The Guardsman, Vol. 171, Issue 6, City College of San Francisco

GUERRILLAS, DISRUPTORS

SKIPPING THE LINE

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Page 6

BASEBALL SITS OUT

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Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 – April 27, 2021 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE | www.theguardsman.com

City College's newspaper The Guardsman won the General Excellence: Print Edition award among many others at this year's Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) statewide conference.

By Colton Webster

cwebster1963@gmail.com

On March 20 The Guardsman and Etc Magazine contributors took home a combined 24 awards from the 2021 Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) state conven‐ tion, including three first place titles in the fields of news layout, sports writing, and copyediting.

The three students who received first place prizes shared their experiences at the conven‐ tion, perspectives on the college’s journalism programs, and plans for the future.

Eleni Balakrishnan Co-chief editor of The Guardsman Eleni Balakrishnan was awarded first place in copy editing in addition to placing second for feature

writing at the convention’s on-the-spot contests.

“I’m kind of obsessive about getting the grammar and the wording right,” Bal‐ akrishnan said.

For the feature writing on-the-spot competition, contestants attended a film screening, collectively interviewing the filmmakers and writing an article overnight to be judged. The copyediting competi‐ tion however, according to Balakrishnan, was more like an exam.

Regarding her transition from staff writer to editor-in-chief, Balakrishnan said, “I didn’t really know how much goes into it. I think one thing we do that’s pretty cool is we try to make the whole process

By Garrett Leahy @leahygarrett

About a month after formally announcing the com‐ mencement of City College’s search for a new perma‐ nent chancellor on Feb. 12, Shanell Williams, president of City College’s Board of Trustees, announced March 15 that the search will be put on hiatus as the board deals with City College’s budgetary crisis.

“Last night, the Board met in closed session and

pretty transparent … so even new writers can see what the process is.”

“There’s always something last minute, there’s so many moving pieces … getting every issue done feels like a pretty big ac‐ complishment,” Balakrishnan added.

Guardsman writers from the year prior also had their work showcased at the event thanks to submissions from Gonza‐ les. “Juan sends those in pretty sneakily actually,” Balakrishnan said. “None of us actually knows what he submitted for us.”

The Guardsman won 10 write-in awards in the fields including fourth place in news story, second and fourth place for feature stories, and third place in the illus‐ tration category. City College’s Etc Magazine

concluded that it will be in the best interest of the District to suspend the search at this time and reopen it July 1. This will allow us time to work through the critical decisions we must make to balance our 20212022 Budget to maintain our accreditation and safeguard the future of City College,” Williams said in a March 15 update posted to City College’s website.

Williams did not have details on what the Board planned as far as who will lead the college during the three-month gap between the end of Interim Chancellor Rajen Vurdien’s contract on June 30 and the estimated start date of the next chancellor on October 1, 2021.

also won six awards including taking first and second prizes for magazine photo story-essays and first place for a magazine profile article.

Balakrishnan began taking journal‐ ism courses last spring with instructor and department chair Juan Gonzales, and be‐ gan writing City College’s Etc Magazine last spring and for The Guardsman last fall.

Balakrishnan has also contributed to publications such as El Tecolote, 48 Hills, and The Potrero View. She hopes to move into writing full time after the end of the semester and intern for a local publication

Guardsman staff continues on p. 2

“Vurdien is still in charge right now, but we’ll make sure that we have leadership for the college,” said Board of Trustees President Shanell Williams.

“We’re not looking at options for the moment in terms of an additional interim capacity.”

Williams declined to comment further regarding leadership plans between July 1 and October 1, cit‐ ing her inability to discuss labor negotiations.

The search committee is a body made up of

Chancellor search continues on p. 2

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Guardsman staff continued from p. 1

By Samya Brohmi sbrohmi@gmail.com

Members of The Guardsman editing team, including some JACC participants and award winners. Pictured left to right: Juan Gonzales, Eleni Balakrishnan, Alexa Bautista, John Taylor Wildfeuer, Kaiyo Funaki, Manon Cadenaule, Sadie Peckens, Annette Mullaney.

during the summer of 2021.

Kaiyo Funaki The Guardsman’s sports edi‐ tor Kaiyo Funaki was awarded first place in on-the-spot sports writing and fourth place in the write-in feature writing competi‐ tion. Funaki began writing at The Guardsman in fall of 2019 after taking journalism courses with Gonzales.

