Issue 5 Spring 2019

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THE STUDENT VOICE OF SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1927

TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

BLACK STUDENT ALLIANCE

Black students seek agency, voice Administrators dismiss Black Unity Center leaders without explanation GEOFFREY SCOTT Xpress Reporter gscott@mail.sfsu.edu

Black student organizations rallied to condemn the Division of Equity and Community Inclusion’s decision to remove the Black Unity Center’s administrative analyst, Hanna Wodaje, from her position in early February.

Members of the newly-formed Black

Student Alliance circulated fliers across campus Feb. 11 to express their frustration with Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and DECI’s lack of transparency and cooperation with Black students concerning the leadership of Black spaces.

The group was formed by Black student organizations and leaders after Wodaje’s removal, in an effort to mobilize the Black student body to fight for representation and agency in the decision-making process.

The BSA wants administrators to immediately reinstate Wodaje, a requirement they expressed in their flier campaign, and they pledged not to involve the BUC in any Black History Month events. The group urged students not to use the center until their requirements are met.

The direction and leadership of the BUC has been a source of conflict since the center’s founding in August 2017. The abrupt dismissal without explanation of the center’s interim director, Dr. Serie McDougal III, in June 2018 was especially controversial. Since then the center has functioned without a permanent director.

“Black students at San Francisco State University have been fighting to have our voices heard for over 50 years on this campus,” Ashley Elana Wells, BSU board member and member of the BSA, said.

“The Black Unity Center is just one of those many struggles.”

objectives on its website, and the first reads as follows: “To function as a nexus for intellectual development and passing on the Black intellectual tradition so that it may be used to engage in deep and creative thought about exploring, understanding and addressing the challenges that face Africana communities and society at large.”

It is this goal that makes the removal of Wodaje and McDougal so confusing to students who frequent the center.

McDougal previously served as chair of Africana Studies at SF State and has served as a faculty adviser to several Black student

Confusing and upsetting removals The BUC includes a list of seven stated

BLACK STUDENT ALLIANCE CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

CLIFF COLLAPSE

Landslide recovery operation continues CELINE HERRERA Xpress Reporter cherrer3@mail.sfsu.edu

A landslide buried two women at Fort Funston on Feb. 22, leaving one injured and one still unaccounted for as of Monday evening.

Witnesses said two women became trapped when a cliff collapsed as they were walking near the beach.

Bystanders saved one woman, but were unable to locate the other. The rescued woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering at San Francisco General Hospital, according to San Francisco Fire Department Capt. Jim Green.

The rescue effort turned into a recovery operation when emergency responders were unable to find the missing woman after shoveling through sand and dirt for hours.

“This recovery begins now,” San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Jonathan Baxter said. “We want to see that person safe and we want to see that person being alive and OK. It’s not in our DNA to give up.”

The recovery team failed to locate the woman from Feb. 22 to 24 due to “tidal action, continued sandy bluff instability and anticipated storm conditions,” according to a National Park Service press release.

Fort Funston is a popular destination for hang-glid-

TEACHERS RALLY IN OAKLAND Page 4

LOLA CHASE/Golden Gate Xpress A rescue team digs at a mound of sand from a mudslide in hopes to rescue a woman buried below at the coast of Fort Funston on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019.

ing, hiking and horseback riding. Its 200-foot-high ridges, strong winds and powerful ocean waves make it a steep and treacherous landscape for unwary visitors. “[The cliff] can’t support itself,” rescue worker Sean Scallan said. “It’s been falling a lot.”

Scallan has worked in the area where the accident occurred for the past 20 years and said he believes the weather from last week’s atmospheric river contributed to the moisture and eventual collapse of the cliff.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area spokesperson Charlie Strickfaden confirmed the weather may have been responsible for the cliff collapse.

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ART GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS ARCHITECTURE Page 5

Local firefighters carry back shovels after a twohour attempt at rescuing a woman trapped in a mudslide at the coast of Fort Funston on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019.

LOLA CHASE/Golden Gate Xpress

VOLLEYBALL PLAYER REPS BLACK HISTORY MONTH Page 7

2 CAMPUS

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TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

Internment camp victims honored in Garden of Remembrance SAHAR SWALEH Xpress Reporter sswaleh@mail.sfsu.edu

Students, professors, activists and those standing in solidarity with the Japanese-American community gathered Feb. 19 for the 40th anniversary of the Bay Area’s first Day of Remembrance, honoring the more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans who were forcibly relocated to internment camps in California, Oregon and Washington during World War II. The event took place at the Garden of Remembrance, an installation dedicated to the 19 SF State students who were among those interned by authority of an Executive Order signed Feb. 19, 1942,

by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the wake of Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor.

Seventy-seven years later, attendees at the event hosted by the Asian American Studies department stood in the early evening chill and listened to the burbling of the garden’s waterfall as they held a moment of silence to pay tribute to the SF State students swept up in the U.S.

government’s racist attack on Japanese-Americans.

They then formed a circle in a grassy area of the Garden of Remembrance, holding small LED-candle lights as AAS professors Francis Wong and Wesley Ueunten played music on a saxophone and a three-string guitar called a sanshin.

The commemorative garden, located in a quiet nook between the Creative Arts Building and Burk Hall, was designed by former camp internee Ruth Asawa in 2001 and funded by a $125,000 grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program. It’s adorned with 10 boulders of varying sizes to represent the largest of the concentration camps and the dry, desert-like land they were situated on.

The boulders contrast with the waterfall that marks the internees’ return to their homes on the Pacific coast after regaining their freedom in 1945.

“Let us remember the people who were incarcerated and lift up the presence of their spirits amongst us,” human rights advocate Rev. Michael Yoshii said.

