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aztecpress@pima.edu • www.AztecPressOnline.comNov. 24-Dec. 7, Fall 2011 • Issue 7

Hard choice:Sport or family

Page 16

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PCC grantsFederal funds will upgrade science training

By CHELO GRUBB

Pima Community College’s West and Northwest campuses will receive $6.3 million in feder-al grants for science, technology, engineering and math education.

West Campus will receive $4,321,377 over five years from a U.S. Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institutions Science Technology Engineering and Math Grant.

PCC plans to use the money to improve transfer-level classes in the mathematics, engineering, chemistry, physics and biology departments.

PCC vice chancellor and spokesman C.J. Karamargin said Pima would work to coordinate course content between Pima and the University of Arizona.

“Our belief is that this is in the best interest of both institutions and the students,” Karamargin said.

The changes are designed to support students pursuing an as-sociate degree in science, who intend to transfer to a four-year university in a STEM field.

PCC is one of eight institutions in Arizona designated as Hispan-ic-serving, which is defined as having Hispanic enrollment of more than 25 percent.

Northwest Campus will receive $1,995,795 over five years from a U.S. Department of Education Title III-Thinking Outside the Box grant.

PCC plans to improve assess-ment, monitoring, intervention and support for lower income stu-dents. The college will also ad-vise faculty on ways to make new technology and practices part of classroom instruction.

In addition, PCC plans to devel-op an Engagement Center in the Northwest Campus Library/Com-puter Commons. It will serve as a site where students can seek peer tutoring and help from instructors.

See CRIME REPORT Page 4

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Car thefts most frequent crimeBy ASTRID VERDUGO

Chevrolet and Ford pickup trucks, Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys are the most commonly stolen vehicles at Pima Community College and nationwide, according to Stella Bay, executive director for PCC’s Department of Public Safety.

Vehicle thefts are the most common crime reported at PCC campuses. The recently released 2010 Clery Campus Crime Report lists 29 vehicles stolen from the college’s six campuses, compared to 22 ve-hicles in 2009.

Downtown Campus also had nine reports of liquor law vio-lations, compared to seven in 2009 and 38 in 2008.

Six cases of illegal drug ac-tivity were reported at Down-town Campus, up from five cases reported in 2009. Desert Vista has four reports, com-pared to one in 2009.

Desert Vista and West cam-puses each had eight vehicle theft reports in 2010. Six ve-hicle thefts were reported at Downtown Campus. East Campus had three reports, while Northwest and Commu-nity campuses each had two reported thefts.

“What’s not noted on the report is that most cars are re-covered by the next day,” Bay said. “The car will be left in a parking lot, maybe left aban-doned in a neighborhood.”

Some vehicles stolen from PCC are used for transporting drugs, she said. Thieves also steal vehicles to remove valu-able items such as stereo sys-tems.

Although Bay didn’t have exact statistics available, she said the vehicle thieves are mainly juveniles.

Statewide, auto thefts have gone down, Bay noted. “At one point, I think the state of Arizona was two or three for highest number of auto thefts.”

She believes safety educa-tion and advanced technol-ogy in cars help reduce vehicle thefts.

PCC previously used a post-er campaign to promote safety.

Aztec Press photo by Leftrick Herd, graphics by Chelo Grubb

Chevrolet and Ford pickup trucks, Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys are the most comonly stolen cars.

FYI

The Clery Report summarizes data on campus crimes reported during the previous three years. To request a printed copy, call Pima’s Department of Public Safety at 206-2671.

The police department provides access to monthly activity logs, annual crime statistics and the Clery Report through the PCC website at pima.edu/dps/reports_statistics.shtml.For additional Clery Report details, see “By the Numbers” on Page 8.