Spring 2019 Issue 7

THE STUDENT VOICE OF SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1927 — STORY ON PAGE 5 —

Annual women’s conference bonds community and encourages body positivity

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

BUDGET

ADMINISTRATORS OPT TO REPURPOSE FUNDS DESPITE LAW JULIE PARKER jparker1@mail.sfsu.edu

SHAYLYN MARTOS/Golden Gate Xpress Africana studies and communication major Asari Aibangbee asks keynote speaker Ericka Hart whether they believe “skinny-shaming,” or discrimination against thin bodies as opposed to “fat-shaming,” is an issue within society, March 9, 2019.

SF State administrators opted to divert money the state legislature earmarked last year for increasing tenure-track faculty density to instead bump up course offerings, despite concerns raised by the California Faculty Association that the University is breaking the law.

Legislators designated $25 million to bolster tenure-track faculty density out of $75 million allocated to CSU for Graduation Initiative 2025 in the 2018-19 state budget.

But SF State Provost Jennifer Summit said the University is within its rights to redirect the money toward other goals and hiring procedures make it impossible for SF State to use its portion of the pie for new hires.

Tenure-track faculty contribute to the academic community in ways lecturers don’t. Their jobs include curriculum development, advising, research in their fields, involvement in committees and shared governance of the University. But through attrition, tenure-track faculty density has fallen to varying degrees throughout the CSU system.

“We have a lot of retirements and people who are on a tenure-track that leave before they’re tenured, so there’s been an erosion of tenure density,” CFA Field Representative Maureen Loughran said. “This money was specifically to try and buck that trend, turn the ship around, have more tenured and tenure-track faculty.”

The Chancellor’s Office distributed the $25 million among the 23 CSU’s at the beginning of October last year based on current tenure-track faculty density at each institution.

SF State has a density of 62 percent according to the Chancellor’s Office, and

was apportioned $690,000 to hire five new tenure-track faculty members in addition to its typical yearly hires. Schools with lower densities like UCLA, CSU Dominguez Hills and Channel Islands, which are all well under 50 percent, received $1,520,000 to fill an additional 11 tenure-track positions each.

Summit said SF State has put off hiring until next year because the funds are ongoing. Instead she’s put a priority on enhancing class offerings with the 2018-19 funds in an effort to increase graduation rates.

“We got the money in the middle of this year, so what we’re doing in the meantime is directing it towards more classes this year during the summer than we’ve done before, and we’re also directing it to high-demand classes in the next academic calendar,” Summit said. “That’s while we’re in the process of hiring our new tenure-track faculty.”

Neither Xpress nor CFA representatives were able to get details from the provost on which additional classes the money would pay for and at what cost, but CFA Chapter President James Martel said the union has considered hiring an accountant to perform an audit on the University’s spending to determine where exactly the funds are going.

“New faculty that were hired for this fall didn’t get their first paycheck and were not even covered by benefits until Oct. 1, so it was not the middle of the school year, it was the very beginning of the school year,” Loughran said. “Every other campus in the CSU got the money at the same time and figured out a way to hire more tenure-track faculty with the money they got—except for San Francisco State.”

See TENURE >> PAGE 3

TEACH-IN

Panel discusses educational agreement, Oakland strike SAHAR SWALEH sswaleh@mail.sfsu.edu

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA/Golden Gate Xpress (Left to right) California Teachers Association staff organizer Guillermo “Memo” Durgin, SF public school teacher Frank Lara, Oakland public school teacher Chastity Garcia, and SEIU union organizer Letizia Zamudio speak during the Teach-In panel in the Science Building on Thursday, March 7.

Inspired by the recent victory of the Oakland teacher strike, students, teachers and community members attended a teachin about the role of unions on Thursday.

Hosted by SF State’s Graduate College of Education, the packed meeting in the Science Building served to explain why teacher strikes are occurring around the country and why it’s important to continue the fight for public education. The speakers included union members from the Califor-

nia Faculty Association, Oakland Education Association and United Educators of San Francisco.

“We are now experiencing the most momentous moment in the long history of public education,” elementary education department Chairperson Josephine Arce said.

“Teachers across the country are organizing, not just for salaries but to save public education.”

Some of the panelists took part in the seven-day Oakland teacher strike, which resulted in a tentative agreement between the union

See STRIKE >> PAGE 3

2 OPINON

Xprëßß Gøldëñ Gåtë

EDITORIAL BOARD VOL. 109, ISSUE 7 Lorenzo Morotti Editor-in-Chief lmorotti@mail.sfsu.edu Monserrath Arreola Managing Editor marreola@mail.sfsu.edu Julie Parker Campus News Editor jparker1@mail.sfsu.edu Paul Eichenholtz City News Editor peichenh@mail.sfsu.edu Alexis Manzanilla Lifestyle & Culture Editor amanzanilla@mail.sfsu.edu Jailene Escutia Opinion Editor

jescutiachavez@mail.sfsu.edu

Lola Chase James Chan Photo Editors lchase1@mail.sfsu.edu jchan2@mail.sfsu.edu Devon Haripal Ildar Sabirov Sports Editors dharipal@mail.sfsu.edu isabirov@mail.sfsu.edu Cody McFarland Copy Editor cmcfarla@mail.sfsu.edu Chelsey Schallig Assistant Copy Editor cschallig@mail.sfsu.edu Christian Urrutia Art Director curruti1@mail.sfsu.edu Brian Vu Multimedia Editor bvu2@mail.sfsu.edu Tahnia Ortega Social Media Editor tortegag@mail.sfsu.edu

XPRESS ADVISERS Jesse Garnier Print Adviser jgarnier@sfsu.edu Kim Komenich Photo Adviser komenich@sfsu.edu

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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

STAFF EDITORIAL

Tenure-track faculty are worth funding

yourself Do you believe the University handles Title IX complaints in an effective manner?

