Spring 2023 Issue 3

EDITOR’S NOTE

The last few weeks have been hectic for Xpress Magazine and Golden Gate Xpress. On April 6, the campus chapter of Turning Point USA hosted Riley Gaines, a speaker who incited controversy and protest by students. Gaines spoke on “Saving Women’s Sports,” sharing her opinions on the exclusion of trans athletes from women’s sporting competitions. SF State has a legacy as a progressive and LGBTQ+ friendly campus, so it’s hardly surprising the event became tense. Perhaps that was even the intention of event organizers. Reporters from student publications were present at the event, covering the rapidly developing situation. In fact, we broke what has become a national story. Given the inflammatory nature of Gaines and Turning Point USA, and the student chapter that arranged her visit, the moment could have gone much differently. NBC Bay Area interviewed GGX reporters Andrea Sto. Domingo and Adriana Hernandez about their reporting. CNN, Fox News and Newsweek also covered the event, directing more eyes to the reporting of our newsrooms. In our final magazine for the semester – the graduation issue – GGX reporter Aiden Brady takes a look deeper look into TP USA and its impact on our campus community.

Moments like these remind us how far the student publications on campus have come in terms of coverage. It wasn’t long ago when relationships between marginalized student groups and student publications were contentious and unproductive. Xpress and GGX are now consistently working to cover these groups in an inclusive, transparent and fair way — by having an abundance of reporters from both publications at the event on Thursday, we’ve taken the necessary steps to make sure we keep it up.

— Eian Gil

STAFF

Editor-In-Chief

Managing Editor

Photo Editor

Multimedia Editor

Diversity Editor

Copy Editor

Design Editor

Design Assistant

Engagement Editor

Online Editor

Staff Writers

Eian Gil

Zackery Stehr

Aaron Levy-Wolins

Oliver Michelsen

Ciara O’Kelley

Caroline Van Zandt

Daniel Hernandez

Sydney Williams

Myron Caringal

Sarah Bowen

Angelina Casolla

Nathan Hitchcock

David Blakeley

Kamal Taj

Protesters hold signs reading “You lack love!” and “Trans women are real women!!” inside the HSS Building at SF State. The protest took place after Turning Point USA held an event featuring controversial former college swimmer Riley Gaines. Gaines received notoriety after stating that trans women should not be competing in women’s sports.

ON THE FRONT COVER

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Spotify Playlist

A collection of the magazine staff’s favorite songs for this issue.

Photographers

Tatyana Ekmekjian

Leilani Xicotencatl

Tam Vu

David Jones

Chris Myers

Gina Castro

Benjamin Fanjoy

Miguel Francesco Carrion

Ocean Rescue Lifeguard Sean Scallan surfs at China Beach. Scallan and his team work to identify dangerous rip currents and deploy for rescue operations using jet skies, surfboards and swimming fins.

PHOTOGRAPH BY BENJAMIN FANJOY

ON THE BACK COVER

A jellyfish swims in a tank at the California Academy of Science.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AARON LEVY-WOLINS

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Shop Secondhand

What to look for and where to get it.

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Do Animals Dream?

Yes, many do – some even experience nightmares.

10

A Tale of Tapes

A video store offers VHS tapes and DVDs.

12

A Ride Down Memory Lane

A look inside San Francisco’s oldest motorcycle club.

SF STATE STUDENT-JOURNALISTS PITCHED, INTERVIEWED, WROTE, PHOTOGRAPHED, EDITED, DESIGNED AND DISTRIBUTED THE CONTENTS WITHIN THIS MAGAZINE.

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How Much Screen Time is too Much? Learning to log off can be difficult.

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'When in Doubt, Don't Go Out' Beachgoers need to exercise caution in the water.

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Monumental Sins Statues commemorating Junipero Serra continue to be a contentious subject.

CORRECTIONS

In the previous issue, Xpress Magazine inaccurately reported the closure date of SF State's natatorium. It closed May 16, 2022.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MIGUEL FRANCESCO CARRION

How to scan code:

1: Open Spotify 2: Tap search button 3: Tap camera icon on top right

PHOTOGRAPH BY GINA CASTRO

Joey Martinez, American Motorcycle Association District 36 president, stands with his 2014 Street Glide Special motorcycle. He is also a member of the San Jose “Dons” Motorcycle Club.

Shop Secondhand

What to look for and where to get it.

Story by Zackery Stehr

Photography by David Jones

While not a new phenomena, thrifting and secondhand shopping have been in style for the last couple of years. From Emma Chamberlain’s thrift haul videos to the thrifting episode of Netflix’s newest season of “Next in Fashion,” fashion has challenged us to look for more sustainable options when shopping.

For this thrift guide, Xpress Magazine looked at two different types of secondhand stores: buy, sell and trade stores and donation-based stores. Buy, sell and trade stores get a majority of their inventory from individuals who sell to the store directly and donation-based stores receive their inventory from donations only. The Xpress team also compared prices for staples like jeans, (specifically Levi’s), shirts and jackets across the different stores.

This guide is to help students navigate secondhand shopping in San Francisco with price, shopability and Our-Fav-Finds.

Buffalo Exchange Buy, Sell, Trade

1555 Haight st.

$$$: Most garments are priced at less than half the original price point. The inventory is not brand specific, with a mix of vintage and contemporary garments throughout the store. The average price of Levi’s jeans was $22 to $35. The average price of jackets was between $25 to $60, with lighter jackets ranging between $20 to 30, and heavy denim and leather between $45 and $60. Average price for tops were anywhere between $15 and $30, depending on brand and material. Common brands include Abercrombie, Boohoo, Hollister, Loft, Polo and Theory.

Shopability: The store is easily shoppable, clean and well organized by clothing categories and size. It’s not too cramped with open walkways. Some higher-end items are displayed in the front — the store has dressing rooms.

Worth the visit?: If you’re in the mood to sell some of your old clothes and then spend some of that credit, this is the place for you. They are stocked and full of trendy pieces like funky button-ups, jeans for days and quirky shoes and bags.

Our-Fav-Finds: Brown and tan vertical-striped western long-sleeve from Wrangler priced at $34, and a Dooney and Bourke tan monogram mini cross-body bag priced at $21.

Wasteland Buy & Sell

1660 Haight st.

$$$$: Price point varies between brands. This store specializes in designer, specialty, vintage and high-end garments with most items being well over $50. Most pants were priced anywhere between $60 to $500, while most Levi’s were over $100. Jackets were priced between $150 to $2,000, while shirts were between $40 and $450. Repeating brands include Balenciaga, Burberry, Comme des Garçons, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Guess, Kooples, Levi’s, Supreme and Vetements. Shopability: The store itself is spacious, organized by garment type and size. Racks are not cramped with clothes and allow the shopper plenty of room to browse with ease. Glass cases entice and highlight the more exclusive garments, with dressing rooms to try items on.

Worth the Visit?: Go there for designer and specialty items, specifically designer bags, shoes and smaller, more niche accessories that can be harder to find. For lovers of vintage and lightly used designer items, every rack at this store is full of treasures. Our-Fav-Finds: White Balenciaga city-bag coin pouch priced at $75; Dolce & Gabbana dyed-green long-sleeve button-up priced at $155.