The on-the-spot sports writ‐ ing competition involved writing a recap of the Warriors vs Griz‐ zlies match-up, with writers given the opportunity via Zoom to ask questions to players including An‐ drew Wiggins, Damion Lee, Kevon Looney, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr during the post-game conference. Funaki said he was able to ask a question di‐ rectly to Kevon Looney.

In the post-game conference student writers asked questions alongside veteran sports journal‐ ists. “It was really interesting to see what questions they were ask‐ ing [and to see how] everyone was cutting each other off, it was a cutthroat kind of deal. Whoever was loudest or imposing their will the most got answers,” Funaki said.

This was the first time the convention organizers were able

to get students access to an NBA game. By utilizing an online for‐ mat rather than the typical inperson post-game Q&A, students were able to convene with players and staff of professional sports teams in real time, an opportunity they may not have been afforded otherwise.

“I was really lucky that we had this opportunity to cover the game and talk to these coaches and athletes,” Funaki said.

Funaki was a kinesiology ma‐ jor at San Francisco State Univer‐ sity before studying journalism. “I knew I wanted to work in sports and for a long time I thought be‐ coming a physical therapist or trainer, working with athletes handson, was my future career.”

Funaki said that he came to the realization that the field wasn’t for him and decided to try journalism. In addition to his work for The Guardsman, Funaki has also contributed to publica‐ tions including FantasyPros and The Cold Wire.

Regarding working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Funaki said, “I think for a lot of us this is a pivot in terms of our career and I think it’s a testament to Juan to get the best out of us and I think it’s a testament to

everyone’s skill.”

Manon Cadenaule Illustration editor and design director for The Guardsman Manon Cadenaule was awarded first place in on-the-spot news layout competition. “I hope that the City College won’t lose its journalism department,” she said, “and more broadly its arts department.”

Cadenaule is an international student in her Optional Practical Training (OPT) year. Domesti‐ cally, the OPT program allows foreign students to extend their student visa by completing a 12month employment internship after a year of formal college ed‐ ucation. In Cadenaule’s case, she took an internship as illustration editor at The Guardsman.

Obtaining an internship for an OPT year is difficult. “This can be complicated because no‐ body wants to sponsor,” Cade‐ naule said. “Finding an intern‐ ship at a company was very hard for me ... [so] I started at The Guardsman.”

On her involvement with the student press Cadenaule said, “Working for the City College newspaper is a fantastic experi‐ ence giving students strong bases to get internships and start great careers.”

Chancellor search continued from p. 1 students, faculty, adminis‐ trators, and community members involved with the recruiting and screening of candidates for the chancel‐ lor position. Tim Wolfred, who served as a trustee at City College from 1981 to 1995 and is a member of the search committee, said a three month leadership gap can be easily remedied by the board.

“We’re talking about a three-month extension or a three-month gap be‐ tween July 1 and October 1; I would assume that the current administration could handle that three months, whether the current in‐ terim chancellor stays on or not, and it doesn’t make sense to go out and bring in somebody else for such a brief period of time,” Wolfred said.

Infographic by Eleni Balakrishnan/ The Guardsman

Staff Editors-in-Chief Eleni Balakrishnan Alexa Bautista News Editor John Taylor Wildfeuer

Wolfred said one bene‐ fit of pausing the search is that it will allow more time to gather a larger pool of qualified candidates; since the position opened on Feb. 12, only nine candidates who applied to the position meet the minimum qualifi‐ cations. Wolfred said that a larger pool is needed be‐ cause that will allow the search committee and the Board of Trustees, which hires the chancellor, to be more selective in the hiring process and select the most qualified candidate available.

“We like to cast as large a net as possible, with only 9 [candidates], you don’t really get that. I’d person‐ ally like to see more like 2025 who meet the minimum qualifications ... You want enough competitive

Chancellor search continues on p. 3 Culture Editor Hannah Asuncion Opinion Editor Tim Hill Sports Editor Kaiyo Funaki

Photo Editor Carmen Marin Copy Editors Tobin Jones Sadie Peckens Design Director Manon Cadenaule

San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ com‐ munity has been hard hit by the possible and actual loss of iconic community spaces and education programs according to LGBT stud‐ ies department Chair Dr. Ardel Thomas.