Administrators value graduation rates more than the quality of the academic community In a bid to pad metrics that work with the state legislature justify their six-figure salaries, SF budget committee to rejuvenate the State administrators have repurcampus populations of these vital posed funds meant to improve the community-members. well-being of the campus comSummit says the University plans munity to instead increase class It’s important to under- to hire the five tenure track profesofferings on a short-term basis in by the time they’re required stand that tenure-track sors an effort to boost graduation rates. to report back to the legislature in faculty contribute to Nov. 2020, but the increase of class The state legislature granted CSU $25 milion of ongoing funds the academic commu- offerings is taking priority over the last year to increase the number of nity in ways lecturers, money’s intended purpose. tenure-track faculty at the system’s Someone close to the legislature 23 campuses. Lawmakers viewed who are generally part- told Xpress there is no scenario this goal as so vital they dedicatin which SF State can apply these time, can’t.” ed ⅓ of the funds allocated to funds to any function that won’t inCSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025 crease tenure-track faculty density. to hiring 180 new tenure-track Summit thinks the legislature professors, five of which were supposed go to SF won’t require the University to show its work, so State. But administrators in the provost’s office had long as they make the hires before the deadline. other plans.

She also claims that hiring cycles won’t allow SF It’s important to understand that tenure-track facState to begin searching, but the budget language ulty contribute to the academic community in ways actually suggests universities give serious conlecturers, who are generally part-time, can’t. While sideration to offering these positions to lecturers SF State has highly skilled and expert lecturers, already teaching here. they are less involved in their departments and the “I think we’re uniquely non-compliant at SF campus community than instructors. The presence State,” CFA SF State Chapter President James of full-time tenure-track faculty on campus provide Martel. “I know Chico used the money to do five students with additional support, continuity and lecturer conversions and because we have the lecmentorship as they go through their college careers turers here already if we had done that we could and beyond. These professors take on a variety of have had that money today and had these people responsibilities not incumbent upon lecturers. They start in September.” participate in curriculum development, student The Chancellor distributed the money last advising, and research in their fields. They are also October, and Sonoma State announced it would required to maintain involvement in committees be doubling its tenure-track searches from eight and shared governance of the University. to 16 in light of the additional funding. Other Provost Jennifer Summit said SF State is within schools like Sacramento State, San Jose State and the law in using the $690,000 CSU apportioned to CSU Dominguez Hills combined to post nearly the school to hire five new tenure-track faculty, but 150 tenure-track job ads. the legislative language contradicts her claim.

Even though SF State has a higher tenure-track “The legislative budget intent could not be more density compared to other CSU campuses, addclear, this money shall be used for this purpose and ing more classes will not help it reach its goal of this purpose only,” California Faculty Association getting student to graduate more quickly.

Field Representative Maureen Loughran said. “If Instead, let us use the money as it was intended they’re using it for anything else then they’re break— to hire tenured faculty who are more invested ing the law. Plain and simple.” in the advancement of programs, research and Tenure-track density throughout the CSU system curriculum so students have the skills needed to has been declining as professors retire or move succeed in their careers. n on before reaching tenure, which led the CFA to - Golden Gate Xpress Editorial Board

Joaquin Meza, 24 They/Them/Theirs Public Health Graduate Student “This is my first semester at SF State but I don’t think any university handles Title IX complaints in an appropriate manner and I think it stems from systematic issues like hierarchy and school image.”

Vanessa Miller, 21 She/Her/Hers History Major

I’ve heard stories of friends who have reported it and obviously they want you to report these things but I feel like they dont take them as seriously as they should because they don’t want a big thing coming up in the news. They want to keep it on the down low.

Sarah San Juan, 19 She/Her/Hers Undeclared “I think there needs to be more awareness because when I’m just walking down the street people will cat call me and that doesn’t make me feel ok and that’s just looks so who knows what’s going on behind the scenes.”

CORRECTIONS

In the story “Emergency alerts fail to provide clarity amid chaos,” Senior Director of programs for the Clery Center Laura Egan said the Clery Act does not define timely. The term is used in relation to when a university receives its information, and it isn’t unheard of for Clery timely warnings to be issued between 24 and 72 hours after the occurrence of a crime, she said.

Egan said the Clery Act said that if certain information cannot be confirmed until a day or two after an initial report comes in, that might delay issuing a timely warning. Though the Clery Act does not define timely, the Department of Education encourages institutions to issue timely warnings, when necessary, as soon as possible and without undue delay, after information about the nature of the incident and the serious or ongoing threat is confirmed, she said.

A previous version of the story “Town Hall addresses shooting,” mis-attributed the following quote to President of UPN Hall Government Natalie Hartshorne. “When I heard about that last night I was literally shaking [talking] to my mom because it’s not OK and SF State should take account of what did happen and try to make better decisions.” This was said by a different speaker at the townhall meeting. Xpress regrets these errors.

Chukwubueze (Isaac) Anakwenze, 27

He/Him/His Biochemistry “I feel like institutions, bureaucracies, they go out of their way to sweep things under the rug. People don’t like to talk about rape. Realistically, it goes on everywhere.”

CAMILA DIAZ, SHAYLYN MARTOS & JAMES CHAN /Golden Gate Xpress

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

CAMPUS 3

TENURE: California Faculty Association questions using $690,000 to add courses instead of faculty FROM PAGE 1 Legality questioned Martel said creating additional class sections is an admirable goal, and one that is highly beneficial to students, but he’s concerned with the legality of the University’s methods.