Goodwill Donation Based

1700 Haight st.

$$: Garments are well-under the original price and consistent between types of items. There is rarely fluctuation of price between different brands. Average price for jeans, including Levi’s, were between $8 and $10. Average price for tops including sweaters were $10 each, with short sleeves and tanks ranging between $3 to $5. Jackets were $20 to $40 with leather in the $30 to $40 range.

Shopability: This store is organized by garment type and size, and with lots of inventory it can be overwhelming to look through. Pants were locked up by a cable running through the loophole and customers are no longer allowed to use the dressing rooms. Worth the Visit?: For basics like jeans, button-ups and jackets, especially blazers, this is the place to come. You can source good garments for alterations and materials for other projects. While it’s not as nice, the price is right for building the basics. It just takes a little more looking.

Our-Fav-Finds: A Herschel millennial pink tote bag priced at $25.99 and a pair of Kate Spade loafer pumps for $44.99.

A customer grabs a item from the rack at Wasteland on Haight Street.

Do Animals Dream?

SF

some

Story by Eian Gil

Photography by Aaron Levy-Wolins, Tatyana Ekmekjian and Gina Castro

Illustration by Sydney Williams

Dogs running in their sleep, cuttlefish changing colors as they dream and elephants with PTSD awoken by nightmares. While no one can speak with absolute certainty as to the perspective of animals, documented animal behavior throughout history has led many to try. It’s no question that sleep is required for all living creatures, but where do dreams come into play?

Many animals do, in fact, experience what we refer to as dreams. That said, the dreams of animals take on different forms than those of their human counterparts. Fish, for example, sleep by shutting down certain areas of their brain or by reducing their metabolic functions (sometimes both). Rats sleep and have consistently been observed to have the ability to dream about their surroundings – leading them to recall important details while awake. The evidence of these animal dreams raises ethical and philosophical questions that have yet to be answered.

David M. Peña Guzmán Ph. D, an associate professor of humanities and liberal studies at SF State, published When Animals Dream: the Hidden World of Animal Consciousness in 2022. In the book, he uses available scientific literature to examine trends and observations within the animal science realm. He incorporates philosophical perspectives that push readers to consider the ethics of the way we perceive and interact with animals in all areas of our world.

“My thesis is that it is impossible for an organism to dream and to lack consciousness,” writes Guzmán in the second chapter of his book. “Since we have it on good authority that many animals dream, it follows that those animals must be conscious agents with their own perspectives on the world – even if that perspective, like Heidi’s or like Wittgenstein’s lion’s [animals who serve as examples in the book], is arrantly unlike ours.”

In other words, Guzmán argues that what animals experience while asleep is as much a part of their reality as dreams are a part of ours. He believes that the prevalence of dream states in animals proves their consciousness, though the type of consciousness they experience is still up for debate – a topic explored throughout the book.

Guzmán calls on published research to back up his argument. With no shortage of counter arguments and real world examples, readers are left well-equipped to form their own conclusions on the dream world — and consciousness — of animals.

even experience

State professor and author David M. Peña Guzmán discusses his latest book on the subject and answers questions on what goes on inside animal minds.

In your opinion, where does the culpability of humans fall with the fact that animals are able to experience nightmares?

There are two ways of thinking about culpability. One is our culpability and kind of remaining actively ignorant about just the complexity of the animal mind, to the point that we are surprised when we encounter claims like ‘animals experience sadness,’ or ‘animals experience grief,’ when we talk about the whole gamut of negative emotions that animals can undergo. So that’s one we are collectively guilty of: being surprised by things that happen often when you contextualize them, and maybe we should have already known because we already have the evidence for it.

The second role that culpability faces here is when nightmares are anthropogenic, meaning that they are caused by human action. So this is definitely what happens in the case of the elephants, young elephants, again, whose mothers get killed by humans. This is also what happens in the case of weevils. [Researchers] have found similar cases with chimpanzees.

Recently, after the publication of the book, I published a short essay in Time magazine called “The Nightmares of Animals,” where I give a couple other illustrations of nightmares, including chimpanzees, who — again when they experience really dramatic scenes of violence in early childhood — that just gets imprinted. And then they replay it at night, and they can’t sleep. But that’s not to say that all animal nightmares are human in origin. I mean, animals that live in the wild obviously might have fears that are not connected to humans, right?… And so the mere fact that animals have nightmares is not in itself a problem. That just shows the range of emotional expression that we find in other animals. But yeah, when you get to animals that suffer nightmares, and who have had violent contact with humans, we can attribute responsibility to humans, either collectively or to the particular ones that played a role in the abuse of that animal.

Can you tell me a little bit more about the particular rights you were talking about when it comes to certain types of animals?

So we know that all animals sleep. And so there seems to be a trans-species constant in the animal kingdom. And based on what we know now, it’s fair to say that the vast majority of animals also have divisions within sleep. So sleep is not just the same kind of subjective state for those creatures. There are sometimes phases and transitions physiologically and neurally that happen with those animals.

All of those animals would have moral status by virtue of being dreamers, because what dreams teach us about those animals is precisely what you said earlier, that they feel that they experience that they sense and that’s the sort of thing that we ought to protect ethically and legally.

If you were to suddenly turn into an animal, what do you think your safest bet would be?

Well, my safest bet would probably be human… Yeah, I think my safest bet would be a kind of bug or insect that doesn’t rob that much human interest. You know, I think humans are probably one of the largest sources of danger for other animals. And so, yeah, maybe an animal in the ocean. Again, in a place that is less accessible to humans than the coastal regions. I would say either an insect or a fish with the caveat that as long as I’m far away from human activity.

SF State Professor David Guzmán poses for a portrait in Burk Hall at SF State.

I think humans are probably one of the largest sources of danger for other animals.

When it comes to that political deliberation [to protect a wider range of animals], what do you imagine?

First off, do you imagine that conversation happening anytime soon? And what would that look like?

That conversation is happening in some places already. So there are pieces of legislation moving through, like the slow arteries of government. There’s already a recognition that different animals deserve different protections. And there, the debate hinges on who decides which animals get some protections and not others. So the differentiation is already there.

…For me that deliberation needs to change in terms of who has a voice in them and who is recognized as an expert. And that means including not only people who have expertise in animal care, like veterinarians and experts in animal physiology, but also including people who have expertise in animal sociality, animal intelligence and animal cognition. That might include neuroscientists who specialize in animals, psychologists, field people who work in ethology — that’s the name of the discipline. But it also requires experts in animal law and animal ethics. And those are almost never really given a platform in these discussions.

A macaw caws at the California Academy of Science.

A Palawan bear cat, also known as the Palawan binturong, rests in its enclosure at the in Palawan, Philippines. The animal is endemic to the island of Palawan.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GINA CASTRO

PHOTOGRAPH BY AARON LEVY-WOLINS

PHOTOGRAPH BY TATYANA EKMEKJIAN

A Tale of Tapes

Los Angeles video store Be Kind Video offers an assortment of VHS tapes and DVDs and is a welcoming community for film enthusiasts of all genres.

Story by David Blakeley

From an outsider’s perspective, the idea of starting a video store in this day and age may sound particularly ill-fated given the sharp decline of Blockbuster and the rise of streaming services. But Be Kind Video’s owner Matthew Renoir and Creative Director Aaron Therol are adept in a commercial market many overlook: the business of nostalgia.