It began when The Stud closed its doors after 33 years in SoMa in May of 2020. The famed nightclub was owned by the Stud Collective, a group of friends that includes for‐ mer RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Honey Mahogany. The club was a historic pillar of SoMa's LGBTQ+ community, known for throwing ex‐ perimental drag parties and rallying against what the collective saw as the growing consumerism that threat‐ ened to redefine LGBTQ+ culture.

The co-owners promised a reincar‐ nation of the club’s concept in the near future and to contribute to re‐ building San Francisco’s oncebustling party scene.

Virgil’s Sea Room in the Mis‐ sion was next to shut down this past February. Owner Lila Thirkield at‐ tributed the closing to the impossi‐ bility of running a sustainable busi‐ ness while keeping employees safe in a re‐ cent interview with 48Hills. Virgil’s attracted a diverse crowd where both LGBTQ+ and straight party‐ goers came together to bond over drinks, games, and conversation.

For spaces that have managed to

stay open, crowdfunding has pro‐ vided a necessary lifeline. At Oa‐ sis, a SoMa-based nightclub and cabaret, tightened restrictions meant “not only laying off our bar staff, but our actors, drag performers, DJs, security, all lost work,” Oasis’ front of house manager and drag performer Snaxx said. “Us, along with many other queer spaces, have turned to online events and shows.”

Snaxx admitted switching to virtual performances was “a com‐ pletely different beast than being in person. It's also been very scary to see other local bars or venues close. Not knowing how long it will be until we can resume ‘life as normal’ definitely made us so anx‐ ious because, what will still be standing when we can come back?”

Still, Oasis was able to raise more than $250,000 in a 12-hour telethon earlier last month. The event aired on the club’s stream‐ ing service OasisTV and was hosted by owner and acclaimed performer D’Arcy Dollinger. The money raised will help Dollinger pay the accrued back rent and bills until additional funds from the city become available.

Despite the event’s proven success, Snaxx initially had doubts going into the event, feeling ner‐ vous to ask the performers to do‐ nate their time and believed that viewers would be burnt out from donating to previous fundraisers.

Snaxx’s apprehension quickly re‐ solved when she saw donations

Illustration by Manon Cadenaule/ The Guardsman. Instagram: @cadenaulem

and emotional support pour in from viewers.

“Everything that happened at the telethon blew me away,” Snaxx said. “It reaffirmed how important this place is to so many people, peo‐ ple local and halfway around the world. And obviously, with all the Social Media Editor Annette Mullaney Staff Writers Colton Webster Ava Cohen Angela Greco Garrett Leahy

money we were able to raise, we felt a weight lifted that had been building for months and months.

We now feel like we have a new‐ found motivation and drive to keep working hard and be a space

LGBTQ+ continues on p. 3

Shayna Gee Casey Michie Samya Brohmi Illustrators Daina Medveder Koziot Erin Blackwell

Serena Sacharoff Photographer Melvin Wong

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Chancellor search continued from p. 2 candidates that the one you end up with is going to be a good one,” Wolfred said.

According to Helen Benjamin, president of HSV Consulting, 14 people have retired from chancellor positions in community college districts across California so far this year, making for a more competitive environment as candidates have more than City College to choose from, and adding to the need for a larger candidate pool.

HSV Consulting is a small Dallas-based firm which has assisted City College both in its current search for a permanent chancellor as well as its previous search that ended with the hiring of Vurdien.

“Lots of retirements ... That’s 14 vacancies.

We’re competing with a lot of districts for candi‐ dates,” Benjamin said.

During the hiatus, the search committee will not meet to discuss the chancellor search, accord‐ ing to Wolfred, but Benjamin said that HSV Con‐ sulting will remain occupied with the search for City College’s next chancellor, specifically by stay‐ ing updated on decisions by the Board and admin‐ istration, and communicating with job candidates.

“We have to keep abreast with the college and keep talking to candidates,” Benjamin said. “The people applying for the job have questions about the state of the college and they’re watching as things move on ... what decisions have been made ... these are the things that candidates want to know to determine whether they want to move into competition for the position.”

Malaika Finkelstein, president of AFT2121, the union which represents City College’s faculty, said that her primary concern is not the delay in the chancellor search, but hiring a chancellor who will avoid cutting faculty and departments and increase educational opportunities for the community.