Asawa designed a bronze marker inscribed with

JAMES CHAN/Golden Gate Xpress Rev. Michael Yoshii (right), a human rights activist, speaks to a group as Asian American studies professors Francis Wong (left) and Wesley Ueunten (center) listen on during Day of Rememberance, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.

the names of the internees, their family crests and the names of the camps in which each was incarcerated. Yoshii spoke to those gathered about his part in the movement of the early 1980s that sought redress and reparations from the U.S. government for the wartime internment of Japanese-Americans like his grandparents.

Born after World War II, Yoshii became heavily involved in bringing justice to the Japanese-American community. When he first joined the Buena Vista United Methodist Church, he sought to make it a place that welcomed newly-arriving immigrants and served as a place of safety and activity for those who were interned.

Tuesday he talked about his involvement in the movement that led to the 1981 congressional hearings to investigate the injustices committed against Japanese-Americans by the U.S. government. He took part

in three days of hearings in San Francisco where survivors and loved ones testified about the horrors perpetrated on their communities and the psychological damage they suffered.

“Day of Remembrance is not just remembering the history of pain and the trauma that our communities went through,” said Director of the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project, Grace Shimizu. “[It’s] also to fight back [and] to hold the government accountable.”

The hearings prompted Congress to pass the 1988 Civil Liberties Act and to write a letter of apology to the victims of the U.S. government’s concentration camps.

“There was a lot of trauma that took place during the incarceration that continued to last,” Yoshii said. “It was not an easy thing to talk about.”

The legislation also formed the Office of Redress Administration, which Congress tasked with coordinating a 10-year program to compensate victims of the internment

camps with reparation checks of $20,000.

“That letter didn’t solve everything and the checks don’t rectify everything,” Yoshii said. “Many people said this is a small token to what we really lost.”

Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) professor Rabab Abdulhadi was also present to lend her support to the community. She said even the strongest people who’ve been tortured have difficulty speaking and reliving the past, which makes the struggles the communities are currently facing even more important.

“If we don’t tell the stories, people will not remember,” she said.

Among those who stood in solidarity with the Japanese-American community was Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Billoo has worked closely with Dr.

Abdulhadi over the years, and she talked about her experiences and fears in the wake of Sept. 11.

“I remember thinking, ‘Am I safe in my own skin?’” Billoo said. “I also remember the Japanese-American community stepping forward very quickly. They said they know exactly how this goes and, ‘We’re not willing to let this happen to you the way it happened to us.’”

Yoshii, too, connected the attacks on the Japanese American community during World War II with the treatment of African-Americans during the Civil Rights Movement and the vilification of Arabs and Muslims after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “[The internees’] journey continues to inform our journey today regardless of where we are and who we are,” Yoshii said.

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VITA offers free low-income tax services ROBERT JUAREZ Xpress Reporter rjuarez1@mail.sfsu.edu

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and an army of student volunteers are offering students and community members on-campus tax services free of charge.

The program is funded by the non-profits Beta Alpha Psi and United Way Bay Area, and offers people with low incomes, people with disabilities, the elderly and those with limited English proficiency, assistance filing their taxes.

Crammed into room 205 of the Science Building, site manager Klaus Li and site coordinator Felix Sandoval work alongside other volunteers to file taxes for those in need. Nearly 100 SF State students volunteer with VITA every tax season.

“This is my second year [volunteering],” Li said. “I like to help people with lower income, [and] if I can help people get their

refund, it’s good to see.”

Money management expert Dave Ramsey said the average cost of filing a basic tax return is $176, which could be out of reach for many students or low-income filers.

“It’s a great resource. How many college students know how to do taxes?” second-year business major Diego Castillo said. “Personally for me, I don’t know how to do taxes yet, so just having that resource on campus can really help out.”

The program’s filing process has four stages and takes two hours to complete.

First a volunteer tax preparer works with a client to fill out their tax forms, then the paperwork is passed on to a site supervisor.

Next, Li, who is a senior studying accounting, reviews the tax return and passes it on to Sandoval, who is studying for his master’s in accounting. Sandoval makes the final review before sending a client’s tax forms off to the IRS. Students are put through a six-hour per

day, five-day training course where they are taught how to use tax software and, upon completion, become certified by the IRS to become eligible to volunteer.

“It’s been very informational, I learned a lot from just going through training,” said senior accounting student Rhiannon Sinoy, who is a first-time preparer volunteer and also had her taxes done through the program. “When you actually do the returns, it’s a lot more nerve-wracking at first, but as you just sit down with your client, you realize that they are people trying to get their taxes done.”

She said getting her taxes done at VITA was kind of confusing at first.

“I know all of us here are just learning, so I’m not mad, I think it’s really helpful for people who need their tax returns,” she said.

Anyone can apply to volunteer for VITA, and while most volunteers are accounting majors, students from other departments

such as BECA and psychology have joined the effort in the past.

VITA took applications for student volunteers in early fall, and one of the benefits for student site managers is eligibility for three course units offered by the Accounting Department.

“I think that’s great, it’s just another free resource for students to be able to save a little more money,” senior marketing student Jesus Alcaraz said. “I plan to give [the program] a shot.”

Sandoval said approximately 1,000 people use the service each tax season, but he hopes more people will use VITA this year.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “The IRS is not out to arrest every citizen or non-citizen.

Just come in, we’re here to steer [you] in the right direction.”

The VITA office is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:30-6:30 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and will be offering services through April 13. n

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TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

CAMPUS 3

BLACK STUDENT ALLIANCE: Administrators stifle community input in hiring process FROM PAGE 1 organizations on campus for the past decade. Wodaje is a former leader of the BSU and was instrumental in the BUC’s creation. She has worked directly with students since her temporary appointment in May 2018.

Wodaje stepped in as an informal director and has successfully kept the center afloat since McDougal’s removal, and according to the BSA, both are more than qualified to lead the BUC. Wodaje declined to comment while McDougal offered one piece of advice for the DECI. “What should take precedent is Black students’ ability to determine what works for them,” he told Xpress.