“Instead of just another normal store, we are trying to provide people with an experience,” Therol said. “We’re giving you that nostalgia factor. When you walk into Be Kind Video, it’s a walk down memory lane.”

Therol owns Typewriter Connection, a successful Los Angeles store and service that rents and sells vintage typewriters. When Therol learned of his close friend Renoir’s plan to open a video store in Burbank, he took an immediate liking to the idea and urged Renoir to pursue it.

“Matthew and I are always collaborating on different projects, and when he approached me with his idea, I said 100% go for it,” Therol said. “I have a typewriter shop in the year 2023 so obviously selling VHS tapes isn’t anything crazy to me.”

Renoir’s fascination with video stores dates to when he was a child growing up in a small farm town in central California.

“Going to the video store was the most special thing ever growing up,” Renoir said. “There’s magic to going and picking out a movie, and I was always enamored with it. In high school, I was really thinking if I could open a video store.” Growing up in the ’90s, Renoir recalls an abundance of video stores.

“It was like every other block there was a video store, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and all these little independent video stores,” Renoir said. “Some of my most precious memories were at these stores.”

Renoir went on to study film at SF State and graduated in 2008 with plans to establish a career in the film industry.

“The video store idea took a backseat because I was so enamored with film and wanted to make movies,” Renoir said. After completing a few filmmaking opportunities for a children’s hospital nonprofit, Renoir was offered an opportunity to work on a feature film. “It was terrible…there was no respect, no community feel and nothing that made you feel wanted,” Renoir said. “It completely disenchanted me and turned me off from filmmaking completely.”

After a break from production work in San Francisco, Renoir moved to Los Angeles where he spent the next 12 years working as a cinematographer, which he

Photos Courtesy of Matthew Renoir and Koury Angelo

Store owner Matthew Renoir at Burbank’s Be Kind Video.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MATTHEW RENOIR AND KOURY ANGELO

thoroughly enjoyed. “One of my first shoots in LA, I met a good friend [Therol], and we ended up kicking around the idea of a video store,” Renoir said. “In May 2022, we started seriously looking into opening a video store and buying VHS tapes.” As they grew their tape collection, Renoir and Therol began making connections in the VHS tape community. “We were meeting these tape heads (VHS tape collectors) and I realized this was such a great community,” Renoir said. “Everybody was a fan, and it wasn’t closed off or exclusive like the filmmaking world could be.”

Prior to the store’s inception, Therol and Renoir traveled to trendy, vintage swap meets around Los Angeles to sell the VHS tapes they had collected.

“[Renoir] and I would do these pop-ups, and we designed our space to look like little video stores at these open-air markets,” Therol said. “We gave them that fun, retro video store vibe and that’s where it started.”

Renoir treated the pop-up sales as market testing for VHS sales, a period to determine whether investing in a storefront to sell these tapes was a possibility. When Renoir and Therol managed to sell a VHS copy of The Shining for $50 after purchasing it for just a dollar the day before, they knew a video store could be a potential business venture.

“I started Googling ‘how do you get money for a business? How do you open a business?’” Renoir said. “It seemed to be more viable than I imagined.”

For Renoir, the rising popularity of VHS tapes hit home when Tom Wilson, who plays Biff Tannen in Back To the Future, sold his first-pressed, unopened VHS trilogy of the first three films for $75,000. “That was crazy, and I’d be hearing about other celebrity auctions where VHS tapes of Star Wars or The Goonies were selling for even higher than that,” Renoir said. “And it was sensible to me because it’s this product that isn’t made anymore, and I saw there is this market for VHS.”

Matt Landsman, who helps Renoir run the business, experienced a similar perspective on the rise of VHS tapes. “There was a huge collectibles boom during COVID so the tape market hit like a boom in terms of value,” Landsman said. “There’s certain films that I’m amazed at how they’ve skyrocketed in price just in the last two years. The demand is real…this is a real thing now.”

Be Kind Video opened its doors in November 2022, following the completion of Renoir’s business courses through the California Dream Fund, which provided him a $5,000 grant to open the business.

“The $5,000 really set me up, and it was a total lifesaver,” Renoir said.

While it was a long time coming, Renoir recalled the process of opening the store as a scary endeavor. “I got in at a good time and it’s working out but it was heart-wrenching and terrifying,” Renoir said. “That I’m going to open a business and go all in.”

The store is fully supported by the community, and often receives tons of VHS, DVD and Blu-ray donations from supportive members of the public. Be Kind Video has quickly become a staple of the Burbank community and even attracts visitors from other states.

Additionally, a couple signed a lease on an apartment in the store’s neighborhood just to be close by.

“Building a community in a gigantic, sprawling city is what we’re really all about,” Renoir said.

The store offers approximately 1,000 VHS tapes for sale as well as DVD rentals, consisting of movies across all genres and time periods. “Cartoons, horror films, anime, sci-fi, action and comedies all are quite popular at the store,” Landsman said. “Jim Carrey movies and other comedies you grew up loving.” However, older films, especially from the ’50s and ’60s, as well as westerns, do not have much demand in the VHS community, Landsman said.

Approximately one-third to one-half of the tape collectors who come in to Be Kind Video are searching for horror tapes, Landsman said. Films like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Halloween III: Season of the Witch have become highly sought after. “Films that were once B movies are now becoming staples for collectors.”

Tape collector and horror film enthusiast Mark Keller owns nearly 1,000 tapes, and got his start collecting tapes from Suncoast Video stores in the ’90s. “I feel like horror has a place on VHS…there’s nothing like popping a classic into your VCR,” Keller said. “Even though the picture can be pretty terrible and the sound wobbly at times, it just feels right.” Over the years, Keller has received sizable offers for some of his tapes but promised to never let any of them go.

“Picking up VHS tapes has always been part of my life…the tapes themselves are stories,” Keller said. “It’s like any knick-knack you get from your travels, mine are just knick-knacks of a once thought to be dead media.”

In addition to video sales, the store also serves as an event space for film screenings with interactive Q&A’s as well as stand-up comedy shows. “It’s not just a video store, with the events we’ve been doing now it’s like a community,” Therol said. “It’s a safe place to talk film, whether your favorite movie is Carebears or Citizen Kane , we love all films.” These events, paired with the abundance of tapes and atmosphere of Be Kind Video, have attracted film lovers across all genres. The events are made possible by supporters of the store loaning the necessary equipment as well as decorations. “People contribute, donate and support, and it’s been very heart-warming,” Renoir said. “People want this store here, and they want this community space.”

SF State Cinema Professor Joseph McBride, who at one time had Renoir as a student in his screenwriting class, is a major proponent of physical media, especially VHS tapes, DVDs and Blu-rays.

“People assume they can always access movies on streaming,” McBride said. “They come and go though — companies lose rights to them and they go away.” McBride highlighted the importance of owning physical copies of film when he shared the possibility that some films made today will be lost due to digital technology.

“The technology changes so much, and there are new machines every few years to transfer each film to, which costs time and money,” McBride said. “If you can get your hands on a physical copy of a film you care about, hold onto it, because you never know what’s going to happen.”

A crowd gathers at Burbank’s Be Kind Video for the ‘Saturday Morning Cartoons at Night!’ event.