“What worries me [about the increased class sections] is that they’re doing it with funny money,” Martel said. “It’s money that doesn’t belong to them, so even if they used it to cure cancer it would still be a problem.”

The allocation of state funds comes with the caveat that CSU is required to report back to the legislature in Nov. 2020 and every two years thereafter to prove that they’ve spent the money as the legislature intended.

Summit, however, is confident that as long as SF State can show that it made the five hires by the reporting deadline, the University is within the letter of the law.

She also told Martel in an email obtained

by Xpress that the decision to divert the funds was made with the Chancellor’s Office’s blessing.

Director of Public Affairs for the Chancellor’s Office Toni Molle told Xpress in an email that someone from the Chancellor’s Office may have had a separate conversation with SF State’s Provost Office approving the diversion of tenure-track hiring funds, but she couldn’t confirm what if any specific guidance might have been given to the University.

“The CSU does expect to expend the funding as prescribed in the 2018-19 budget bill to increase the number of tenure-track faculty across the system,” Molle said. “Utilizing the funding [to increase class availability] falls within the general guidelines as outlined in the budget allocation memo distributed to the campuses [by the Chancellor’s Office]. Each campus has the discretion to use funds in support of its specific Graduation Initiative goals.”

Xpress obtained a copy of the Oct. 3 memo, which delineates the allocation of the $75 million from the state budget to CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025. It says the Chancellor would distribute the money among the system’s 23 universities three different ways, two of which would be directed toward goals like increasing graduation and retention rates. The third category, which is the $25 million in question, was specifically designated for increasing

tenure-track faculty funds were divert“Every other campus in the ed for other purdensity.

“The Office of the CSU got the money at the poses, including Chancellor expects increasing class that the $25 million same time and figured out a offerings. investment will result way to hire more tenure-track Legislative aide in at least 180 new Maina, who faculty with the money they Eva tenure-track faculty works for State hires systemwide,” the got—except for San Francisco Assemblymember Chancellor’s memo Kevin McCarty, State.” read. the chair of the -Maureen Loughran, California Faculty Association The budget’s Budget Subcomfield representative language is just as mittee on Educaexplicit and Loughran tion Finance, said was emphatic in her assertion that funnelthe legislature will hold an April 2 budget ing any portion of the $25 million toward hearing on this issue. projects that don’t increase tenure-track “Some of the concerns about the funds faculty density is illegal. being diverted will be covered during the “The legislative budget intent could not hearing,” Maina said. “We are also looking be more clear, this money shall be used into the concerns regarding the CSU and for this purpose and this purpose only,” their use of funds.”

Loughran said. “If they’re using it for CFA Legislative Director Mario Guerreanything else then they’re breaking the law. ro, who worked with the legislature’s budget Plain and simple.” committee to get the tenure-track hiring funds, also noted that the state budget’s lanDiffering interpretations guage is clear and it contradicts Summit’s interpretation.

Provost Summit said because the Univer“The $25 million is new, ongoing dollars sity has until November 2020 to prove they that was specifically allocated for this hired the five tenure-track professors, in purpose,” Guerrero said. “Whatever money the meantime, as Molle asserted, they can they don’t spend [on hiring] this year they distribute the funds at their discretion. [need to] just roll it over and spend it next Part of the reporting requirement is that year on staff.” they must offer the legislature evidence The provost provided another reason that they used the money to increase for delayed hiring. She said the University tenure-track density. The budget language can only hire at certain times of the year provides a list of documentation they can and the president and deans only look at present to illustrate this, including providproposals for new tenure-track faculty in ing the number of new tenure-track faculty, late spring and early summer. the amount of money spent on hiring new “Academic searches always take place tenure-track faculty and the number of on a calendar cycle,” Summit said. “The lecturers promoted to tenure-track. Also on departments put in requests for new faculty this list is the number of classes added. right around spring semester [and] those Reporting the number of classes added are approved by me and the president after refers to evidence the university can proconsulting with our data team and each of vide the legislature to show it added more the deans. Then the process for searching tenure-track faculty—i.e. more professors for new faculty takes about a year.” would create more availability of classGuerrero said even if there were schedes—but Summit said she interpreted this uling issues based on when the funds were language as an indication that the Universi- initially allocated, it wouldn’t mean that the ty is permitted to spend tenure-track hiring University could just spend the dedicated funds on increasing class offerings unrelated funds on something else. He said the funds to hiring. would have to roll over to the following Someone close to the state legislature year in that case. who spoke on condition of anonymity “Say they got money to hire 15 tentold Xpress unequivocally that California ure-track faculty and they were able to hire lawmakers’ intent for the funds was very 10,” Guerrero said. “Then if anyone asks narrow and the money was strictly desigthem they should say, ‘You know, we have nated for hiring tenure-track faculty. He money to hire 15, but because of hiring said legislators would not be happy if these schedules and other policies or issues we

were only able to hire 10 this year, so next year we will hire the remaining five.”

‘Pressing need’ Other universities seemed impervious to the hiring calendar cycle Summit described, though, and wasted no time beginning their searches.

“Sonoma State in July was doing eight tenure-track hires for this year, which is low, and then in October they got the additional money from the Chancellor’s Office and they said, ‘Now we’re doing 16 new tenure-track hires,’” CFA Field Representative Maureen Loughran said. “They doubled the number of tenure-track searches in October and they’re still putting the advertisements out.”

On the popular academia job search sites CSU Careers and the Chronicle of Higher Education, CSU Dominguez Hills placed 30 ads for tenure-track faculty since Oct. 1, Sacramento State placed 74 and San Jose State placed 38. Meanwhile, SF State placed just nine ads for tenure-track faculty in that period.