“Ideally when they actually hire someone, whether its now or later, that person will be some‐ one who is actually interested in the communities in San Francisco directly,” said Finkelstein, who has criticized the faculty layoffs this semester which affect departments such as Disabled Stu‐ dents Programs and Services, ESL, and Phillipine Studies departments.

“Interim Chancellor Vurdien has said repeat‐ edly that he is very close to the state chancellor, and recently he has been telling us that the state

By Casey Michie

cmichie1@mail.ccsf.edu

A new budget report, presented for the first time at the March 25 Board of Trustees meeting, offered details into an excess deficit of $31 million that City College must reckon with heading into the next fiscal year.

The report offers insight into budget shortages during the 2020-21 fiscal year, as well as projections and estimates for the 2021-22 budget. Economic shortfalls during the current year are primarily attributed to overages in instructional aid and benefits, according to the report.

Dr. John al-Amin, Deputy Chancellor of City College who presented the findings, noted at the meeting, “As of January we have almost entirely exhausted our funding for full time instructional aids.” He said this expenditure is an area for concern to meet projected budgets for the next fiscal year.

LGBTQ+ continued from p. 2 chancellor wants to downsize our college … he said that the state chancellor wants this college to be 18,000 to 20,000 students, right now we’re at 60,000 … if our interim chancellor is correct in that that’s what the state wants, then what we need is a chancellor who doesn’t want to see our school cut by two-thirds,” Finkelstein said.

When State Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley was asked whether it was his intention to reduce City College’s student population, he denied that he was involved with decisions made at the college, saying that the Board of Trustees has full authority.

“I do not seek to make any decisions on behalf of CCSF. Decisions are made locally by the demo‐ cratically elected trustees and through a collegial consultation process. Neither I nor the chancel‐ lor’s office is part of that process. I recognize that the governing board needs to make some very difficult decisions in order to ensure the fiscal sta‐ bility of the college and I fully support them in their efforts,” Oakley said.

Vurdien denied speaking with the chancellor about reducing City College’s student body and said that he was not interested in doing so.

“This is absolutely not true,” said Vurdien, referring to Finkelstein’s comments.

According to the City College chancellor job description, some of the board’s main priorities for the incoming chancellor are to maintain the col‐ lege’s accreditation with the state and to balance the college’s budget, which has operated at a deficit for several years running.

Williams said that her ideal candidate for a chancellor would be one with “accreditation expe‐ rience, strong fiscal management, and a willing‐ ness to work with our unique context at the college …[and] a willingness to work closely with the board.”

Wolfred said he had similar expectations re‐ garding the incoming chancellor’s experience, but also specifically wants someone familiar with re‐ turning companies to solvency.

“I think having experience as a turnaround executive would be helpful ... somebody who’s go‐ ing to come in and right the ship,” Wolfred said.

The adjusted timeline for appointing City Col‐ lege’s next chancellor will be announced at the next Board of Trustees meeting on April 29.

Allocation of the budget for faculty benefits was similarly underestimated. Health, dental, and life benefits were apportioned a little more than $15.3 million for the 2020-21 fiscal year, and as of Jan. 21, 93% of the money had already been spent.

“This cannot be anything but terrifying,” Trustee Thea Selby remarked on the numbers presented at the March 25 meeting

Revenues to Overcome the Deficit

The March 25 meeting was not used as a platform to discuss solutions to the deficit, and it was made clear that the process of budgeting for the next fiscal year would stretch into the coming months.

A preliminary audit report, presented at the April 8 Board of Trustees meeting, stated, “The general consensus of those we interviewed [for the audit], was that CCSF faces severe fiscal

for the community.”

In addition to crowdfunding, Snaxx called for the city to priori‐ tize financial support for small businesses. “I know that there's a major demand for funding, vac‐ cines, and accessibility across the board right now, but the delays in funding becoming available is part of what forced us to hold this telethon. There also should be more city officials dedicated to helping businesses reopen safely,” she said.

“Rules are changing all the time and information is not easily accessible or clear and we get so much information looming over our heads about fines and closures if things are implemented incor‐ rectly,” she added. Snaxx believes the city should provide liaisons to assist vulnerable businesses to stay up to date on regulations.