VHS tapes and DVDs of films of all genres at Burbank’s Be Kind Video.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MATTHEW RENOIR AND KOURY ANGELO

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MATTHEW RENOIR AND KOURY ANGELO

A Ride Down Memory Lane

A look inside the heart, and driving force, of San Francisco’s oldest motorcycle club.

It’s Easter Sunday — early, the sun has not yet risen. Motorcyclists donned in leather vests adorned with blue and gold SFMC patches get on their bikes parked in a line in front of 2194 Folsom Street. They’re heading for the top of Mount Tamalpais in Marin, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The San Francisco Motorcycle Club pulls out in a staggered formation — cruising their bikes down the center lane of the highway, loud in the early morning fog of the Golden Gate — out to revive an eighty-year-old tradition of riding and blessing bikes with blasphemy to usher in this year's riding season. Led by Ride Capitan Vince Torrano and followed by seasoned riders such as Club President Jane Williamson, Vice President Dave “Papa” Schiller and Brian Holm the SFMC Easter Ride begins.

Walking into the clubhouse is akin to walking into a museum — through the front door of the unassuming blue building, the long wood paneled hall is lined with photographs and mementoes recalling memories from the late 1800s, decades before the club’s inception. The names and faces immortalized on the wall are some of the most influential early motorcyclists, and the history of the club is something that all current members first mention upon first stepping through the doors. Brian Holm, SFMC member and historian, is eager to take new visitors through the history of the club. Founded in 1904, it is the second oldest, continuously operating Motorcycle Club in the country. Holm’s well-rehearsed tour lasts roughly two and a half hours, according to him, and club members jokingly add that they need to install a self guided audio tour guests can interact with.

“I was hanging out at the clubhouse, not yet a member,” Holm said, “and I would ask questions about the photos and never really get a clear answer as to what was in the early photographs. So I took it upon myself to research the history of the club and its early members and create the timeline you see hanging here today.”

Before the 1900s, the club, in its early stages, began as bicyclists in San Francisco that would group together to ride and compete in track races.

According to Holm, these men were badass. They would ride miles on the Ordinary bike, or Penny-farthing (picture a monocled Victorian man on a bike with a large front wheel). The first motorcycles, according to club history, were two-manned motorized bikes that were used as pacers to bring the Ordinary bike up to top speed in track races. As motorcycle technology advanced and more were sold to the public, it did not take long for them to catch on.

The club was founded by some of the earliest motorcycle dealers in San Francisco. Twelve members were in attendance for the first meeting, including C.C. “Daddy” Hopkins, James Tormey, George Payton, Joe Holle, Harry Rockwell and Al Freed.

By 1910, the club was holding regular meetings in dealerships such as Thor Motorcycle shop. On April 16, 1906, SFMC held its first dance at its new Jefferson Square hall, and mere hours after it concluded, the Great Earthquake leveled most of the city and fires destroyed the club. As the club rebuilt and the membership grew larger, the club of pioneers began introducing women to their ranks. Women maintained a seat at the table, and the earliest photographs of the club included women riders. In 1910, the SFMC made it official and became the first motorcycle club to admit women members. At this time, women were allowed to vote on club matters a decade before they were allowed to vote in federal elections. By 1911, with the addition of women members, the club’s active member count peaked at 500. This progressive history is something that the club still takes pride in today. Many of the club’s members today are women, and that is something they take pride in.

The current club president, Jane Williamson, is the second woman president in club history and currently serving in her second term. Presidents of the club are elected in December and serve a one year term. Williamson joined the club in 2011, and welcomes everyone in with a kind demeanor. While presiding over club meetings, Williamson is all business. She leads the attending members through planned minutes and commands control of the room, and her stern voice can often be heard calling for members to be quiet. Keeping a rowdy group of friends at bay for up to an hour to discuss club concerns can be difficult, but it's clear that all the members respect all the officers and value the work they contribute to keep the club functioning.

“This was the first club of its kind to allow women to join,” Miriam Moody said. “And as a Latina woman who is now a member, that is very special to me.”

Moody started out coming to meetings after befriending a member while getting her M1 motorcycle license. She started on a scooter, and spent two years around the club before prospecting in 2019. Prospecting is an initiation period that happens in most clubs. The prospecting period is set by each individual club, and when the trial period is over, members are voted into the club.

“After my initial prospecting period, COVID hit, and pushed all club

Story by Nathan Hitchcock

Photography by Gina Castro

Jane Williamson, president of the San Francisco Motorcycle Club, poses for a portrait at the Clubhouse. Williamson is the second female president the club has had since its inception in 1904 and is currently serving her second term. The club runs elections every year for the president position.

Miriam Moody, dressed as a bishop, blesses the bikes lined up outside of the San Francisco Motorcycle Clubhouse. Moody spent two years around the club before prospecting in 2019. She had her official initiation on this day, due to the pandemic disrupting the regular club initiation during her initial prospecting period.

meetings online,” Moody said. “I was never officially initiated into the club because of lockdown, but today I am a full-time member and get to be officially initiated on the Easter Sunday ride.”

Shelly Waits, a current prospect and honorary member, had been around the club for over five years after a friend and member brought her to the clubhouse. Similar to Moody, Waits rode a scooter and recalls when she got her first motorcycle.

“The first thing I did after I got my bike was come to the club house to show it off,” Waits said. “We are all like one big family, and I wanted to share the excitement of my first bike with them. And officially becoming a member with Jane as the President will be a memorable moment for me.”

Unlike most families, the SFMC is one of the most decorated and documented families. Titans of the industry have all embraced the blue and gold at one point or another, and many have participated on the national stage. Possibly the most well-known member was Lincoln Beachey, an American aviator. Orville Wright once said of Beachey: “An aeroplane in the hands of Lincoln Beachey is poetry. His mastery is a thing of beauty to watch. He is the most wonderful flyer of all.”

One of SFMC’s most historic moments came in 1937, when T.T. Racer Champion Loren “Hap” Jones wheeled his Indian motorcycle through the crowd of people looking to be the first to cross the Golden Gate Bridge at its opening. Jones, 32 at the time, kick-started his bike as the Golden Gate opened its causeway to pedestrians; he sped across to be the first person to make the 1.7 mile cruise north toward Marin. Jones’ legacy then skyrocketed, along with his business, as he became the first entrepreneur to start a nationwide supply chain of motorcycle parts. His fame and love for motorcycles led him to begin his annual Hap Jones Birthday Party, a weekend trip of camping, open to all. The event was similar to all large rides, where riders congregate for a weekend of drinking, racing and enjoying each other’s company.

“Maniac” Dave Duran, a current member who has been around the club longer than any other, reminisced about the bike runs of years’ past.

“There are so many good memories,” Duran said. “In the early years, we would

get together on Saturdays and have campouts and picnics. People would participate in bike games and just have a good time.”

Duran has been riding for 45 years, and started riding with the Daly City Maniacs in 1970.

The Maniacs and the SFMC were always in good standing with each other, and would often hold functions together, according to Duran. But as decades passed, Duran found himself the lone member of the Maniacs.

“It was getting sad over there,” Duran said. “In the end it was just me, and you can’t really be a president if you’re the only member of the club.”