The BSA urged administrators to reinstate McDougal as the interim director and Wodaje to a permanent position. They also asserted that McDougal should be appointed chairperson of the search committee to find a permanent director for the BUC. They said Black students should have a “fair voice” over their spaces, and a role in the search process.

The BSU first demanded the university provide a common space for Black students to connect, to obtain tutoring and counseling and to attend cultural programs with the goal of closing the education gap by raising retention and graduation rates in 2015, but those requests did not become a reality until students led a 10-day hunger strike in May 2016. It was then that SAEM agreed to fund the BUC with the promise of a full-time paid staff.

Wodaje, an alumna of the College of Ethnic Studies who majored in Africana Studies, played a crucial role in the 2016 hunger strike as a student. She was an outspoken supporter of the strike, mobilizing students as co-president of the BSU. “Since the establishment of the Black Unity Center, Dr. McDougal and Hanna Wodaje have strengthened and improved students’ learning experience at all levels, by connecting, advising and organizing over 30 cultural programs for Black students,” Wells said. “Since the termination of McDougal’s position as interim director, the Black Unity Center has not put on any cultural programs for Black students and it has failed to direct and improve Black students’ success and learning experiences on all levels.”

Political Science professor James Martel, president of the SF State chapter of the California Faculty Association, recalls the upsetting decision in June 2018 by DECI and SAEM to deny McDougal the chance to come on as a full-time, permanent director of the BUC. “Serie McDougal was doing an amazing job as director of the Black Unity Center,” Martel said. “The students loved him and he was let go with no warning, no chance to correct his behavior [and] for no reason that has ever been explained to anyone.”

The CFA proposed a resolution to the

CORRECTION In the story, “Filipina faculty authors leave lasting cultural impression,” published on Feb. 20, 2019, the award granted sociology professor Valerie Rancisco-Menchavez should read “the Pacific Sociological Association Sociological Praxis Award,” not “2015 Pacific Sociology Association advocate award.” The Xpress regrets this error.

“[SF State] has romanticized our struggle and pain, and has used it as a marketing campaign to promote how ‘active’ and ‘diverse’ our campus is.”

-Damion Square, co-founder of Black Student Alliance

union supporting McDougal’s reinstatement in October 2018. According to the resolution, neither student groups, like the BSU, nor the Academic Senate were consulted on McDougal’s removal.

Students feel unsafe, exploited Wells said Black students feel unsafe, uncomfortable and unstable in the absence of Wodaje and a permanent director at the BUC “In order for students to feel safe again in the Black Unity Center we, the Black Student Alliance, have provided [interim assistant vice president for DECI] Manuel Pérez and [vice president of SAEM] Luoluo Hong with solutions to fulfill our needs,” she said.

In an email to Xpress, Pérez said that Wodaje was hired on an emergency basis and that she was not fired from her position, her contract simply ended in November.

“Since then she has supported the Division’s efforts to close the educational equity gap for all underserved communities through an emergency hire appointment in the Office of Diversity & Student Equity,” Pérez said.

Wodaje’s role, administrative analyst with the Office of Diversity & Student Equity, is the same one she held with the BUC, but just as her previous role, it’s on a temporary basis.

According to Pérez, DECI held a search for a new director in Fall 2018 that was ultimately fruitless.

“A job offer was extended to one of the finalists, with the full support of the search committee,” he said, but the person whom the committee selected to take McDougal’s place declined the offer, so Pérez said the search reopened during the Spring 2019 semester. The committee will review more applications starting this month.

BSA members attribute the instability in the BUC’s leadership to SAEM’s uncooperative practices. The group told administrators they require two Black students who hold leadership positions within Black student organizations to be on the hiring committee for each open position.

Damion Square, an Africana Studies and BECA major, is the co-founder of the BSA and is also a board member and political education coordinator for the BSU. He said President Leslie Wong and administrators have failed to meet their fiduciary responsibilities to provide Black students with a safe learning environment, programs that prioritize Black students and resources to protect and provide them with the opportunity to learn and graduate at the same rate as their peers.

“The BSA refuses to allow administration to continuously exploit Black students’ suffering, bodies and legacy,” he said.

‘Fake representation’ According to Martel, it has become the norm for SAEM to bring in staff from outside the SF State community who are more in-line with the administration’s agenda.

“They come up with a pseudo-community member that they cherry pick [from

outside of SF State],” he said. “It is really a problem, they constantly fail to confirm or check with anyone and [they] do not engage.”

He added, “The Academic Senate was very concerned about this because they had commended [McDougal] and then a month later he was summarily kicked out of the position with no explanation.”

Martel called their management style “fake representation,” and said the CFA argued that McDougal be restored to his job. “[The union asked] that the Black Unity Center be taken away from Student Affairs, which I think is horribly managed, and [instead] brought under the Africana Studies or the Ethnic Studies department or some other appropriate unit,” he said.

Among the BUC’s stated objectives is building bridges between Africana students and the university, but the BSA said the unjustified removal of its founding members has done the opposite.

The BUC is now supported by three full-time and permanent professional staff positions, none of whom have any prior connection to the BUC. The newest hire is Briana M. Williams who replaced Wodaje as administrative analyst and specialist on a permanent basis, which is something neither Wodaje or McDougal were ever offered.

Williams is an alumna of CSU East Bay, where she worked with the planning committee for CSU East Bay’s Black Student Union. She also did personal outreach in the East Bay, but the BSA said SAEM’s decision to hire someone from outside the SF State community who lacks Wodaje’s rapport with students is unacceptable.

Roots in protest “As of Feb. 14, we are in receipt of a list of requirements from the Black Student Alliance in regards to the Black Unity Center,” Pérez said. “We take very seriously the concerns of the students and are weighing administrative decisions and future programming pertaining to the Black Unity Center with care and concern.”

Pérez said his office is unable to provide additional comments on confidential matters related to hiring.

According to Martel, the uncooperative nature of personnel decisions made by SF State administrators with regard to the BUC could be backlash for the center’s roots in protest.