LGBTQ+ organizations are also implementing innovative ways to serve their communities in a time of crisis. The San Francisco LGBT Center is collaborating with other community centers around the country to combat LGTBQ+ youth homelessness. LGBTQ+ youth have been made especially vulnerable by the pandemic, due to decreased access to safe and per‐ manent housing situations.

The center is participating in the Host Homes Program, where eligible candidates aged 18-24 can be temporarily paired with a com‐ munity host and receive case man‐ agement services to help them se‐ cure stable housing. The program is currently in its pilot stage with additional support from Point Source Youth and San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

The LGBT Center has also made its Employment Services Program, which assists in finding and retaining employment, avail‐ able to continuing and new clients during the pandemic. Program leader Cheryl Lala has been in talks with Thomas and the Queer Resource Center’s coordinator Juan Fernandez to offer the same resources on campus.

Thomas, who uses they/them pronouns, said that while employ‐ ers may have a bias against hiring gender non-conforming students, the LGBT Center has begun to partner with companies like Macy’s for client employment op‐ portunities and to train current employees in LGBTQ+ cultural competency for the workplace.

At City College, the majority of campus services have moved on‐ line. “It’s been incredibly challeng‐ ing for everybody,” Thomas said.

“Students who were employed are busier than before than pandemic and there has been confusion with City College designating what’s

online and what’s on campus.”

Having extensive training and ex‐ perience in teaching LGBT studies online courses, Thomas made the conscious decision to keep all cour‐ ses asynchronous and eliminated late penalties.

As a result, Thomas says stu‐ dents have found success in their courses and appreciated the flexi‐ bility while balancing other re‐ sponsibilities. “The disability com‐ munity has benefitted when given internet access and no physical barriers included,” Thomas said.

Thomas also noted that several of their students might be strug‐ gling with issues like housing, food insecurity, and mental health all while attending school. “We’re all trying to support students as much as we can,” they said. LGBT stud‐ ies courses will continue to be re‐ mote this upcoming fall, giving in‐ structors the time to prepare for teaching in person for future semesters.

However, the LBGT studies department is no stranger to the possibility of faculty layoffs, as three out of the department’s four instructors have received pink slips.

Thomas described how disgusted and upset they felt because “the Board of Trustees failed to listen to people on the ground.”

“If the layoffs proceed, several queer-identified and/or instructors of color are at risk of losing their positions. This delegitimizes the college’s promise to continue hir‐ ing and supporting careers of in‐ structors who belong to these groups,” Thomas said.

The Queer Resource Center has shifted to using Zoom for their regular spring programs and events. This past February, it hosted “Queerceañera,” a virtual celebration of the center’s 15th an‐ niversary. The event included a presentation on accessing student resources, drag performances, and an opportunity for LGBTQ+ iden‐ tified students to socialize with one another.

T-House, a community space within the Queer Resource Center, has also pivoted its events to Zoom.

The T-House acts as a community gathering space and hosts an event series for students who identify as transmasculine and/or masculine of center people, regardless of their gender identity or orientation.

Those interested in participat‐ ing in its event series can fill out an interest form and subscribe to its email list. T-House’s coordinators are mindful of participants’ varied needs, posting content warnings for potential triggers during pre‐ sentations and working to secure access to live captioning and/or ASL interpreting for spoken por‐ tions of future events.

challenges and the review of expenses and financial measures is a high priority.”

Exactly how solutions will address these fiscal challenges remains unclear. Areas of discussion have revolved around the allocation of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), the monetary effect of enhanced enrollment, lobbying for additional state funding, and reduction of staff and resources.

HEERF funding, a federal program that allocates money to help colleges finance expenses accrued directly due to COVID-19, could offer some deficit aid. There is $53 million currently available to City College,

Chancellor search continues on p. 2

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Infographic by John Taylor Wildfeuer/The Guardsman.

but the funds are restricted, and will expire soon if not allocated.

Exactly how HEERF funding will be used by City College is yet to be determined, but the funding is expected to offer some form of monetary relief to the college.

The prospect of additional state funding, which is partly tied to enrollment numbers at community colleges, presents a challenge to City College whose enrollment numbers have dropped during COVID-19.

While City College is anticipating an increase in enrollment when classes return to in-person lectures, the cost of operation may outpace any potential funding. This may result in City College incurring extra costs associated with higher enrollment, while not meeting the enrollment threshold that would trigger additional state funding.