And though Summit said she and the University president need to wait for requests from deans and department chairs to find out which disciplines need new tenure-track faculty, CFA Chapter President James Martel, who previously served as the political science department chair for nine years, said departments across the University are always vying for new faculty.

“There’s always way more [denied] tenure-track search requests than are granted, so there’s a massive backlog,” Martel said.

“I think it would be pretty easy to just go to departments that were turned down and go, ‘Actually you can have your search after all,’ and people would be delighted.

“There’s such a pressing need for tenure-track faculty in so many departments that it’s just a crisis,” he added. “Putting it off a year is really unfortunate when there’s this pent-up demand.”

But Martel’s biggest concern is what this potential misuse of funds could mean for SF State’s relationship with the legislature.

“I’m really worried that the way they’re doing this at San Francisco State will be read as noncompliant by the state legislature since the money was not earmarked for anything but tenure-track hires,” he said.

“Using it for other purposes makes me concerned that in the future when the state legislature is asked for more money, they’re just not gonna give it to us.” n

STRIKE: Professors, union members, educators explains why teacher strikes are saving public education FROM PAGE 1 and the school district to raise teacher salaries by 11 percent, decrease class sizes and provide more student support roles.The panelists agreed that the deal was a step in the right direction and was the beginning of a new change.

“Oakland is fighting for the very survival of public education,” OEA bargaining Chairperson Dennis Nelson said. “It’s time to rehumanize the classroom and direct funding where education must take place— in student-centered, teacher-mediated environments.”

More than 3,000 Oakland educators went on strike Feb. 21, with the support of over 30,000 students and parents.

“We basically shut down the entire Oakland Unified School District,” said Guillermo “Memo” Durgin, California Teachers Association staff organizer. “People’s expectations have been raised, they won’t

let things gradually go back to the administration [misappropriating funds].”

The Oakland teacher strike came after two years of fighting against the privatization of public schools led by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. One of the reasons teachers won the strike was due to the fact that 95 percent of faculty and 97 percent of students and parents supported them, according to Nelson.

While some teachers praised the tentative agreement as a victory, others felt conflicted about the results.

“There is definitely controversy on [the agreement],” Oakland High School art teacher Vanessa Guerrero said. “I had to walk into my classroom and talk to students that were irate.”

Students told Guerrero they were unhappy with the agreement and felt as if they had been sold out.

“They said because of my raise that they don’t have the guidance counselors and

nurses they need,” Guerrero told the crowd.

The increase in salary pay did raise the question as to where the money was coming from.

“It is not true that teacher raises lead to cuts,” Service Employees International Union organizer Letizia Zamudio said.

Cuts were already occurring in Oakland before the salary raises, according to Oakland school teacher Chastity Garcia.

Many school sports programs were defunded and had to rely on donors, such as the Oakland Raiders.

“They try to use tactics to say that cuts happened because of teachers, but that’s just to create a division,” Garcia said during the meeting.

The union members reached a settlement once they realized they were hitting a peak in their strike. Although they did not get everything they fought for, such as a full 12-percent raise, they gained more than they previously had, according to Nelson.

“We are now experiencing the most momentous moment in the long history of public education.”

-Josephine Arce, Elementary education department chairperson

“It was a very strategic victory,” Nelson said. “We gained organizational strength and power.”

The agreement was just the beginning of the changes the strike fought for, according to Garcia.

Moving forward, the organizations are looking to replace four board members in the next election and to create real changes to improve their situations.

There have been dozens of teacher strikes throughout the country since 2018, including West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona.

n

4 CITY

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

INFOGRAPHIC BY BRIAN VU/Golden Gate Xpress

LAND DEVELOPMENT DIVIDES COMMUNITY NATALIA POURAZAR npourazar@mail.sfsu.edu

The Bayview’s India Basin neighborhood has some residents weighing the benefits of a controversial plan to develop land near toxic waste sites that was approved last October.

Some community members raised concerns after the environmental consultant agency Tetra Tech mishandled soil samples and falsified data for the Hunters Point Shipyard development in 2014. The former naval shipyard has been contaminated with toxic waste and radioactive material since World War II, according to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The Environmental Protection Agency halted the Hunters Point Shipyard development based on the community’s risk of radiation exposure until further investigation could be completed. There are currently over 150 brownfields—former industrial or other commercial sites that may have been contaminated with hazardous waste, according to Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice—in Bayview-Hunters Point.

Leotis Martin, a 58-year-old Bayview resident and Greenaction activist, remembers playing in contaminated dirt from

the former Navy base as a child. He said multiple friends in his community have passed away due to Bayview’s toxic terrain conditions and claims many people in the community are affected with higher rates of cancer and asthma.

“We want to stop people from dying, and from people going to the hospital once a month,” Martin said. “They’re killing us off slowly and at the same time they are pushing us out. They are trying to gentrify the area and make it sound like a good thing.”

Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice works closely with Bayview residents opposed to the land development.

The Bay Area Quality Management District designated the community as a ‘terror community’ in the last 10 years because of its frequent risk of air pollution, according to Greenaction’s director, Bradley Angel.

The Bayview contains eight different toxic waste sites undergoing active cleanups.

It is ranked as one of the most vulnerable communities in the state according to Greenaction.

“We reached out to the [air district] to tell the board of supervisors that there is a big concern about the project and that its own study admits that there is significantly harmful [pollution],” Angel said.

The project’s final environmental impact

report said there would be significantly harmful air pollution, which was the primary concern for Greenaction and Bayview residents.