“There is a lot of hostility towards things that come out of protest,” he said. “There was never a will for the Black Unity Center to thrive. Then it was thriving so that wasn’t good for administration.”

Martel said McDougal may have been

BSA REQUIREMENTS • We require that black students have a fair voice over our space, at the Black Unity Center.

• We require that Dr. McDougal be immediately reinstated as the interim director of the Black Unity Center, and appointed as the chair of the search committee for the permanent director of the Black Unity Center.

• We require that Hanna Wodaje be reinstated in the bus with a permanent position. too effective in his role defending and supporting Black students and the BUC, and in failing to submit to his superiors, he was targeted.

“It sounds like they are continuing this pattern of letting go people who do anything good for [the BUC],” he said. “[Then they bring] in people who don’t know and have no connection whatsoever to the community.”

Square said Black students at SF State are a part of a historical legacy that started with the fight for the BSU and the longest student strike in American history in 1968.

“San Francisco State University has romanticized our struggle and pain, and has used it as a marketing campaign to promote how ‘active’ and ‘diverse’ our campus is,” he said.

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY

A NNOUNCEMENT PROPOSED CHANGES TO PROGRAM IMPACTION EFFECTIVE FALL 2020 San Francisco State University will hold a series of three public hearings to discuss proposed changes to admissions guidelines for the 2020-2021 academic year. These changes will affect freshmen and community college transfers. The proposed changes involve the removal of impaction at the program level at San Francisco State University for five (5) majors. To receive input from the public, hearings will be held on: Friday, 02/22/19, 11am-12pm, City of College of San Francisco, MUB 39 (Room M27) Friday, 03/01/19, 4-6pm, College of San Mateo, Building 10, Room 468 Monday, 03/04/19, 11 am-12pm, SFSU, Student Services Building, Room101 These meetings are wheelchair accessible. Individuals requiring other accommodations should contact SF State at 415-338-7227 as soon as possible. For more information on San Francisco State University program impaction, please visit the Impaction website at http://future.sfsu.edu/impaction

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4 CITY

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

MIKE KAI CHEN/Golden Gate Xpress Adam Gansel, a special education teacher of Oakland Tech High School, leads the group’s cry for funding as hundreds of staff and students march down Broadway toward Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019.

Oakland teachers demand living wages PAUL EICHENHOLTZ City News Editor peichenh@mail.sfsu.edu

OAKLAND — Teachers rallied together for a strike Thursday morning, demanding higher wages, smaller classes and increased support for public schools.

Thousands of organizers gathered at City Hall before they marched toward the Oakland Unified School District Office to protest low pay, inadequate services and school closures. Among them was Oakland Education Association President Keith Brown, a former middle school teacher who said he was overwhelmed by the support the strike

received from the community.

“This is a historic day in Oakland because together we are saying the time is now to make our students a priority.

The message is loud and clear,” Brown told the Xpress.

Oakland teachers formed picket lines outside of their schools, chanted protest songs on the streets of downtown Oakland and planned to continue striking until the school district reached an agreement with them.

Some of the strike supporters came from as far as Los Angeles in addition to nearby school districts, according to Fremont Unified School District teacher Megan Savage.

“We want this to be a short strike,” Brown said. “This was a strong presence in downtown Oakland and I hope our superintendent and school board is listening.”

With a starting salary of $46,570 a year for Oakland K-12 teachers, the strikers said they would like to see the school district pay increased by 12 percent over the next three years to keep up with rising living expenses. Oakland Unified School District

MIKE KAI CHEN/Golden Gate Xpress Elementary school kids play with a large protest banner at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza participating and supporting their teaches at Thusday’s strike on Feb. 21, 2019.

teachers are among the lowest paid in the Bay Area, according to EdSource.

The cost of living contributed to the departure of approximately 600 Oakland teachers last year, according to the Oakland Teachers Strike website.

Brown said the district’s proposal to close 24 schools will hurt low-income communities of color in Oakland and would give charter schools the advantage.

“For years we’ve gone to school board meetings pleading to keep our schools open,” Brown said. “They forced us to strike to ensure education outcomes for our students dramatically improve.”

Oakland public schools serve approximately 36,286 students, while district-authorized charter schools serve 13,791. Brown said the growth of the charter school system takes $57 million away annually from underfunded district-run schools.

“We have many members

of our school board funded by outside billionaires. They represent an agenda of privatization, of cutting resources away from students,” Brown said.

Oakland school Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell released an online statement on Feb. 15, which claimed the city was waiting on the teacher’s union to reach an agreement.

Shortly after on Feb. 18, the Oakland Education Association referred to the statement as “spin” and said the school district has been delaying its new contract for the past two years.

For Oakland school employee and Service Employees International Union 1st Vice President Melvin Phillips, the strike is about more than improving labor conditions.

“The main thing we want for our students is to get a quality education. We never want to close down schools,” Phillips said.

Oakland resident Tara Batts said she attended the teacher

The main thing we want for our students is to get a quality education. We never want to close down schools.”

- Melvin Phillips, SEIU 1st Vice President strike on behalf of her children.

“We need our teachers,” Batts said. “The most important thing is for them [the school district] to put more money into the schools and open the programs they used to have so that kids can have n outlets and things to do.”

City to build floating fire station in case of earthquake Seismologists predict next major temblor to strike within 20 years NATALIA POURAZAR Xpress Reporter npourazar@mail.sfsu.edu

The Port of San Francisco partnered with the San Francisco Department of Public Works to create a state-of-the-art fireboat station by 2020, which would be able to withstand a major earthquake estimated by seismologists to hit the Bay Area within the next 20 years.

