intent to commit
sex offences, or felony sexual battery." According to the law, information about this class of sexual
offenders can only be released to a
member of the general public if the
See SEX OFFENDERS, page 7
I.N.S. monitors foreigners
GOVERNMENT
by Eva Sevcikova
QC Editor-in-Chief
When senior Imran Khan left
the United States on Sept. 21 last
year to study abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, he
made sure he had a clean shave. He
wasn't worried about looking handsome on that last photo with his
American friends; his action had a
much deeper meaning. "I shaved to
avoid the stereotype of a bearded
Muslim." Khan, who is an Indian
Muslim, said. "Because my last
name is a typical Muslim name,
popular especially in Europe, I often get mistaken for a Muslim from
countries that are on the U.S. hit
list."
Still, several months later, while
he was in Italy in March of this year,
he was the only person pulled off
the plane to have his luggage and
his paperwork thoroughly checked.
A year later, he doesn't feel
much difference. "I feel apprehensive about the process one has to
undergo [while staying in this country]," he said. The Immigration and
Naturalization Services (I.N.S.) recently implemented a new policy
that requires all non-citizens to report their address within 10 days of
their move. "It makes me feel like
I've done something, like I'm on
parole or something," Khan, who
mailed his form this week, said. "I
can understand what Americans
went through, but a year later, I was
stopped at an airport in London on
my way here, and it was based purely on appearance," he relates another incident which he thinks is related to insensible screening of citizens of other countries.
According to Dean of Enrollment Urmi Kar, the new I.N.S. policy will affect approximately 70-80
students on campus. This new requirement addresses issues of efficiency in light of 9/11 and it is
designed to "make sure that the
I.N.S. is kept informed of current
physical address of all the international students," she said. Students
can obtain the form, INS AR-11, at
the Office of Admission, Office of
See I.N.S., page 6
ISSUE 3 • VOLUME 89
Beaches & Cream
Travel visits Venice Beach and
we include an interesting look
at...well, an interesting beach.
Campus Life, Page 8
Fiends for food
Come join in the exploits of
four daring, young men as they
eat their way to freedom.
A&E, Page 10
Women Win One
Women's occer win one game and
loses one during their road trip to
the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sports, Page 14