Jesus Flores, the manager of Archimedes Banya, a Russian bathhouse less than 50 feet from the development, spoke out against the project because of the negative impacts that the air quality and housing will have for the community in a city hall meeting last October.

“Affordable housing will not benefit the community based off the price of a one bedroom set at $4,000. That is not affordable,” Flores said.

The India Basin Neighborhood Association said the development could bring an upgraded transit system, more business opportunities and an approved $4.9 million for environmental cleanup.

Residents in favor of the new development said they don’t have access to a local grocery store, library, restaurants and other amenities.

The development includes plans for a community center, according to IBNA Chairperson Jill Fox. “We are all lacking somewhere to buy food, somewhere to eat out and somewhere to buy coffee,” Fox said. “What we are trying to do as a neighborhood association

is to be the bridge between all these diverse communities where people can learn about what is going on [in their neighborhoods].”

IBNA board member Sean Karlin originally moved out to India Basin in 2005 because he was attracted to the post-industrial landscape of the Bayview. Karlin said construction is inevitable in these situations, and being part of the planning ensures that it is done according to the best interests of the neighborhood.

The IBNA is also concerned that the construction will bring pollution, noise and traffic.

Doris Vincent, an 82-year-old Bayview resident of more than 50 years, said the India Basin neighborhood will benefit positively from this development because it will bring new shops, housing and the “whole nine yards” to revitalize the community.

The nearest grocery store is four miles away and the neighborhood only has one way in and out, which adds to the traffic and pollution in the area, she said.

“Whatever they choose to do in their neighborhood, as long as it is done democratically and the majority rules, I favor [the project],” she said.

Vincent said she hopes the Bayview’s future will meet all the needs of its residents and that it can grow as a family community.

Venezuela conflict carries over to Bay Area LORENZO MOROTTI AND RYAN LEE xpressnewsstaff@gmail.com

Numerous organizations rallied at United Nations Plaza on Saturday before marching down Market Street to protest United States interventionism tactics in Venezuela and other Latin American countries.

Community organizations participating in the rally, like the Third World Resistance, said the White House is supporting a coup to replace elected President Nicolás Maduro with Juan Guaido, the National Assembly of Venezuela president, to gain access to its natural resources.

“We reject U.S. attempts at intervention anywhere in the world,” said Lara Kisawni, a representative

of the Third World Resistance, a nonprofit organization made up of people from different cultures who work to denounce racial injustice and imperialism.

More than 100 protesters carried “Hands Off Venezuela” signs as they marched from UN Plaza, blocking oncoming traffic to the Powell Street BART station.

The Act Now Stop War End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, a nationwide nonprofit, organized the protest against the United States’ role in influencing the economies and politics of countries such as Venezuela, Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Frank Lara, ANSWER member and fifth grade teacher, said the organization started in 2001 in response to the U.S. invasion of

Afghanistan and has spoken out against any form of imperialism since then.

Lara said unlike many mainstream news organizations’ reports, an economic and psychological war is being waged against the people of Venezuela. He said since 1999, transnational oil companies based in the U.S. have lobbied for tariffs and embargoes on the country’s largest export — petroleum.

Carolina Morales said that the price of oil per barrel has decreased exponentially over 10 years.

“The price of a barrel was $120… now it’s under $30 a barrel,” Morales said. “When you have a country that is small and its economy is dependent on oil, [trade tariffs] will exacerbate that

JAMES CHAN/Golden Gate Xpress Demonstrators march across Civic Center Plaza for “Hands Off Venezuela,” a protest on March 9, 2019, against U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

economy.”

Lara said he is concerned that major newsgroups present the issues Venezuela is facing as a result of a failed socialist system and ignores the U.S. influence in crippling their economy.

“But CNN, ABC, the Democratic and Republican parties keep throwing us nonsense that there is a crisis in the country that people don’t know what to do,” he said.

“What we are telling you is that this is a manufactured crisis.”

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CULTURE 5

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

Conference focuses on self-empowerment JANAE RODRIGUEZ jrodriguez19@mail.sfsu.edu

L

aughter filled the room and Beyoncé blasted through the speakers of Jack Adams Hall as women from all walks of life gathered for the eighth annual SF State women’s conference.

The conference, titled “I am Me,” this year took place March 11 at 9 a.m., and it featured giveaways, workshops and guest speakers like activists Ericka Hart and Sonya Renee Taylor.

It hosted by the Associated Students Women’s Center, a campus organization dedicated to empowering, informing and providing a safe space for women. The event educated attendees on issues women face and how they vary among cultures, classes and communities.

Each year, the conference centers on a different issue. Alyssa Ha, student intern for the Women’s Center, came up with this year’s conference theme: body positivity and worthiness. She drew inspiration from today’s social media-obsessed world.

“We wanted it to be relevant to today and so I thought of how everyone is always caring about what they look like on Instagram,” Ha said.

She said she hoped to spread the message of female empowerment and appreciation, through the event rather than female comparisons over social media.

Conference Director Myha Castro, sought to give women tools to both understand and work on their relationships with themselves.

“We want our participants to understand a little more about your body [...] but also to understand you are worthy within yourself,” Castro said. “People have the tools already to do that, but it’s about guiding them in that direction.”

The event featured educational work-

SHAYLYN MARTOS/Golden Gate Xpress Alumna Michelle Moran cries during a workshop on reconnecting with your body against the pressures of society to fit a certain standard at the eighth annual Women’s Center Conferenceon March 9, 2019.

shops on topics like eating disorders, menstruation and being queer, to offer attendees a new perspective on their bodies and the ways social expectations can be damaging.