When the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake shook the city of San Francisco in 1989, it caused 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries and an estimated $6-10 billion in property damage. Since then, the understanding of seismic threats to the Bay Area has improved through increased awareness

of earthquake hazards and emergency preparation strategies, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The city passed an Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response bond in 2014, which provided funding for Fire Station 35, a new fireboat station that will sit directly behind the current historic firehouse located on Pier 22 ½. Fire Station 35 is designed to improve emergency response times during a disaster and to withstand the next major earthquake.

The city is excited for the project since the current station is “inadequate to meet San Francisco’s public service and water rescue needs,” according to Public Works project manager Magdalena Ryor.

“Fire Station 35 is unique in that it houses SFFD fireboats and its staff [is] trained to respond to marine-related emergencies,” Ryor said. “During a major emergency or disaster, this new facility will serve as the city’s marine emergency operations center.”

After the Loma Prieta temblor, the existing finger piers that the San Francisco Fire

Department uses to dock their fireboats were “severely deteriorated,” according to Public Works engineer Sean O’Brien.

Fireboat No.1, Phoenix, was imperative during the aftermath of the 1989 quake, which at the time was extremely reliable in the Marina District because it pumped water from St. Francis Yacht Harbor into the city’s portable water system and delivered assistance to damaged homes surrounding the beach and Divisadero Street.

The city wanted Fire Station 35’s design to be resilient against potential sea level rises over the next 50 years and capable of responding to a catastrophic earthquake.

The facility will have an emergency generator that will allow it to operate for 72 hours after a power outage.

As the Bay Area’s population continues to grow, the station will act as a regional facility to meet increased emergency calls for service.

The new station will be built on top of a steel float anchored by six guide piles, which help resist seismic activity and sea

level rises. SFFD Engine Company No. 35 will operate the new facility while the older stations at Piers 22 ½ and 24 will be demolished.

Currently, there are six crew members working at the existing station, according to SFFD Lt. Jonathan Baxter. The firehouse will house a daily crew of 10 firefighters with a total capacity of 35, once completed.

SFFD is looking forward to the new station, saying that “any upgrades to our facilities are welcomed and appreciated” and that it will provide a “continued opportunity to provide services to our community.”

The budget for this project was set at $39.9 million. Swinerton Builders formed a joint venture with local marine contractor Power Engineering to design and build the new station. They are both working closely together for both the building and the floating aspect of the design.

Construction of Fire Station 35 is slated to begin later this year and should be completed by 2020, according to Swinerton.

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TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

CULTURE 5

Bookstore issues drive business away ALI LEE Xpress Reporter alee43@mail.sfsu.edu

The beginning of the semester is a stressful time for students trying to make sure they are in the correct courses and on their way to graduate. One problem that adds to the stresses of school is the expense of required textbooks.

With textbook requirements for some classes being over $100, students are not only becoming increasingly frustrated with waiting in the long lines at the bookstore, but the price of books at the bookstore as well. Students have turned away from the bookstore to avoid high fees and unavailability of the books they search for.

Emily Hunt, a communications major at SF State, says she has never bought from the bookstore because she feels like it is a waste of time to stand in line.

“It’s mostly the inconvenience part,” said Hunt. “Where I can just click a couple buttons on Amazon or Chegg and it’s also cheaper.”

While many students would rather order their books from the comfort of their own home, many students also choose these routes because they do not have hundreds of dollars to be splurging on books for their classes.

“This semester I went to buy two textbooks and they were each nearly 100 dollars at the bookstore, but I was able to get them on Amazon for around 30 dollars which saves me a lot,” said Mason Farrell, an SF State international relations student.

Not only are students becoming frustrated with bookstore inconveniences, but professors are as well. Rene Juarez-Vazquez, a College of Ethnic Studies lecturer, constantly has issues ordering books for his literature classes.

This issue affects his ability to teach a fast-paced class and both inconveniences and frustrates his students.

Juarez-Vazquez explains that although he requests for the bookstore to have adequate books for his students each semester, his requests aren’t always matched.

He also describes inconsistencies with how the bookstore stocks different types of books.

“The bookstore has constantly under-ordered books on my list,” said Juarez-Vazquez. “This has been an issue semester to semester and while enrollment varies from class to class, I see a stack of the expensive books, while the smaller cheaper books tend to be smaller, if not nonexistent.”

Not only has there been a lack of books provided in the bookstore, but Juarez-Vazquez explains that a lot of the books he needs for his classes aren’t available on

Amazon, making it much harder on the students.

While there are some pricing and stock issues at the bookstore, Cameron Casey, SF State bookstore manager, offers reasons for this as well as ways to help.

Casey explains that when ordering textbooks to stock the bookstore, the bookstore must look at the past sales to see how many books they need to order. If it has been requested that there be 30 books for a class of 30 in the past, but only 5 or 6 books were sold, the bookstore does not request for 30 to be stocked in the upcoming semester of the same class. He adds that it would be a significant expense if the bookstore ordered 30 books knowing only 5 or 6 books will actually sell.

While class enrollment numbers can fluctuate each semester, Casey expresses that the bookstore has to have a process in

order for them to not lose money just as students are trying to save money.

According to Casey, the bookstore offers ways for students to order from the bookstore online.

Students can go onto the SF State bookstore website and shop for their books by course. After adding the book to their cart they have the choice of delivering it to their home or the bookstore for pick-up.

Additionally, the bookstore works with digital textbook service BryteWave to supply digital textbooks. Buying a textbook as an online book instead of a hard copy is significantly cheaper for students.

SF State and the bookstore are working to find more ways for students to save money on the cost of books and to make the experience of buying them easier.

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Unique art show showcases environmental architecture Kevin Chen announces artists and their work while next to an installation called “Spectral Space” in acrylic painting by Andrew Shoultz during the art gallery opening of “Built Environments” on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019.

Professional and student artists display buildings and nature through different media KEMI IKE Xpress Reporter oike@mail.sfsu.edu

The “Built Environments” art exhibit debuted Saturday in the Fine Arts Gallery and showcased pieces that represent the worldwide architecture and construction trends.