The last Maniacs patch now has a spot on the wall within the SFMC clubhouse.

As clubs and their runs grew in number, one Fourth of July run in 1947 drew the attention of the media.

The American Motorcycle Association sanctioned Gypsy Tour event in Hollister drew more riders than was expected. The social gathering turned into what is now known as the Hollister riot or Hollister Invasion. According to Life magazine from 1947, the bikers caused a commotion in the small town roughly 80 miles south of San Francisco. At this time, motorcycle popularity boomed as

Motorcycles are lined up outside of the San Francisco Motorcycle Club’s Clubhouse.

World War II veterans returning to the U.S. banded together into MC’s. Shortly after the event, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that bikers were damaging bars, throwing bottles out of windows and sleeping on hay bales outside of residents’ homes.

The cover of Life Magazine pictured a man on a motorcycle holding a beer surrounded by empty and broken bottles. However, SFMC records tell a different story.

“The photograph was staged,” Brian Holm said. “Photographers posed the man on a nearby bike, laid out beer bottles and snapped the photo that changed the image of motorcycle clubs forever.”

The San Francisco Chronicle published two stories on the event titled, “Havoc in Hollister and Hollister’s Bad Time”. Yet, Classic Bike, a motorcycle publication, had eyewitness testimony of the staged photograph from Gus Deserpa.

“I saw two guys scraping all these bottles together, that had been lying in the street. Then they positioned a motorcycle in the middle of the pile,” said Deserpa. “After a while this drunk guy comes staggering out of the bar, and they got him to sit on the motorcycle, and started taking his picture.”

The AMA issued a statement claiming, “the trouble was caused by the one percent deviant that tarnishes the public image of both motorcycles and motorcyclists.” This likely led to the onepercenters ideology that is claimed by

outlaw motorcycle clubs. Although the coverage of the event did alert the public to be on guard when motorcycle riders came through their towns, the SFMC walked away from the event with a Best Uniformed Club award. The trophy still sits in the clubhouse to this day.

In the same year of the Gypsy Tour ride, the SFMC blindly voted on the cost of a new clubhouse when Hap Jones placed a small retainer on an old blacksmith shop.

The building had just four walls and a roof when the club voted to purchase the property, which is why Jones did not want any member to see its condition before passing the vote. There was no foundation, dirt floors and was in no shape to hold a meeting. But understanding the value of a home, club members were quick to remodel the space to their liking. Today, the clubhouse has an unfinished wooden interior that emits a warm orange hue through the front gate. The club’s insignia lies at the entrance made of blue, yellow and white stone, and tables, couches and chairs are neatly facing the officers’ desk in the front left corner.A timeline of photographs cover the walls, detailing the club’s history and most influential members. At the back, a 1908 Curtis Motors motorcycle donated to the club hangs from the ceiling. Its original owner, H.L. Lausing was one of SFMC’s early members and racers. Equipped with a kitchen and “fountain,”

the clubhouse is a place where everyone can gather and spend time together.

Members of the club today talk of the importance of having a home base for the club. It gives each member a purpose to contribute to the club. Prospects looking to join the club spend their nearly 90-day initiation cleaning and maintaining the club house. Waits says that she likes to take care of the clubhouse as though it were her own residence.

“I want people to walk in here and feel welcome, as if they were stepping into my own house,” Waits said.

On Easter Sunday 2023, Waits and the SFMC hosted visitors in their clubhouse. The San Jose Dons, Oakland Motorcycle Club and Capital City Motorcycle Club all came to 2194 Folsom Street to partake in the festivities.

Moody and Robert Gonzales dressed as a Bishop and Nun to walk around and bless the bikes with sage, holy water and Harley-Davidson branded bottled water. Other members set up an Easter egg hunt for those in attendance to win prizes, all while groups of people gathered to eat and admire each other’s bikes. Papa Schiller, one of the club’s longest tenured members, with over 40 years, described the club as his life, and walking away from it now would be like turning his back on family.

Ultimately, that is what the club provides for so many: a place of belonging and people who they will forever call family.

Members of the San Francisco Motorcycle Club sit and talk at the booth inside of the club’s clubhouse. The motorcycle in the photo, a 1908 Curtis Motors, was donated to the club by H.L. Lausing, one of the SFMC’s earliest members.

How Much Screen Time is

too Much?

Tech devices are a necessity for college, but learning to log off can be difficult.

Story by Angelina Casolla

Photography by Tatyana Ekmekjian

Angry clouds give way to sheets of rain while students take cover inside SF State’s Cesar Chavez Student Center. Inside the dining room, the squeaks from wet shoes are loud, the coffee is hot and the music is bumping from the overhead speakers. Students pass through, avoiding eye contact. Their heads are down, and as the squeaks grow louder and more frequent, no one seems to look up. There is no match for the powerhouse earbuds-smartphone combo.

All the seats are occupied in the main lobby just outside the campus bookstore. Five seats, five phones, five heads down, together in digital solidarity. Feet squeaking, umbrellas dripping, nothing breaks their gaze.

The girl with curly hair briefly takes a break from scrolling to pose for a selfie as she pulls at a lock of her hair that springs back. There’s a break in the squeaks. They start again as a student emerges from the outside only to pull his phone out of his pocket immediately, his eyes gaze down and his neck hunches over like the rest of them.

A lap around the building and it’s evident there’s a problem (anecdotally) among the student body.

“Swiping on apps is inherently rewarding due to a dopamine hit in the brain every time a new message is received,” University of Southern California psychology lecturer Julie Albright explained to USC Trojan Family Magazine. “The affected area is the same ‘pleasure center’ activated by cocaine and other addictive drugs.”

In March, the San Mateo County superintendent and school board filed lawsuits against companies including Google, Snap the parent company of Snapchat and ByteDance TikTok’s parent company, “claiming the companies unlawfully created ‘provocative and toxic’ content to addict and entrap young people, leaving schools to address a destructive and growing youth mental health crisis,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Most recently, the state of Utah is working to pass a law that could put significant limitations on access to social media platforms for minors. Anyone under the age of 18 would be required to get parental consent to join social media platforms, and parents would also have access to their posts and messages. A social media curfew for minors would also be set

SF State students congregate in the library on campus between classes to pass time and do homework.

under Utah’s new law.

But where does that leave college students? With most students being in the age range of 18 to 23, some may consider themselves to be both a teenager and an “adult” at the same time.

“As you get into the 18-year-olds, they’re obviously adults,” explains Dr. Elizabeth Nadiv, M.D. and Kaiser Permanente pediatrician. “Explaining to them how it does affect their well-being, you know, to be missing out on the importance of connectivity, making sure kids are aware of how important it is to be connected with people. And to have those faceto-face interactions as opposed to having everything be on the screen.”

Matthew Rivera sits alone at a table in a trance over the game Mobile Legends. He’s more than willing to speak, but his eyes never break away from the screen.

The 19-year-old SF State freshman psychology major got his first phone at 7 years old. Though he claims he doesn’t have a problem disconnecting, his eye contact or lack thereof suggests a different story. Although he didn’t confirm the number, he estimates he spends around eight hours daily on his phone.