While there has yet to be any movement on proposed layoffs, John al-Amin noted during the March 25 meeting that, “the gap we have, to put it in perspective, is about 18% of our current

expenditures; we are basically 20% over budget.” Noting as those laid off would receive neither. the hard solutions needed to tackle the deficit, al-Amin Rosie Zepeda, Director of Media for City College, said “there is never a good time for layoffs, there is never noted that, “the [potential] layoffs are for salary a good time for reduction.” reductions for next fiscal year. [The college is] currently New Budget Report and the Potential of Layoffs projecting a $34 million deficit for next fiscal year and with the cost of compensation exceeding 90%, The reality of layoffs, a looming eventuality still very compensation reductions, either via concessions and/or much in contention since the Board of Trustees issued layoffs, must be implemented.”

163 pink slips to full time staff in March, appears Commenting during the March 25 meeting on the increasingly likely given the budget report’s severe hard decisions the Board of Trustees must make, Trustee forecasts with no apparent alternative so far proposed by Tom Temprano said, “I can’t stress and underscore how the administration to avoid them. important these next few months of budget development The layoffs, according to the administration, would will be, if we mess this one up colleagues, I don’t think reduce the college’s expenditure paid out to salaries and we will have another shot at this.” faculty benefits, two areas the college has identified as costly. They would not, however, affect costs associated with post-employment benefits (OPEB) or severance pay,

BRIEF

City Supervisors Consider Funding For City College

By Annette Mullaney amullan4@mail.ccsf.edu

San Francisco supervisors expressed sup‐ port for City College at an April 9 hearing on the college’s proposed course cuts and layoffs of over 60% of instructors, at the inaugural meeting of the Youth, Young Adult, and Fami‐ lies Committee.

Supervisor Gordon Mar (D4) said he in‐ tends to introduce a budget supplemental ap‐ propriation for the college as early as April 13, the next Board of Supervisors meeting. He did Faculty Advisor Juan Gonzales

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not specify an amount, but indicated that some funding might go through the Work‐ force Education and Recovery Fund (WERF). Proposed by Mar last year, the fund was intended to provide $20 million to City College per year, but was scaled back considerably during the pandemic, providing $200,000 for Spring 2021.

Dozens of instructors, students, and alumni called in during public comments, pleading for city funding to curtail cuts.

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Two callers broke down in tears describing the impact of the cuts.

Malaika Finkelstein, Mary Brave‐ woman, and Alayna Fredericks of faculty union AFT2121 and Student Trustee Vick Van Chung presented the extent of the financial crisis to the committee. Board of Trustees President Shanell Williams gave Supervisor Hilary Ronen (D9) a letter fur‐ ther describing the crisis and emphasizing the trustees’ commitment to balancing the

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college’s budget.

City College administration declined to participate in the meeting, a move criti‐ cized by many attendees.

“Our administration may not have the imagination and leadership but we know that our students do, San Franciscans do, and that you, our city supervisors do,” Fredericks said.

50 Frida Kahlo Way, Box V-67 SanFrancisco,CA 94112 Bungalow 615

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Guerrilla Girls Frida Kahlo and Kathe Kollwitz celebrating their book "Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly" during San Francisco Public Library's One City One Book Virtual Event on March 24th, 2021. Photo by Shayna Gee/The Guardsman.

Anonymous artist-activists use humor and provocative graphics to disrupt the art world.

By Shayna Gee

sgee23@mail.ccsf.edu

Legendary disruptors of the art world, the Guerrilla Girls are a collective of artistactivists exposing gender and racial discrimination in the arts. The self-proclaimed “professional complainers” began their careers “behaving badly” in 1985, carrying posters and glue to post around the city.

“We were just a bunch of ragtag artists in New York who would sneak around the streets in the middle of the night,” said Guerrilla Girl Frida

Kahlo.

Masked in guerrilla faces for anonymity, each Guerrilla Girl takes on a dead woman artist’s name as a pseudonym. Their campaigns have largely focused on challenging the political systems of power that corrupt the arts.

“Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly” is the first book to document their campaigns from the mid-80s to present day. Written by the Guerrilla Girls themselves, the book includes a large collection of roaring graphics and statements from public demonstrations to billboards to gallery exhibitions.