Bay Area eating disorder recovery center the Lotus Collaborative presented a workshop run by Santa Cruz clinical director Joy Linn. She broke down different ways women are taught to think about their bodies, and how that can lead to eating disorders.

Linn offered tips for intuitive eating like respecting hunger, discovering satisfaction for eating and not aiming for perfection.

Guest speakers at the conference also

Five-person London acting crew highlights Shakespeare AUDREY ESOMONU aesomonu@mail.sfsu.edu

London actors visited SF State to share the timelessness of Shakespeare and teach a new style of acting.

According to their website, Actors From The London Stage is one of the oldest established touring companies specializing in Shakespearean theater. The London-based company was developed by professor Homer Swander of UC Santa Barbara and British actor Patrick Stewart.

The company tours 16 to 20 U.S. universities each year so that the actors can reach American audiences and provide workshops to students and faculty throughout the nation.

In their visit to SF State, AFTLS conducted workshops on movement, theater history

and the method behind AFTLS production. The company also held three performances of “King Lear,” thethe last of which they performed March 9.

The company has just five actors and no director, which is a distinguishing characteristic according to AFTLS actor Richard James-Neale. They also do not use on-set scenery or costumes, and only use a handful of props. Because of this minimalist approach, actors play multiple roles.

In their SF State performance of “King Lear,” five actors played 24 roles.

“We have to be able to fit everything in a suitcase,” AFTLS actor Fred Lancaster said.

Because of this different theater-style, the company had a chance to teach SF State students about quick character transitions

moderated discussions on race and its effects on traditional standards of beauty.

Hart, an activist, sexuality educator and breast cancer survivor, spoke about breaking the conventional molds of beauty and accepting all bodies as beautiful. She also addressed the discrepancy associated with the way society only asks women who are considered less beautiful about body positivity and how they are able to be so brave and confident in their own skin.

“My thoughts on body positivity is that whenever there is a body that is deemed as ugly or disabled or outside of the conventional pretty, then that body is supposed to

and role swapping.

Clint Sides, a theater student at SF State, attended both the play and a workshop and saw the five-person gig as an inspirational challenge.

“It’s kind of a difficult play, even if you study it or learn parts of it, there’s so much going on and so many characters,” Sides said.

“Bringing it in as a five-person play, where each of them can play multiple roles and define who they are by a single prop, worked so well for me.”

One workshop Sides attended emphasized how to transition quickly from one character to the next. Though challenging, Sides found it was possible to execute this style of acting.

“It’s important to be open to trying new things in Shakespeare,” Sides said. “It’s very challenging to address different roles and do them in the way that they are presenting them.”

Kurt Daw, SF State theater professor, appreciates the company’s knowledge of Shakespearean plays and believes there is something for everyone in Shakespeare.

“This is our common heritage, we need time to remind ourselves right now particularly that we have things in common,” Daw said. “I think this is a great show to do that with and a great group to teach us.”

James-Neale believes the

be positive,” Hart said. “But whenever that body is conventionally pretty or skinny or able-bodied, then they don’t have to work through that.”

Hart also noted the systematic destruction of positive body relationships in women of color.

“All bodies are impacted by systems of oppression, especially in a country that’s founded on stolen land and founded on the subjugation of black people,” Hart said.

Taylor, a social-justice activist, performance poet and author of “The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love,” traveled from New Zealand to speak at the conference. She talked about finding self-worthiness without seeking it from others.

According to Taylor, women are often trained to take care of others before they take care of themselves, and this contributes to the lack of self-worthiness. She wishes to take apart that notion and redefine it with radical self-love.

“Radical self-love has you put the oxygen mask on yourself first,” Taylor said.

Attendees appreciated the educational lessons and encouraging aura of the conference. SF State junior Kelly Hernandez said she felt connected to other empowered women and enjoyed learning about her body.

“In the workshops, I was educated about improving my diet and the importance of removing toxic chemicals from my body,” Hernandez said. “I also learned about other women’s health issues and the importance of legislation around these issues.

The Women’s Center did an amazing job at putting this event together. I can’t wait for next year.”

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LOLA CHASE/Golden Gate Xpress AFTLS actors Tricia Kelly (left) and Ffion Jolly (right) perform a stormy scene as Jon Dryden Taylor and Fred Lancaster lift and drop a tarp for effect behind them during a rehearsal for King Lear at SF State Little Theatre on March 9, 2019.

timeless nature of Shakespeare gives AFTLS an easy avenue for teaching students.

“These plays were written over 400 years ago, but we recognize them as being very modern today because humanity is essentially the same,” James-Neale said. “We all have the same flaws, strengths and fears, and those are the things that connect us all as a species and we can all celebrate each other.”

Daw describes how through AFTLS’ interactions with students, he realized the impact of professional instruction on students in improving their theater skills.

Daw said, “I learned how good our students are, how fast they can learn and how much they can observe when they get a chance to work with really great profesn sionals.”

6 CAMPUS

Comm students organize ceremony NATALIA POURAZAR npourazar@mail.sfsu.edu

The Communication Studies Student Association announced that after an extensive effort the communications department will hold its first dedicated graduation ceremony since 2013.

The CSSA is a student organization that was established in November with support of the communication studies department internship director, Paloma Mathern.

“I’m really impressed,” Mathern said.

“This is the first time that there is a student club organizing this event and it’s been really great to see how people have been coming together and figuring out how to work on this project.”

The five founding members, who each currently hold a title position within the group, are seeking members, organizing and fundraising for the graduation ceremony.

Angelek Abarca, CSSA president, said she is concerned the department did not have enough funding to host a ceremony before the club was formed.