Professional and student artists exhibited their creative and whimsical viewpoints of architecture through various media like photography, film and sculpture. The exhibit features work from artists inspired by places all over the world, from Los Angeles to Iraq, and will run through April 4.

Each piece displays boldness in its own way, as the artist represents different parts of urbanization through varying colors, brush strokes, sediments and films.

SF State fine arts professor Kevin Chen curated the gallery along with Sharon Bliss, Fine Arts Gallery director.

Chen resonates with the artwork in the exhibit as an artist himself, specializing in drawing cityscapes.

He points out a sculpture named “Macro Waves,” made from cement, wood and chains.

The piece features a video projection of people in a city greeting and interacting with each other which hangs above a tall cinder block. Pyramids surround the cinder block, which is illuminated by blue lights. Chen appreciates how this piece highlights urbanization in the city, particularly with defensive architecture.

“You can kind of see the little knobs sometimes that prevent skaters from skating,” said Chen.

LOLA CHASE/ Golden Gate Xpress

“That’s like another intervention of humanity in the urban cityscape — creating architecture and different means to control how you interact with space.”

Rick Holty, 48, is one of many fine arts students that helped put the exhibit together.

One piece he helped put together was titled “Between Here and There,” by artist Sheila Ghidini.

This art piece, similar to a blueprint, is made with graphite and extends across a white wall. Lines of tape flow downward from the wall onto the floor, creating a 3D effect. A white chair is part of the exhibit for people to sit and get a

closer look of the intricate details on the large piece.

Holty also helped put together art pieces by Bay Area artist Bessma Khalaf.

Khalaf was born in Iraq and is currently based in Oakland. She came to the U.S. at the beginning of the Gulf War when she was 12 and is now making her mark in the artistic world of photography and sculpture.

One piece showcased by Khalaf at the exhibit is titled “Ash Mountain.” From far away, the piece resembles gray balls of paper crumpled together and stacked on top of each other. As the viewer

gets closer, they are able to see a fragile dark mountain propped up by a narrow white shelf attached to the wall.

Holty was intrigued by Khalaf ’s second piece, a dark photograph titled “Burnt Out Mountain.”

“The thing that I’m most blown away with is the ash. The photograph and the ash that goes with it, the process of those was really cool,” Holty said. “And the ash mountain over there is all gravity suspended.”

In an exhibit full of varying media, Khalaf is no stranger.

“I never stick to just one thing, I kind of bounce between those

three things and they kind of speak to each other,” Khalaf said.

“So, when I’m sick of taking pictures, I can kind of build something or work with my hands. It’s nice to have that diversity.”

Along with Khalaf ’s art, every artist who was a part of “Built Environments” created their very own abstract piece. Whether it was a castle-like glittering white statue made fully of salt or a dome made of pine and held up by concrete bricks, each work of art brings something unique to the exhibit.

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6 OPINON

Xprëßß

Xpress news story exploited for profit

EDITORIAL BOARD VOL. 109, ISSUE 5

Monserrath Arreola Print 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 Photo Editor lchase1@mail.sfsu.edu Devon Haripal Sports Editor dharipal@mail.sfsu.edu Ildar Sabirov Assistant Sports Editor 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 Jesse Garnier Faculty Adviser jgarnier@sfsu.edu Kim Komenich Photo Faculty Adviser komenich@sfsu.edu

FOLLOW US TWITTER @GGXnews YOUTUBE /XpressNewsVideo FACEBOOK /GoXpress INSTAGRAM @GGXnews

TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

STAFF EDITORIAL

Gøldëñ Gåtë

Lorenzo Morotti Editor-in-Chief lmorotti@mail.sfsu.edu

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

O

ur independent newspaper has prided itself since 1927 for being a student-run publication, free from the influence of the University and even our own journalism department.

Recently, this distinction was not only ignored but willfully violated when SF State exploited one of our articles for profit.

The Office of University Development (UD) used an Xpress news article published on Sept. 26, 2018, without the consent of Xpress reporter Paul Eichenholtz, for donations to the College of Liberal & Creative Arts. Eichenholtz was never notified that his story would be reproduced nor was he paid for his work.

Copyright infringement is the “act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under Title 17 of the United States Code.” A copyright as defined on the University’s Information Technology Services page, gives the “creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, including whether they want compensation for it and how it will be distributed.”

According to this legal criterion and definition, UD willfully infringed upon Eichenholtz’s copyrighted work. Willful copyright infringement can result in criminal penalties, including up to five years imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 per offense.

The University may argue our reporter’s story qualified as fair use, but according to the University’s statement on copyright law, fair use only “allows for the limited reproduction and distribution of published works without permission for such purposes as criticism, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research.”

If a student was charged with the same type of copyright infringement, the violator would have their internet account shut down until they met with the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. A second offense would warrant discipline. When the infringed upon Xpress reporter emailed UD on Monday morning with a cease-and-desist letter, an administrator responded by taking the article down without apology or offer of compensation.

UD not only infringed upon our reporter’s copyright, but also mocked what our newspaper stands for — independent journalism.

The Xpress vehemently opposes being used as the University’s mouthpiece. This stance has made our relationship with campus administrators quite adversarial at times, but we remain committed to providing an independent and objective student newspaper.

Unlike the mainstream media outlets some of us aspire to join, Xpress does not pay its reporters, most of whom balance school

and work commitments. But just because we’re students doesn’t mean our work has no value. We recognize our stories as the intellectual property that will hopefully pay our bills and put our academic degrees to good use in the future.

And that’s what is most insulting about the University’s copyright infringement of our story.

UD placed two links to donate to the College of Liberal & Creative Arts on our reporter’s article. The University raised more than $133 million from private donations for its BOLD Thinking campaign.

Without a date posted to confirm when the article was used without our permission, we can’t know how long it was exploited.

This copyright infringement comes at a time when Xpress has repeatedly been at odds with administrators. Our work is criticized and delayed by Student Affairs and Enrollment Management only to be reproduced for their benefit.

