Vol. 166, Issue 7 | Nov. 28 – Dec. 12, 2018 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
unsafe
air quality
College copes with Camp Fire smoke By David Mamaril Horowitz dhorowitz@theguardsman.com
labeled San Francisco air very unhealthy. Within 50 minutes, City College emailed its community, stating it would close at 3:30 p.m.
By the evening of Nov. 8, smoke from the Butte County Camp Fire had travMonitoring the situation eled 160 miles southwest and blanketed City College. City College coordinated its deciBy night, the U.S. Environmental sion to stay open with the San Francisco Protection Agency radar Air Now Unified School District and the City of deemed San Francisco air unhealthy. As San Francisco. it remained that way over the following It was on air quality alert, bringing week, colleges such as San Francisco State activities indoors when possible, moniUniversity and Skyline College closed toring individuals with health conditions their doors by Nov. 14. such as asthma, and having coaches When City College emailed its cancel practices and games as necessary. community on the mornings of Nov. 9 The college stated it would allow those and 15 stating that it would remain open, affected by the fire to be accommodated some questioned the decision. if they could not attend school. “I feel like they should have stopped Studies have linked particle pollu[class] then and there just for the people tion to premature death for people with who have asthma or bronchitis or heart or lung disease, according to an anything wrong with their lungs,” said EPA web page. The pollution is also Lonnie Jordan, a City College student linked to nonfatal heart attacks, irregwho has asthma. ular heartbeats, aggravated asthma, The challenge — coping with decreased lung functions and increased unhealthful levels of air pollution, and respiratory symptoms. deciding whether to stay open — was a Jim Connors, the interim chair of new one for City College. the Department of Administration of By 2 p.m. on Nov. 15, Air Now Justice and Fire Science, said that the Camp Fire continued on page 3
City College Physics Lab Manager Tom Dodge leaves Science Building after school closes on Nov. 15 due to air pollution. Photo by Peter J. Suter/The Guardsman
College adapts to Banner 9 amid registration By David Mamaril Horowitz
by the IT folks and the ‘techies,’ I only had a chance to ‘play’ with Banner 9 when it went up over the weekend — and there City College upgraded its administrative are a lot of things that I found unfriendly software for everything from record-keeping and unworkable.” to registration on Nov. 11, raising a collegeLatin American Studies Professor Mark wide concern that too much had changed Piper shared her concern. just two weeks before registration started “Doing it in the middle of a semester is on the 26th. not the best practice, I would think,” Piper The administrative software, Banner 9, said. “You have a lot of faculty who aren’t boasts a modern interface, improved naviga- young, and it takes time to learn this system.” tion, tighter security and more. Piper also said that he felt Banner 9 Nonetheless, leaders within the City should have been implemented in summer, College community such as President of the a shorter semester with less traffic. Banner 9 Department Chairperson Council Darlene was supposed to go live last summer, accordAlioto feel that the changes should have ing to minutes from a May 24, 2017, Banner instead gone live over the summer. Renewal Advisory Group meeting. “For now, personally, I believe we have “Upgrades to our system have been long gone live with Banner 9 too soon,” Alioto overdue,” college spokesperson Connie stated in an email. “While there was testing Chan stated in an email. “It is with a sense of dhorowitz@theguardsman.com
urgency that our team takes all City College systems, be it, our facilities and our online system, to 21st Century. We know we must act now because we know there will always be room for improvements.” Piper understood that need. He said that modern institutions should be able to look up simple things, such as payroll and sick leaves, without human interaction or interference.
lab aides at the college Media Center, were both affected. “We have to do our time sheets on Banner 9, and the other day, we weren’t able to go on there,” Sanger said on Nov. 15. “If you go onto ‘Employee,’ you can’t go to your timesheet now there. You have to go to the search bar and search for your time sheet. Most people wouldn’t know that, I feel.” Teachers and department chairs also showed concern that the number of seats Problems available for each class are visible to students. “No matter what system you buy, no Although students may find the feature helpmatter where you go, it isn’t until you do ful, teachers and department chairs have live data that you realize ‘Oh, this doesn’t long advocated against it. work,’” Piper said. “With the administration’s frenzy to Within days of being implemented, cancel low enrolled courses before they even Banner 9 made it more difficult for student meet, a student may shy away from a course workers to access their time sheets. Students that starts out with a lower enrollment, therePaige Sanger and Lisa Lwin Lwin Aung, fore making the cancellation a self-fulfilling Banner 9 continued on page 2
HARVEST TASTING CULTURE - PAGE 5 SOMA PILIPINAS ETHNO TOUR CULTURE - PAGE 4