At first glance, Kevya Jacob’s built-in screen time tracker tells the 22-year-old SF State student that she spends five hours and five minutes a day on average on her phone. She suspected that it was low due to midterms. When she dug a bit deeper, the phone told a different story. The week prior she spent nine hours and six minutes daily on her phone, which she confirmed was more of an accurate description. She stated that she spends most of her time on Twitter and TikTok, roughly 30 hours a week on TikTok alone if she had to guess. Though she tries to not let it distract her from her schoolwork.

“I take a break sometimes when I feel like I need to really focus on my stuff,” Jacob said. “Today I haven’t gone on TikTok yet because I have to do an essay by tonight, so I don’t want to be distracted by everything.”

SF State senior political science major Ethan Lee estimates he spends upwards of eight hours daily on his phone. He recognizes it as a problem and distraction. During finals week, he took it upon himself to download an app, something essentially similar to a parental control, to hold himself accountable.

“When I study, I tend to just check my texts and then start scrolling,” Lee said. “Sometimes I’ll be in the library for three hours and an hour will just be on Instagram.”

Perhaps the liveliest bunch that morning was the group of four SF State kinesiology majors sitting at a table together. Although four phones and two laptops shared the table with them, they all engaged in conversation and seemingly enjoyed one another’s company. When asked how much time they each spend on their phones, they all jokingly cringed before checking for the information. The average for their table was four hours and 59 minutes daily, an interesting comparison to those individuals who sat alone.

In high school, social media drove Madeline Danaher to try to be better, in “unattainable ways.” Today, a freshman at the University of Hawaii, she’s the only person she knows who has a parental lock on her phone, allowing her one hour daily for TikTok and Instagram combined.

“It’s kind of annoying, because I’m legally an adult in college and my mom still has a time limit on my phone,” Danaher said. “So that’s kind of annoying, but I guess sometimes I’m glad I don’t have the option to scroll for hours.”

Danaher notices when her friends get sucked into their phones, they have a harder time wanting to do other things. Without the parental control, she imagines she would end up spending more time on her phone as well.

“But probably not be glued to it,” Danaher adds.

An article published in the journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport, and Tourism Education in 2021 shows that students have transformed.

“Our students have changed radically,” it reads. “Today’s students are no longer the people our education system was designed to teach. Therefore, higher education institutions should be aware of the possibilities that technology brings and facilitate new learning environments.”

Regardless of the problems that may arise from overuse of smartphones, social media and electronic devices, current university students have grown up in a digital world. Incorporating technology into so many facets of life; it’s now deemed vital.

Jenny Lederer, SF State linguistics coordinator and associate professor in English and literature, leans into the more adaptive approach when it comes to technology. Though she notices students are “totally sucked into their phones,” she mostly embraced the digital era and social media, and even incorporates it into some of her teachings.

“One thing to note is that digital communication has been the norm for this generation like 18-to-22year olds,” Lederer explains. “And so that practice is what they’re most comfortable with and fluent in, just as far as their communication. That doesn’t mean there aren’t all the negatives associated with social media, but that’s certainly the norm for them.”

Lederer currently teaches a class on computer-mediated communication, English 122: The Evolution of Language in the Digital Age. She combats these negatives by having students analyze their own phone usage, encouraging a more conscious approach to screen time.

“So, the main idea is getting the students to find patterns in all of these different aspects of their online communication.”

When she surveys her English 122 students at the end of each semester, they always have the same re -

sponse: they are more comfortable texting than they are speaking to a person, especially a person they are not very close with.

“They feel like they have more control over the message,” Lederer said. “It has something to do with this idea of control in the representation and their identity.”

Although Lederer is aware of the potential negative effects of technology and screen time, she opts to work with the technological world rather than fight against it.

“My takeaway is that it’s a paradox,” Lederer said. “Social media ironically allows constant communication with people that you’re not physically present with. And then simultaneously serves as an obstacle to building authentic, long-term relationships.”

Though Nadiv, a pediatrician for 18 years, believes problems with sleep, obesity and mental illness (mainly anxiety and depression) stem from excessive use of screen time and social media, it’s hard to determine they are the exact cause.

For now, the problem lies mostly in observation. Without a causal link it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly the problem is.

There’s no magic number for the amount of time adults should or should not spend on screens, especially given how much of today’s world is online, from homework to work, shopping, doctors’ appointments, music and even dating.

However, Nadiv points to an outline from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, of six ways to optimize our health: healthy eating, physical activity, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, restorative sleep and social connection. And while there is no limit per se on how long adults should or should not spend on devices, the problem lies when it disrupts a healthy lifestyle.

“Unfortunately, I think screen time interferes with all of these,” Nadiv said. “When the screen interrupts any of this, then it becomes problematic.”

As SF State student FaceTimes her friend while laying on the grass of the quad after a long day of classes.

Ocean Rescue Lifeguard Jacqueline Racich paddles for a wave while fellow lifeguard Sean Scallan goes back out to the line up at China Beach. Scallan and his team work to identify dangerous rip currents and deploy for rescue operations using jet skies, surfboards and swimming fins.

‘When in Doubt, Don’t Go Out’

The San Francisco coastline is notorious for perilous conditions, and this can result in dire consequences for those not adhering to beach safety protocols.

Story by David Blakeley

Photography by Benjamin Fanjoy

Welcome to any San Francisco beach — water too cold for casual swimming, wind gusts strong enough to burn cheeks and currents strong enough to sweep one off their feet. The coastline of San Francisco and its neighboring cities isn’t for the casual beachgoer given how quickly conditions change. If you’ve spent time at the sandy dunes of Ocean Beach or relaxed under the cliffs of Funston Beach, you might have noticed how quickly conditions can change. Wind can pick up dramatically, and in turn, the strength of the tide can increase. Any beachgoer, whether a lifelong surfer or a casual wader, is susceptible to the perils of the sea.

In January, SF State senior Hamzah Alsaudi was out in nearby Pacifica with members of the university’s wrestling team when he was swept out to sea — he has yet to be found.

“When in doubt, don’t go out” is a refrain of many surfers when it comes to facing the surf. Regular surfers come to know about the hazards of the ocean. They typically learn to face rip currents and other ocean-borne perils, from “sneaker waves” to severe water temperatures. However, the average beachgoer may not have this experience, which can lead to tragic consequences.

According to 2023 data published by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, drowning continues to be the highest

cause of accidental death in state parks. Additionally, approximately 50% of the nation’s population are non-swimmers, meaning they cannot swim or lack basic swimming skills.

Ocean Beach is home to three miles of vast coastline, with tides going in and out under the Golden Gate Bridge four times a day, according to Sean Scallan, a lifeguard at the beach.

“We have all of the bay water pouring out of the narrow opening by the Golden Gate Bridge,” Scallan said. “This creates a lot of current up and down, especially on high snow and rainfall years like this year.” The current goes around the corner by the Cliff House Restaurant and travels south in an outgoing tide. “The water comes pouring out under the Golden Gate like a giant river, creating stronger currents,” Scallan said. “This water is also at colder temperatures because of all the snow melt from this year.”

Ocean Beach did not have lifeguards in place until 1998, when there were seven drownings that year alone.

“This was the most dangerous beach in the whole nation, which includes Hawaii and Alaska,” Scallan said. “Seven drownings here, which makes up for 10% of all ocean drownings in California.”

