PACCNOWTHE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF PEARSON ADULT AND CAREER CENTRE

WEDNESDAY 05.16.12MUSIC > P.3 STM ISSUES > P.4

ROGER J. IRVINE ON PACC’S TERRIFIC TEACHERS P4

WEASKED

CHANCE OF THUNDER 21C

SMOKE BOMBS DELAY PACC STUDENTSOn May 10th 2012 all metro lines were shut down during the morning rush hour due to smoke bombs- Late last week 4 y o u n g p e o p l e w e r e arrested for causing the mayhem

B y M e l i s s a R o s s , Pebbles McIntyre, Chantal Hoyte-Brown PACC Now

M O N T R E A L . Last Thursday at 8:15am, the trains running from B e r r i - U Q U A M t o A n g r i g n o n a n d Montmorency ran slowly and halted for 10 to 15 minutes at most metro stations. The rest of the metro lines were up and r u n n i n g b y 1 0 : 3 0 a m . Meanwhile, downtown Montreal was utter chaos, people littered the streets scrambling for busses and taxis, phones glued to their e a r s w e a r i n g a l m o s t panicked expressions on their faces. Traffic jams sky rocketed!

Thankfully no one was injured; however, a man was seen being carried out of Lionel-Groulx metro on a stretcher, wearing a gas mask.

I n t h e m a y h e m t h a t followed, many commuters suspected that the striking university students were to blame for the mischief. A day later, Francois-vivier

G a g n o n , G e n e v i e v e Va i l l a n c o r t , Va n e s s a L’Ecuyer and Roxanne Belisle were arrested on Friday May 11 and charged with terrorism-related pranks which carries a conviction of five years in prison

Q u e b e c P r e m i e r J e a n Charest swiftly condemned the attack, saying he hoped the guilty parties would be found.

A merchants’ association and a conservative economic think-tank have estimated tha t the inc iden t cos t Montreal several million dollars in lost productivity.

This is the 3rd time the metros have been shut down in the past few weeks. People are saying they are scared and worried. Some are confused as to why this is happening and others are angry and blame the striking students.

But how does this effect PACC? Well some of the students from our journalism class went around the school to find out. We discovered that in half of the classes over 10 students were absent. That is an estimate of 33% of the morning students missing, with one class alone missing 25 students!

- -Wi th f i l e s f rom Paolo Mancuso , Gaileen Corridon, and The Canadian Press

Smoke on the tracks at a Montreal metro station following the eruption of one of four smoke bombs. THE CANADIAN PRESS PHOTO

Introducing PACC NOW!

Did you know you could study journalism at PACC? This semester, for the first time ever, PACC is testing a new options course that allows students to discover the wonderful world of journalism, which we have learned is the collection and editing of news for sharing through the media.

Our teacher is the intrepid Mr Foot, and together we are seeking out stories that we think might interest PACC students.

One of the first stories being published is about the smoke bombs that were set off in the Montreal metro system last week. In class, we talked about what we have seen, heard, and read.

We thought that the smoke bomb story would be of considerable interest to the numerous PACC students who take the metro everyday.

PACCNow will run for only two weeks as it is only a small aspect of our journalism class, but we certainly hope you enjoy reading our hard work!

Pebbles McIntyre, PACC Now

Were you affected by metro delays last week?

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Members of the PACC Journalism class with instructor Ashley Daniel Foot (far left)

Want to SCREAM?turn the page...

PACC Now photo editor Daymian Minto worries about the smoke bomb attacks at Lionel Groulx Metro. PACC NOW EXCLUSIVE PHOTO

WEDNESDAY 05.16.12PAGE 2

PACCARTSPACCBEATS > ERIC SILCOFF

In 2008 we heard about the tragic incident that took place in Chicago Illinois. R&B singer Jennifer Hudson’s three family members were fatally shot, allegedly by brother-in-law William Balfour. Mother Darnell Donerson, 57, her brother Jason Hudson, 29, and her 7 year old nephew Julian King.

Balfour had lived in the Hudson’s three-story Englewood home after marrying Julia Hudson in 2006. He moved out in early 2008 after falling out with his wife, but witnesses told jurors he often stalked the home. The killings occurred the morning after Julia Hudson's birthday, and prosecutors said he became enraged when he stopped by the home and saw a gift of balloons in the house from her new boyfriend.

Although the butchery happened in 08’ Balfour was not convicted until May, 11, 2012 and is now faced with life without parole. Balfour is guilty on 3 counts of first-degree murder, 1 count of home invasion, 1 count of aggravated kidnapping, 1 count of residential burglary, and 1 count of possession of a stolen vehicle. Jennifer Hudson released a statement shortly after the trial.

“We have felt the love and support from people all over the world and we’re very grateful. We want to extend a prayer from the Hudson family to the Balfour family. We have all suffered terrible loss in this tragedy.” ~Jennifer Hudson~

Follow Eric Silcoff on Twitter: @IAmNocx

FAMILY MATTERS

An artist’s rendering of Jennifer Hudson at the trial of the man who allegedly shot and killer three of her family members. THE CANADIAN PRESS PHOTO

MUSIC > FASHION > GOSSIP > FINE ART

Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, one of the world’s most recognizable image, has been sold at an auction in New York for a record $ 119.9 million us, making it one of the most expensive work of art in the world. files from El-Rico Mercury Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

PACC > THE MIXUPDorean Haywook and Nikki Braithwaite, PACC NOW

• Devon Czeruawsui, after two long years of attending PACC Adult Education will finally be receiving her diploma as of this summer!