San Francisco Public Library’s (SFPL’s) 16th annual One City One Book campaign hosts a broad range of virtual events throughout March and April.

Of the many events, Guerrilla Girls Kahlo and Kathe Kollwitz made an appearance on March 24 to discuss their book and legacy at a panel co-hosted by SFPL and in partnership with their publisher, Chronicle Books.

SFPL kicked off the event with a quote by author and social activist bell hooks: “The work of the

Illustration by Manon Cadenaule/ The Guardsman. Instagram: @cadenaulem

Guerrilla Girls represents the most powerful political union between theory and practice.”

“The art that was admired and successful is usually about the white male experience,” Kahlo said.

“There’s a huge glass ceiling for women and people of color in both the art market and the museum structure. Rarely do you see a woman rise to be a director but that’s changing.”

Kahlo and Kollwitz exhibited a slide displaying one of their earliest posters from 1986 that called out tokenism and served as a “public service message” from the Guerrilla Girls. In black ink with asterisks citing galleries, it read: “ONLY 4 COMMERCIAL GALLERIES IN N.Y. SHOW BLACK WOMEN.* ONLY 1 SHOWS MORE THAN 1.**” The Guerilla Girls’ provocative graphics have drawn the attention of well-esteemed museums and art curators whom they’ve called out through their own art, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

Written in their campaign statements and fashioned by their guerrilla masks, the Guerrilla Girls’s weapon of choice? Humor.

They use humor as a way to reach people with differing opinions and “to possibly change peoples’ minds,” Kollwitz said.

Having done hundreds of projects over more than 35 years, “we’ve refined our critiques and techniques but we always try to do something that is surprising and something that we hope is unforgettable,” Kollwitz said.

In recent projects, the Guerrilla Girls have been interested in museum directors and board members.

In 2018, The Guerrilla Girls began working with global publisher Phaidon Press Ltd. to publish their book “The Art of

Behaving Badly.” One year into the making of the book, news had surfaced that Leon Black, the owner of Phaidon Press and chairman of the board at MOMA, “had a long and unexplained relationship with Jeffrey Esptein (convicted sex offender),” Kahlo said.

According to multiple news outlets, Black paid Epstein $158 million for alleged tax advice.

After breaking the contract with Phaidon Press, the Guerrilla Girls took a deeper dive into Black and his connections. According to the Apollo Global Management press release on March 22, 2021, Black had stepped down from his role as CEO months earlier than his expected departure in July.

“It's so interesting that the MOMA has not yet asked him to leave the board of directors and that the financial institutions had to act on their ethics before the MOMA,” Kahlo said.

On the same week of the SFPL panel, an anonymous tip told the New York Times that Black announced that he does not plan to renew his position as chairman of the MOMA. With the Guerrilla Girls, there is no skipping around the issues of patriarchal bias and discrimination. Their art gets to the point and they do it in a way that is unforgettable. They demand the art museums and collectors to examine their own artist representation because museums hold history and therefore shape narrative.

“I don’t think anyone would say you could write the history of art without the voices of women and artists of color,” Kahlo said.

The Guerrilla Girls departed the panel with their motto: “Do one thing. If it works, do one thing.

If it works, do another. If it doesn’t, do it anyway. Just keep chipping.”

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Eligibility verification for COVID-19 vaccines have been disregarded

By Ava Cohen

avaocohen@gmail.com

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced late in March that everyone in California will be vaccinated by the end of April in hopes of opening the state back up by June 15, and President Joe Biden has made the valiant claim that everyone in the U.S. will be vaccinated by May 1.

California is on schedule to make vaccines available to all residents ages 16 and older on April 15. Some counties have varying tiers of who is eligible at certain times and some counties have already made them avail‐ able to all. In San Francisco, people 50 years and older, healthcare workers, people working in certain essential service roles, people with certain health conditions or disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, and peo‐ ple living in congregated settings are currently eligible for the vaccine. San Francisco County has also included HIV as a valid underlying health condition to receive the vaccine.

Another article from San Francisco Chronicle says that public transit workers and incarcerated residents are also currently eligible for the vaccine. Although I am typically very wary of San Francisco’s neoliberal facade, I am incredibly glad to hear that both incarcerated res‐ idents and homeless people are eligible (though I do be‐ lieve they should’ve been a higher priority on the tiers) considering they are some of the most vulnerable to the virus and most commonly disregarded.