If the University can exploit our stories at will, what is the point of having an “independent” student paper? If the University does not respect copyright laws, what example does this set for its student population?

The Xpress demands our reporter be paid both just compensation for his work and an apology from the university for using his work without his consent. n - Golden Gate Xpress Editorial Board

Does SF State live up to its ethnic responsibility to accurately represent black students on campus?

Amaia Lamar, 19 Journalism, Women & Gender Studies “No, not State, the students do, I think the students have a strong coalition of representing the values they have. The Black Student Union is very involved.”

Will Nelson, 28 History & English

“No. For the entire time I’ve been here I didn’t see not one stand of the BSU, I had to go find them and when I did, they said there was pressure from the school to make sure they didn’t have autonomy and that’s not fair.”

BLACK STUDENTS NEED REPRESENTATION GEOFFREY SCOTT Xpress Reporter gscott@mail.sfsu.edu

T

his year’s Black History Month celebrations at SF State will be marred by controversy surrounding the treatment of Black students by administrators as students and faculty insist their voices be heard.

While the campus markets itself as diverse and inclusive, recent conflicts with Black students have challenged this claim. Decisions over leadership of the Black Unity Center have caused backlash from students concerned about fair representation.

As a result, the Black Student Alliance formed to negotiate with the Division of Equity and Community Inclusion. This conflict brought the underrepresentation of Black people in administrative, faculty and staff positions to the forefront of the University’s attention.

“As a historically marginalized group, we do not feel safe on campus and in the BUC because of lack of representation and staff that are unable to understand Black students’ needs,” the BSA recently wrote in a letter to the DECI. Despite its proximity to the birthplace of the Black Panther Party and the Bay Area’s major historical strides in civil rights, SF State reflects a national trend of unequal access to education and unequal hiring practices According to a 2017 by the New York Times article, even after decades of affirmative action, Black people are more underrepresented in the nation’s top col-

leges and universities than they were 35 years ago.

SF State has a student population of approximately 29,000. Black students comprise roughly 1,400 students, or a mere 4.8 percent of the entire student body.

Although data on Black faculty is not easily accessible, according to data gathered by College Factual, only 5.5 percent of faculty at SF State are Black. These statistics make the odds of a Black student having an instructor that represents them extremely low.

Unfortunately, this has been a reality for Black students since the integration of public schools, and only in the last 50 years have universities began funding Africana Studies and Ethnic Studies departments.

According to the department’s mission statement, “the key to Africana Studies is how our curricular strategies can foster liberatory knowledge that can be used to improve and transform conditions in urban Black communities and global settings.”

The Africana Studies department encourages students to think about how to use the skills they acquire to address the needs and concerns of the Black community. While this is important work, it is not up to one department to level the playing field for all Black students. Black students need a well-rounded, increased presence in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) , business, nursing and teaching certification programs, as well as more accurate representation in educational settings.

Despite distinct systemic disadvantages, Black students are thriving in their courses. It’s the University that must meet students in the middle by providing faculty that represent and understand them.

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Yuriko Castillian, 20 Criminal Justice

“They’re not really supportive of student organizations on campus yet they love to use their images of struggle, protest and plaster it in Cesar Chavez so everyone can be like ‘oh wow they’re the school for Ethnic Studies’.”

Ifeoma Udemezue, 22 Communications

“SF State does a good job of being culturally and socially aware of how the environment should be here and I honestly feel like it’s a thriving campus, and I feel accepted here.”

JAILENE ESCUTIA & SHAYLYN MARTOS/Golden Gate Xpress

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

SPORTS 7

TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

Athletes, coaches reflect on what Black History Month represents Players and coaches share their perspectives with Xpress SAM-JOSEPH CHAVARRIA Xpress Reporter schavarr@mail.sfsu.edu Sports is a conduit between the public and athletes who want to make a positive difference in society for black communities.

Black SF State athletes and coaches spoke with Xpress about what Black History Month means to them.

“Through everything, we’ve persevered so much,” Alexis Henry, a well-decorated senior track and field runner said. “We’ve been put at the bottom of the barrel from the start — and we’re still at the bottom — and I feel like there’s still such a long way to go for Black people and having us seen as equal [in American society] because it’s really not.”

Henry holds the 2018 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Outdoor All-American award for the 4x100 relay race and won the 2018 California Collegiate Athletics Association award for the 4x400 race.

She wants to use her platform to lead and address issues in her communities that are not well-represented in mainstream media.

“Honestly, I don’t feel like I’ve used my platform yet,” she said. “I really want to help the youth because there are kids out here who don’t believe in themselves or are not given the proper resources to come to a college and play a sport, or just come to learn.”

“I just want to give back to the community and help the people that don’t have the platform to show who they really are,” she said. “Once I really grow and continue to get

settled in the world, there’s a lot of things that I would like to do for the Black community — our strengths will never be hidden.”

Assistant men’s basketball coach Henry Anyiam spoke about the significance of Black History Month from the perspective of a mentor.

“First and foremost, I think Black History Month encompasses the dark history between black people and the American culture, dating back to slavery days and post-Civil War,” coach Anyiam said. “It shows progression, obviously there’s still more to go, but you don’t get from point A to point B without taking the baby steps there. That’s been a huge step [in] that there’s sort of been an effort on the part of American society to try and rectify what happened so long ago.”

As a coach with student-athletes who look to him for direction, he said he understands the weight of his role.

Natasha Smith, head coach of the women’s basketball team, said she is proud of her role; inspiring future generations of Black leaders.

“I have a strong and serious responsibility being in a leadership role,” Smith said. “Doing things the right way is showing that we are also capable of being in these leadership roles and being role models.”

The coaching staff teaches student-athletes skills to guide them in their academic journey regardless of the color of their skin.

Jhaina Stephens, a senior forward on the women’s basketball team, expressed her admiration of leaders like Rosa Parks, who stood up against racial injustice.