Abarca said the only way the graduation was going to happen was if students put in the work, but that it was a challenge to coordinate.

“Honestly, I have had my hands wrapped around my head with all the stress that I have been going through,” she said. “I had to quit one of my jobs because there is so much to do for the students in such little time. There’s only five of us trying to plan a graduation for over 1,000 attendees.”

The club and other volunteers are working closely with one another to host fundraising events for the communications ceremony. A Dec. 12 fundraiser at a Daly City Buffalo Wild Wings raised $300. “[The CSSA graduation] celebration is going to be the one that’s actually exciting because we are going to hear our names get recognized and get to walk across the stage in front of our families,” graduating senior Keenan Lewis said.

“I’m more excited for it because it’s a little bit more intimate with just the [communications] department.”

Abarca expects 300 graduating communications majors, and each student who wants to participate will pay a fee of $25, which will get them three tickets for guests.

“Three tickets is not enough at all,” graduating senior Jesus Flores said.

“My family alone is a family of six. Am I supposed to pick and choose between three people? Three tickets is a joke.”

If possible, the group said it will sell more tickets on a first-come, firstserved basis.

Abarca said one of the most difficult challenges the CSSA faced was informing the student body. She designed a website as a form of outreach so students could access information and purchase tickets to the graduation, which will be held May 27 at the historic Castro Theater from noon to 5 p.m.

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD ASSISTANT ARRESTED GEOFFREY SCOTT gscott@mail.sfsu.edu

San Jose Police arrested SF State women’s assistant track and field coach Chioke Robinson on campus Thursday, Feb. 21, for the alleged sexual assault of four minors over a 12-year period.

The San Jose Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force / Child Exploitation Detail charged Robinson with multiple felonies, including oral copulation with a minor, sexual penetration with a minor and lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14.

Robinson formerly worked as a high school track coach at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose and Los Gatos High School and as a club team coach in San Jose during the time he was accused of these offenses, according to Officer Gina Tepoorten of SJPD. San Jose ICAC detectives have been investigating multiple reports by victims since January, who allege that Robinson sexually assaulted athletes between the years 1999 and 2011. No students from SF State have come forward with allegations, according to Tepoorten.

“We are very concerned that there are more claims out there,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Anne Seery said.

“We expect to hear more accusations going forward.”

Robinson was employed at SF State as a coaching specialist from 2016 to 2018 and has been a coaching assistant since September 2018.

The University Police Department at SF State is assisting with the ongoing investigation, according to a statement from the University.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that receives federal funding like the California State

University system. Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment and assault.

Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Luoluo Hong serves as SF State’s Title IX coordinator and department of human resources administrator. Hong is tasked with all complaints of sexual harassment on campus.

“In the spirit of the #MeToo movement, we recognize that when reports come out involving the arrest of an alleged sexual misconduct offender, this may have a triggering effect, as well as serve as a catalyst for others to come forward regarding their own prior experiences,” Hong said.

There are currently four deputy Title IX coordinator positions from departments across the University, including one specifically for athletics. However, the deputy coordinator position for athletics remains vacant, according to the Title IX website.

SF State deputy Title IX coordinators report to Hong and assist with compliance, provide campus-wide leadership on prevention efforts and provide guidance, support and assistance to alleged victims of sexual violence and discrimination.

“Due to a leadership transition, the deputy Title IX coordinator for athletics just got newly appointed and is in the process of being trained,” Hong said. “However, even that person cannot handle complaints directly—they still must refer them to Equity Programs and Compliance (EPC).”

SF State’s athletic deputy Title IX coordinator position is manned by the standing athletic director, most recently Stephanie Shrieve Hawkins, who was hired in May 2018, according to Hong.

With Hawkins still “in-training,” there has not been a functioning athletics deputy Title IX coordinator since former athletics director Charles Guthrie left SF State last year.

“While the University is required to designate a Title IX coordinator, it is not

required to necessarily designate a deputy Title IX coordinator specifically for athletics,” Hong said.

“We have Chioke Robinson (San decided to Jose Police Department) do that to increase the number of points of contact available to students.”

Every complaint that falls under Title IX must come to the EPC Office, even if they involve athletics, Hong said.

Senior Associate Director of Athletics Brandon Davis said that the athletic department is unable to comment because the case is pending, but confirmed that Robinson is on leave from the University.

Robinson is being held at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas on $605,000 bail. His most recent court appearance was Monday.

Students have three primary ways to submit a complaint of sexual harassment. They can submit the complaint via an online reporting form, stop by Student Services Building Suite 403 and ask to speak to a deputy Title IX coordinator from EPC or schedule an appointment.

Hong said each complaint is unique and varies in complexity and context, so resolution or investigation timelines vary depending on the case.

Students who are in need of emotional or psychological support can contact Counseling & Psychological Services. Office hours are 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday in SSB Room 205. Call 415-338-2208 for appointments.

FIREFIGHTERS EXTINGUISH BLAZE MINUTES FROM CAMPUS Firefighters hose down a burning building at 88 Crestwood drive in Daly City close to SF State on Tuesday, March 5th, 2019. Four appartment units were affected but residents were all evacuated.

TRISTEN ROWEAN/Golden Gate Xpress

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

SPORTS 7

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

JAMES CHAN/Golden Gate Xpress Track and field member Alexis Henry runs during practice on the track at Cox Stadium on Monday, March, 11, 2019. After placing 10th as a program at the 2018-19 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, the women’s track and field team gets back to work two days later.

MENTALITY INVIGORATES SKILL Track and field star Alexis Henry shifts mindset, heightens focus to win national title for Gators MASON BISSADA mbissada@mail.sfsu.edu

I

n 2018, track and field athlete Alexis Henry was named a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Outdoor All-American for the 4x100 relay and an All-CCAA athlete for the 4x400-meter race.