• When the lights went out at school in March, the students wondered if PACC paid their hydro bill.

• Tom wants to leave home but his mother wants him to find a gentleman caller for his sister, he searched throughout PACC and found two possibles, WHO WILL IT BE-- O’Neil or Rico?

PACC FASHIONS SPRING FORWARD

What is fashion? It’s a term commonly used to describe a style of clothing worn by most people of a country. A fashion usually remains popular for about 1-3 years and then is replaced by yet another fashion. Even though there are a lot of changes in fashion, most p e o p l e d o n o t easily accept the changes.

Here at PACC there a r e n u m e r o u s types of fashion because of the fact t h a t i t ’ s a m u l t i c u l t u r a l s c h o o l . P e o p l e f r o m d i f f e r e n t countries tend to h a v e d i f f e r e n t types of style and fashion. However f a s h i o n a l s o changes in PACC b e c a u s e o f t h e weather condition.

A woman’s fashion personality says who she is and it is expressed by her style. Most of us lean toward one particular type of f a s h i o n p e r s o n a l i t y , although we may sometimes wear s ty les tha t a re m o r e c l o s e l y related to another.

Nasheca James, PACC Now

WEDNESDAY 05.16.12PAGE 3

PACCINPICTURES

Melissa Wallach (R) and Kristina Tellier (L), PACC’s special education technicians, present the “wall of pride” where PACC students share their academic achievements with each other. Photo by Asad Khan and Mergim Musa/ PACC NOW

Have something to sell? Something to share? A service to offer? Free classifieds available in the next issue of PACC NOW!

To place your ad please leave details with PACC JOURNALISM in ROOM 339 during Block A.

Charis De Clou (L) and Sophia Gittens (R), support staff. Photo by Dominic Brillantes, PACC NOW

Amanda Blouin, support staff

Photo by Dominic Brillantes, PACC NOWPhoto by Dominic Brillantes, PACC NOW

WEDNESDAY 05.16.12

STRONG WORDS > What’s next for the STM?

PAGE 4

PACCOPINION

PACC’S TERRIFIC T’s

EDITORIAL > DOING RIGHT BY OUR STUDENTS

Well there is no doubt that we've come a long way from our first primitive cave drawings to living among the stars in an international space station. We as a species have certainly evolved, and guess what? We have teachers to thank for it.

Teachers have not always carried the title, but they have taught throughout the ages as philosophers,wise men, and village leaders diligently passing on knowledge from one generation to the next.

Though their rudimentary beginnings must seem to many to have been inept or insufficient, they were the root of all modern thought, expression and technological advancement, and to them we owe it all.

Teacher's modest, humble, and always behind the scenes methods, have helped to shape the world as we know it. The everyday things we all seem to take for granted such as electricity, transportation and clean drinking water have all come into existence because a teacher somewhere, instilled their knowledge and expertise to his or her students. No man or woman is ever born a physicist, doctor, scientist or mechanical engineer, all great men throughout history had their simple beginning's as a child, and later, as the student of a great teacher!!

So in conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of PACC's extraordinary teachers. It is your patience and dedication which helps push us forward to success!

People like to disparage the student movement as nothing but a bunch of lazy students who want to skip class. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that a university degree is today what a high school diploma was to our mothers and fathers: essential to finding a good job. Take a look at the classifieds some time; I guarantee that most of the ads will demand at least a bachelor’s degree.

Yet a degree is so much more difficult than it was to get in generations past. Costs have skyrocketed, to the point of unaffordability for most. Sure, some people work full-time while taking classes, but should they really have to?

A student learns best when they can focus on their coursework, and undue stress will only hurt their chances of success.

The answer is either a drastic reduction in tuition, even to the point of subsidizing it entirely – that is to say, making it free. That is what the students are fighting f o r , t h e f r e e d o m t o l e a r n unencumbered so that they can go on to work, as their parents did, and contribute to society. Let’s help them instead of scoffing at them.

Montrealers have been depending on the STM transport system for years to get where they have to go, whether it be school, work, events, etc but are they getting the service they are paying a very high price for? If you talk to a majority of them, it’s an alarming NO!!

With price hikes, and service that some deem questionable, Montrealers feel like pawns in the STM game. Adults pay 75.50$ a month for an STM monthly pass, which adds up to a total of 906$ a year. Students pay 43.75$ a month to for an STM pass, which adds up to a total 525$ a year. If you are a visitor in Montreal it costs 3$ for a single ride.

The STM has become notorious for busses being late or not showing up at

all, and the metros shutting down or closing. There are over 300,000 commuters in Montreal that depend on the STM for their daily transport needs, it’s beginning to feel—to this writer—that the STM doesn’t care about them.

The commuters I spoke to believe that the STM management look at commuters as dollars signs, but what they don’t see are students trying to get to school to further their education, people trying to get to work so that they can make a living, maybe single moms or dads paying a substantial amount of money for the entire family just to get where they have to go.

Montrealers feel that they have no choice but to put up with the price hikes and more and more they are starting to wonder what the STM’s true priority is—transportation or monetization?

Paolo Mancuso, PACC Now

Christopher Forrester, PACC Now

PACCLASTWORD

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MY THOUGHTS > ROGER J. IRVINE

Roger J. Irvine, PACC Now

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