Spring is the worst season at Ocean Beach because of the windy conditions that form rip currents, according to Scallan. A rip current is defined as “a powerful, channeled current of water

A group of Ocean Rescue Lifeguards stand by their truck and speak with surfers at Ocean Beach.

flowing away from shore,” according to the National Park Service. Additionally, Ocean Beach sees more visitors during this time, due in part to spring break and schools getting out for summer.

“You got people coming out here in droves, and they want to get in the water but the rip currents are bad,” Scallan said. “The rip currents are more defined, active and stronger in the spring, and they pull faster outward.” Scallan often sees beachgoers get caught in riptides and quickly moves in to rescue them.

Grant Washburn, an instructor at Big Wave Risk Assessment Group (BWRAG) and a Mavericks surfing legend and filmmaker, has spent decades surfing and studying big waves.

“Besides rip currents, major hazards on our coast are the ‘sneaker sets,’ the strong currents and the low water temperature,” Washburn said. “Sneaker sets” and “sneaker waves” are unusually large waves that are taller, stronger and move farther up the shore to levels way beyond the reach of normal waves. “It may seem surprising, but many of the rescues and drownings occur on calmer days that are nice and warm,” Washburn said.

A common scenario Washburn sees is a beachgoer looking at a deceptively inviting day on the beach, getting caught by a surge of powerful waves and being swept out into deeper water.

“Even a strong swimmer will be in trouble in a few minutes due to the water temperature,” Washburn said. “A good wetsuit is critical here, and without one, you need to be extremely careful. There is little time to act.”

Washburn was part of a UC Berkeley study where a small group of researchers wore GPS trackers and jumped into a deadly rip current at Ocean Beach.

“Rip currents behave like mushroom clouds growing off of the beach, with the strongest flow in the center of the stem,” Washburn said. “But like pouring cream in coffee, there are variables in the turbulence.” According to Washburn, if you throw several people into the center of this current, some will get moved aside or caught in an eddy and spun back. “Only a few will get pushed the most, and sucked away the fastest,” he explained. “If you are in such a spot, swimming in will not work. You go backwards.” The strategy to utilize is to assess your position in the current and go to one side. “Exhausting yourself on a treadmill is bad.”

When you see someone in a rip current, it is most important to keep watching the victim and to get attention, as well as direct it, according to Washburn. “Wave like crazy with both arms overhead and when someone sees you, point one arm straight at the target,” Washburn said. “Keep waving the other hand for help to arrive.”

It is extremely important to be aware of the currents before entering the water, and all beachgoers should consult a lifeguard about this beforehand, if possible. “Disturbed, cloudy water is a sign of a current, but rip currents can be almost invisible,” Washburn said. “Often they are next to breaking waves but may have no waves in them, so they look like a good spot to swim.”

Using your best judgment on whether it is safe to enter the water is a practice vital to the average beachgoer

and big wave surfers alike. Zach Diionno, managing director of BWRAG, is a major proponent of this practice. “When you defy what your natural inclination is, in Hawaiian, we call it the ‘na’au,’” Diionno said. One of the main goals of BWRAG is to make sure all the surfers they work with, whether highly advanced or novice riders, are properly trained to surf safely and confidently. “If you go out there not feeling confident, that’s when something bad happens,” Diionno said. “When you’re feeling unsettled and unsure, it increases the chances of an injury or something worse.”

Due to San Francisco’s location on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, it receives swells from both the north and the south, according to Washburn. This can result in the city’s beaches being frequently swept by long-period waves, which are not typically taller than the average wave but do harness more energy. “These are the 'sneaker waves' that drive strong currents,” Washburn said. “A storm three thousand miles away, that rages and then dies this week, can send a wave that might swamp a boat here next Friday.” Typically, these swells are not obvious because of their long lulls that make the surf appear calm, Washburn said. “Few coastlines have this exposure,” he said.

At San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, there are a total of three lifeguard patrol vehicles that work the area from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Scallan moves up and down Ocean Beach’s coastline for 10 hours a day, keeping a watchful eye on beachgoers and the current. Scallan uses a pair of Bushnell binoculars and refers to this process as “glassing.” “Unless you have a wetsuit and a pair of flipper fins on your feet, you should only go knee-deep in the water,” Scallan said. “The wetsuit keeps you warm and afloat, and the fins can get you swimming through the currents.” Swimmers and surfers that wear these are not particularly worrisome to Scallan, as they are typically well-versed in ocean safety. “We’re really looking for casual people entering the water past their knees,” Scallan said. “And we whistle and safely get them out of the water to educate them

on where rip currents and sandbars are. We show them where it’s safer.”

Pacifica’s coastline does not have lifeguards in place but does have a truck patrol at Pacifica State Beach, Scallan said. “Responding from far away in the truck, it’s kind of too far,” Scallan said. “It’s too late already.” Pacifica State Beach is referred to as “The Undertow” because of how quickly it gets deep. “You walk 30 feet from shore and you’re not even standing up at that beach,” Scallan said. “It’s really dangerous, and there should be more lifeguards down at that park and the whole area.”

Scallan laid out the process his lifeguard team utilizes when rescuing someone. “We put it on our radio where we’re at, where we’re going and send for backup,” Scallan said. These lifeguards utilize two different radios: the first is used to communicate with each other in their three trucks, and the second is used to contact the National Park Service dispatch, according to Scallan. These lifeguards also utilize a radio where the fire department’s 911 calls originate. “[The fire department] gets the call first and then it comes over to us through our park radio or we’ll hear it on the fire radio,” Scallan said. “We’ll tell the fire department to send for backup because we have firehouses out here in the city that are surf-certified.”

San Francisco resident and frequent beachgoer Brianne Jones is aware that the danger of the city’s beaches can extend beyond the sand. “Lots of the cliffs around Point Reyes Beach are very shaky,” Jones said. “I’ve stepped on really unstable parts of the cliff and there is a serious danger of people falling off because the cliffs could crumble under them.” Jones also recalled an instance where rocks fell from cliffs above – she stressed the importance of not standing or laying out directly under the edges.

San Francisco resident and surfer Michael Sweeney grew up surfing in Pacifica and San Francisco. “I’ve had a couple close calls over the years,” Sweeney said. “It’s crazy how strong the currents can be, and super scary how they can hold you underwater.”

A group of lifeguards deploy a jet ski at Ocean Beach. The team conducted training exercises along Ocean Beach in large ocean swells.

Monumental Sins?

Story

Statues commemorating Junipero Serra continue to be a contentious subject for Bay Area and California communities.

Along one particular stretch of Interstate 280, hundreds of drivers pass by a statue of Junipero Serra — sometimes in pristine condition, other times covered in paint and graffiti marks. Statues from San Diego to San Francisco have been vandalized, defaced and toppled entirely because of the subjects they depict. Serra founded nine of Spanish California’s 21 missions and has been at the forefront of controversy surrounding his role and participation in the mission system, which was responsible for much of the enslavement and genocide of Native Californians.

Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Rafael and San Francisco each had statues of Serra knocked down by protestors. However, even with cries from the public and anti-Serra groups, key questions remain: Whose history do we recognize and whose do we erase? Will removing these statues change anything?