Her journey to get to where she is now has been one of self-reflection and focus.

Alexis Henry was always talented. It was in her blood, as her father, Lowell Henry, was distinguished as an NCAA Division II All-American runner for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1971.

Even with her track success, basketball was her first love.

Track and field was something she did simply because she had a knack for it.

“I didn’t get really involved in track until last year,” she said. “I was really just running to run because I was fast and I was able to.”

Her talent quickly propelled her into greatness.

“The thing about really talented people is that they tend to try to let their talent take them places that their work won’t,” said her father.

Alexis Henry was a four-time MVP and four-time Pioneer League Champion in the 100 and 200 at South High School in Torrance, California, where she owns the school record in the 100, 200, 400 and 4x100. She then went on to become a twotime MVP and Scholar Athlete

The thing about really talented people is that they tend to try to let their talent take them places that their work won’t.

- Lowell Henry, Father of Alexis

at her junior college, West Los Angeles College. But even with all of these accomplishments, the track star admits she wasn’t mentally prepared for the jump in competition that Division II athletics brings.

“It woke me up,” she said of the transition to SF State.

“Comparing junior college to an actual four-year [...] I was in for a rude awakening. It was so much harder. It was more mental than anything. Junior college, it’s very easy, four days a week, you can skip days if you want to.”

SF State became a catalyst for the shift in her mentality.

“Out here, it’s every day, it’s intervals after intervals. It’s mentally taxing, so you kind of have to live up to what’s expected of you. I never had to really push or give my complete effort because it was something I was scared to do. Once I got here, I really developed and understood what I was doing. I learned how to really run.”

Alexis Henry was forced to take a step back and reevaluate her mindset. She could no longer succeed off of talent alone.

“It was more mental,” said

Alexis Henry of what she chose to focus on upon entering SF State. “I knew the form part: knees up, run with your hips up.

But here [...] you’re running with Division II athletes, you [also] get to run against Division I athletes at all these meets. It was scary. I really had to wake up and realize that I’m human just like all these other people.”

Confidence was something that Alexis Henry needed to reinforce in herself.

“I had to be confident. I came in here lacking confidence,” she said. “I feel like last season, it really wasn’t the best season for me and from the summer until now, I really had to redevelop my mental.”

She realized she had to look inward for success. With track and field as a non-contact sport, she realized her opponents may as well be irrelevant to her own challenge.

“When I run, I really blackout,” Alexis Henry says of her mentality while competing. “I have no idea what I’m doing until I’m done. I focus on myself.

I’ve learned that focusing on the people around me really just

brings my performance down.

Part of the renewed confidence and mentality was the shift to running her race.

“I realized that this race is about me. I’m running against myself. Yeah, the people are here, but they don’t really determine anything that I do. They’re like little pawns.”

Alexis Henry says her father has been instrumental to her success. Though she has been living away from him for the first time in her life, he has still been a guiding presence for her, on and off the field.

“We talk every day,” Alexis Henry said of her relationship with her father. “Like every single day. He’s a caller. I just update him, we talk about it. He reassures me on things I need to work on. I keep that in the back of my head.”

She said it’s like he’s always there no matter what.

“She’s able to take what I tell her and translate it to the track,” Lowell Henry said. “A lot of times [for example], you can tell people how to write a paper, but they have to write the paper.

She’s a very good student when it

comes to that because she has natural leg speed and that’s what puts her in her position [to succeed].”

Alexis Henry’s newfound focus has translated to the track seamlessly. Last semester, she ran the third-fastest time in SF State program history with 45.95 seconds in the 4x100 while taking gold at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational. She also ran the third leg of the 4x100 at the 2017-18 NCAA Outdoor Championships, claiming another program record time of 45.02 seconds.

In her most recent meet, the 2018-19 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas, Alexis Henry and her teammates in the 4x400, Timarya Baynard, Jazmine Smith and Monisha Lewis, set a new program record of 3 minutes, 37.29 seconds, placing second.

Alexis Henry also placed fifth in the 400, while also being named an All-American for the second-consecutive season.

SF State will look to compete in the 2018-19 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships in late May from Kingsville, Texas, where Henry and the program aim to win a national title.

“I have the goal of winning nationals, she says. “In either the 200, the 400, and even our 4x4 relay. I have high expectations, but I’m also not going to focus on ‘I need to win, I need to win, I need to win,’ it’s more like, ‘I know what I have to do and what it takes for me to win.”

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8 SPOTLIGHT Therapy dogs provide stress-relief, love GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

TUESDAY, MARCH 12 2019

PHOTOS BY: CHRIS ROBLEDO/Golden Gate Xpress

BECA major Jalyn Ocampo (front-left), biology-physiology major Luke Wesley (upper-left), biology major Jessica Bermudez (upper-center), health education major Samantha Hudson (center), and health education major Rizalyn Hiyao (upper-right) pose for a photo with SPCA Wag Brigade therapy dog Toby on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Toby was one of four dogs that visited the Cesar Chavez Center as part of the school’s Therapy Animal program.

Passerby students stop to pet Pink as The San Francisco SPCA Wag Brigade dogs visit SF State Cesar Chavez Center on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 as part of the school’s Therapy Animal program.

SF SPCA Wag Brigade therapy dog Pink visits SF State on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.

Pink was one of four dogs that visited the campus as part of the school’s Therapy Animal program.

SF State communications major Hosna Opeyany holds SPCA Wag Brigade therapy dog Benga! on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Benga! frequents SF State campus for therapy dog events.