As a first-generation college student, she said she focuses on succeeding in her studies so she can be a role model for her friends, family and teammates.

TRISTEN ROWEAN/Golden Gate Xpress Sophomore Ashley Cosey represents SF State’s Women’s Volleyball team during Black History Month.

“I’m a first-generation [college student] and I’m beating the odds,” Stephens said. I’m not just a statistic — I’m an above-3.5 GPA student.”

She said living in a society that does not address the challenges that black student-athletes face makes her appreciative when people in the community help each other succeed.

Ashley Cosey, a sophomore outside hitter who plays for the women’s volleyball team, said she is grateful that people within the black community at SF State support each other. Cosey

used her networking within the athletic program to spread awareness about her younger sister’s diagnosis with a life-threatening disease.

“My sister was diagnosed with leukemia,” Cosey said. “So, I decided that I wanted to give back.

In 2017 she collected money from the students and parents, and held ‘Kills for Cancer’ and every ‘“kill”’ that we got, we donated $1 or $2.

“We ended up collecting $9,000,” she said. “I got the check and gave it to my mom to give to the hospital

for my sister.”

Cosey said she finds comfort in the fact that her younger sister will know that she can rely on the community to help each other in times of need.

Leadership is a quality that is set by example, like showing the youth how to be a civilian of, not only society but the world as well. Helping others and showing your appreciation for those who accomplished so much as a leader allows the youth the reflect and understand what is important.

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SENIOR DAY SOURED BY TRITONS, DOWN GATORS 87-65 Reigning CCAA champion UC San Diego proved too much for SF State to handle, with hot shooting from Bayne and Roberts ILDAR SABIROV Assistant Sports Editor isabirov@mail.sfsu.edu

Men’s basketball was dusted in the shootout by UC San Diego, as they lost 87-65 at The Swamp on Saturday, Feb. 23, Senior Day for the basketball program.

The Gators’ Senior Day ceremony preceded the action, where Gator guards Niquis Garland, Jiday and Chiefy Ugbaja, forward Matthew Arrivas and center Ryne Williams were honored before playing their last regular season game as a member of SF State.

“I love being in this program, I love being a part of this university,” Williams said. “It’s been a great run, it’s been a great five years.”

SF State opened the game playing up-tempo for their first few possessions, getting the ball down to the Triton’s side of the court without setting up their halfcourt sets. The offense was too fast for its own good and gave UC San Diego an early chance at defensive rebounds and scoring off of turnovers.

The Tritons returned the favor with their own fast-paced offense. They made their shots and were heating up early. UC San Diego jumped out to an early 7-2 lead

within the first two and a half minutes.

“Their fast break was fueled off our turnovers,” Williams said. “We had seven turnovers in the half and they scored 12 points off that. That’s a big margin, and we were down nine at the half.”

For a moment, the Gators found their groove, getting good shots, along with some good defense. It wouldn’t last.

One of the only team stats the Gators could win against the Tritons was rebounding.

SF State almost doubled the Tritons in cleaning the glass during the first half, snatching 22 balls to the Tritons’ 14. The defensive rebounding, 13 rebounds, saved the Gators from even more Triton onslaught in the first half, who already built a 38-29 lead by the end of the half.

Defensive rebounding could not stop UC San Diego’s flurry of three-pointers, which kept the half out of reach for SF State.

The Tritons were 6-of-16 from deep and despite the poor shooting from threepoint land, seemed to answer every Gator comeback with a three on their way to a comfortable first-half lead.

The story of the game was much of the same in the second half, as UC San Diego

continued to separate themselves from the Gators with a three-pointer. The Tritons shot 12-for-30 (40 percent) from behind the arc on the day.

No player had a better game than Tritons senior guard Christian Bayne, who had 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.

Bayne went 3-of-6 from behind the threepoint line.

“It was, especially, Christian Bayne’s day,” said Arrivas. “He was really going crazy today, making a lot of shots, really tough ones.”

The team was not communicating well today, Arrivas said. Bayne and rest of Tritons took advantage of it today.

UC San Diego’s offensive explosion led to a lead by as much as 23 points. The Gators simply could not keep up with the Tritons volume scoring.

“They’re [UC San Diego] the best shooting team in the league,” SF State head coach Vince Inglima said. “They shoot over 40 percent as a team. So we knew it was going to be an issue from the get-go.”

The Gators dropped a one-point battle when they faced the Tritons last time on Thursday, Dec. 6. That 80-79 loss was a far cry from the game on Saturday.

Their fast break was fueled off our turnovers.”

- Ryne Williams Gator center “We tried to switch defenses … to keep them off balance, which we had a lot of success with last time,” Inglima said. “In the end, tonight they were making shots.”

Even with this blemish, SF State had a solid February, going 4-2, with a game against Chico State left on the month.

The Gators will travel to Art Ackerman Gymnasium this Thursday, Feb. 28 to take on the Chico State Wildcats, hoping to cling onto the fourth seed in the CCAA and host a first-round playoff matchup on Tuesday, March 5.

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8 SPOTLIGHT

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2019

‘Black Joy’ parade fills Oakland steets East Bay community shuts down thoroughfare to celebrate Black culture, history and achievements in second annual festival PHOTOS BY: SHAYLYN MARTOS/Golden Gate Xpress

A parade participant rides a horse in the second annual Oakland Black Joy Parade in Oakland, Calif. on Feb. 24, 2019.

Women with the Hundreds Unit dance group from Sacramento perform in the second annual Oakland, Calif.

Black Joy Parade on Feb. 24, 2019.

Rochelle Westbrooks dances in costume in the second annual Oakland, Calif. Black Joy Parade on Feb. 24, 2019.

Members of the Xi Gamma Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first black sorority founded at Howard University, march with fists raised at the annual Oakland, Calif. Black Joy Parade on Feb. 24, 2019.