SF State sits on the ancestral territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone, the original caretakers of what is now the San Francisco Peninsula. The Bay Area is also home to the Miwok, Yokuts and Patwin, as well as other Ohlone peoples. The arrival of the Spanish and their missions marked a cataclysmic change that saw nearly a third of the Native Californian population decimated by disease alone.

Salvatore Cordileone, appointed as Archbishop of San Francisco in 2012, defended Serra. In an article by the San Francisco Archdiocese, published Sept. 12, 2021, the Archbishop said there have been no serious, concrete claims by any historian that Serra or the mission system committed acts of genocide, enslavement, mutilation or assault. Assembly Bill 338, though, says otherwise.

“One of the greatest gaps between history and reality has been the retelling of the mission period in Native American history and the role of Franciscan friar Junipero Serra,” Bill 338 states.

Bill 338 passed and became law on Sept. 24, 2021. The bill “...would authorize tribal nations in the Sacramento, California, region, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to plan, construct, and maintain a monument to the California Native people of the Sacramento, California, region on the grounds of the State Capitol.”

Historical accounts claimed that the mission’s purpose was to “save the souls” of Indigenous Americans, and if this salvation included physical punishment, so be it. However, other texts claim Serra protected Native Californians from mistreatment by Spanish soldiers who committed acts of violence against Natives. Serra allegedly condemned the acts, and even pleaded his case to the viceroy Antonio Maria de Bucareli, Viceroy of New Spain. Serra’s requests for punishment of the assailants were granted, and native populations supposedly enjoyed the same human rights as Spaniards.

However, many believe this to be another example of the Catholic Church’s attempts to shape their image to appear “merciful” as they committed atrocities against native populations. In “Serra-Gate: The Fabrication of a Saint,” Christine Grabowski

states that in letters between Bucareli, Serra and Fages (a military commander), there is no mention of any protection afforded to Native Californians.

“Serra did not suggest any change that would accord the Indians greater independence or control over their lives,” Grabowski states. “He neither suggested nor was granted ‘rights’ for Indians. What he was granted was exclusive control over the baptized Indians except with respect to capital offenses.”

Serra, who was a Spanish, Roman-Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order, was born in the village of Petra on the island of Mallorca. He made his way to California with the intent of converting Native Americans and spreading the word of God to those without it.

“Close to 1,000 deaths and burials of the converted Indians are recorded in relation to the Sonoma Mission,” said Patricia Cullinan, president of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society. The “Christian” names of nearly 900 Native people, including more than 200 children who died at the Sonoma Mission between 1824 and 1839, can be found on a memorial outside of the mission.

Paul Steward is a tribal member of the Elem

Indian Colony of Pomo Indians of the Sulphur Bank Rancheria near Clearlake Oaks in Nothern California. He was raised on the reservation until he was 10.

“Some Catholics and Christians uphold [Serra’s] fame for what they think was good work by expanding the Catholic Church and faith into North America,” Steward said.

However, according to Steward, there is evidence that men, women, children and elders were abused for any disagreement or resistance to the Catholic faith.

“His symbolism represents death and destruction to many California Native people,” said Paul Steward, a professor of the American Indian Studies Department at SF State.

California Native people are then confronted by statues that represent a painful past.

“For a statue to be erected by a government branch, in a public space, seems insensitive and unlawful,” Steward added.

Indigenous peoples across the country have endured genocide, relocation and forcedevangelization. Now centuries later, some Americans may still be reminded of that brutality every time they drive down I-280 — “Junipero Serra Freeway.”

A graffitied statue of Junipero Serra is seen off of Highway 280.

by Kamal Taj Photography by Christopher Myers

“I don’t like seeing him honored… he preached that my traditional Pomo tribal faith and spirituality were wrong and sinful,” Steward said, “The missions and their soldiers caused the death of so many of my ancestors through abuse, rape, disease, malnourishment, ethnocentricism and colonization.”

Melissa Guzman, an associate professor of Latina/o Studies at SF State with focus on racialization and how social structures shape us, feels a connection with SpanishCalifornian history.

In her Intro to Latino Studies class, she talks about recent struggles to remove monuments across the country. She feels it’s important to offer students a way of realizing whose history is recognized and represented.

Guzman, who grew up in Mexico City and was raised in Michigan, realizes that she didn’t have the typical “California Mission” history that many native Californian students have growing up. But Guzman recognizes that Mission history is “such an integral part of Latino students' lives, especially here in California.”

Her own experiences while earning her Ph.D in Sociology at UC Santa Barbara played a part in her view of the Spanish influence throughout the state.

“I remember taking my family to Mission Santa Barbara,” Guzman said. She added, “throughout that process, I never got the sense that there was any counter-history being told about the Chumash people that were being evangelized by that particular mission. There was no mention at all.”

Guzman points out that when we present these politically neutral perspectives on historical incidents that were far from neutral, we perpetuate the narrative that “venerates and celebrates the Catholic church for bringing Christianity to the ‘heathens.’” Guzman feels that we do ourselves and those affected an injustice by not explaining different sides and showcasing the fact that missions exploited Native peoples and subjected them to forced evangelization.

Morning Star Gali, a member of the Pit River Tribe, located in Northeastern California, serves as Project Director for Restoring Justice for Indigenous People (RJIP).

Gali was born in 1979 to “very young, radical parents.” Her father recognized that much had been stripped away from Indigenous

Peoples through legislation and made efforts in the late 1960s to fight for justice for their community.

“We weren’t able to practice our ceremonies and we weren’t allowed to practice our religion,” said Gali.

Looking towards the future, Gali came to the understanding that “if we wanted our future generations to continue and for our children to know who they are as Indian Peoples, then that is something that we had to fight for.”

Gali notes that the toppling of the Serra statue in front of the Capitol in Sacramento in the summer of 2020 marked a turning point and a shift in narrative.

“Telling the truth of history, telling the truth of what actually occurred to California Indigenous People is where it starts,” Gali said.

In 2015, Pope Francis I canonized Serra as a saint.

“That was not his role to California Indigenous People,” Gali said. “That should not be the legacy that we continue to teach our children…this false narrative of who he was as this ‘savior’ of California Indian peoples that the Catholic church continues to push.”

Through organized community movements and legislature, Gali helped in the “de-Serra-ing” of Sacramento and was directly involved with the removal of the statue in front of the Capitol building.

“We provided the space for California Indian tribal members to come up and share their stories and share the harm and hurt that they’ve experienced and the lies that've been told under this umbrella of colonization," Gali said. “It was very healing.”

Gali stresses that her efforts ultimately work towards promoting the “visibility” of the California Indigenous Peoples.

“Shifting that narrative and telling the truth of who we still are currently…there’s no acknowledgement of the people who still currently are very much here, still very much defending our way of life, for us to be able to live and hunt and fish on our land in the way we have for thousands of years,” Gali said.

Guzman said that it doesn’t matter whether these statues remain or get removed — what matters are the lessons learned from them and the policies enacted because of humanity's response to them — so that the actions of the past aren’t repeated.

Monuments may seem innocent, but can stand as a sign of separation of peoples rather than unification.

“We shouldn’t erase, we should remember,” Guzman said. “Remove the statue. OK, so we end racism right? No. It’s not that, it’s telling the truth, it's the process of coming to terms with that history.”

A statue of Junipero Serra stands at Misión San Francisco de Asís.