However, some communities should've prioritized those who weren’t. For a city that has a reputation for being so sex-positive, we haven’t done an adequate job of protecting some of the most vulnerable workers.

Sex workers are incredibly susceptible to COVID19, particularly those who work in close contact with people. Fortunately, a peer-based organization for the health and safety of sex workers, St. James Infirmary, has been able to give doses of the vaccine to sex workers, but in limited supply.

People with disabilities that make them more at risk of contracting or dying from COVID-19 also should’ve been prioritized in the earlier rollout tier than March 15; truthfully they should’ve been part of the first priority tier, along with people over 65. According to the San Francisco Human Services Agency, one in ten San Fran‐ ciscans has a disability, and 27% of those people have to take public transportation.

As an essential worker, I had a horrendous time finding an appointment earlier in the rollout stages, and witnessed several cases of peers, or even older adults, cheating their way to the front of the line when they were not yet eligible. It’s been quite frustrating, to say the least, particularly because a lot of

who don’t have to worry about access to healthcare and resources. It’s ironic how some of the very people who complained about people partying during the pandemic are adopting the same American “me first” attitude when it comes to getting vaccinated.

A perfect example of this is One Medical and its re‐ cent scandal. The healthcare provider is under investiga‐ tion for allowing an influx of wealthy clients to cut the lines and receive the vaccine, regardless of eligibility.

But from my experience and others I’ve spoken to, huge vaccine sites such as the Moscone Center have not been asking for verification either. In fact, I don’t think I’ve spoken to anyone who had to give verification of eligibility at any site.

Although in some regards, I wish they would be more diligent with this, I realize there’s a lot of pressure to roll this vaccine out to as many people as possible, and from my understanding, there wasn’t much guidance given as

to how to verify eligibility. It’s difficult to navigate because some groups have been cheated out of the eligibility roll‐ out tiers, while the main people who seem to be cutting the lines are at lower risk.

That self-centered attitude is so deeply ingrained in our culture, and I think (or at least I hope) that things might have gone differently had we had a more capable and efficient government dealing with this pandemic, re‐ ferring to our last president, whose handling of the situa‐ tion spurred anxiety levels for everyone. Not just that, but the fact that it is the first global pandemic any of us have experienced was bound to cause consternation.

However you look at this situation, there isn’t particu‐ larly one “right” way to do it. My biggest hope is that whatever the outcome of this pandemic, we will emerge with a renewed consideration for others and to look out for each other however possible.

“The peopleI’ve no‐ ticed cutting the lines have been able-bod‐ ied people with easy access to healthcare if they did contract COVID-19.”

I understand that most everyone’s been wildly dis‐ concerted throughout the pandemic, which is com‐ pletely valid, but working-class people and others who are more vulnerable to the virus should not have to suffer the consequences of the anxieties of able-bodied people

Illustration by Daina Medveder Koziot/The Guardsman. Instagram: @dmkoziot

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Illustration by Erin Blackwell/The Guardsman. Instagram: @blackwelldrawingfool

By Tim Hill

uilleanner@gmail.com

With the Keystone XL pipeline project shut down for good earlier this year, many on the left felt a sense of relief after the relentless fossil fuel exploitation projects pursued by Donald Trump would come to a close.

President Joe Biden’s win signaled an era of reform against the fossil fuel industry and was initially touted as taking on the biggest corporate polluters. If this is the case, then what about the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota?

To members of the Anishinaabe Nation, who have inhabited this land for millennia, Biden continues to ignore their demands for clean water, clean air, and the right to exist in a non-polluted, non-corporate-owned environment. They have endured multiple oil spills on their land from this pipeline, first in 1991 and then again a decade later in 2001. That’s just in recent memory.

Indigenous activist and attorney Tara Houska has been at the forefront of resistance against Enbridge Energy, which is being championed on the Canadian side by Justin Trudeau, who has faced significant criticism from climate activists for some time now for his neoliberal pro-fossil fuel policies and his refusal to denounce the pipeline as well as tar sands extraction in the boreal forests of northern Alberta. Biden, who obviously is in close allyship with Trudeau, is walking a fine line between continuing to ban fossil fuel projects and work with Republicans that are pro-fossil fuel energy.

I personally feel that Biden’s indecisive attitude may potentially be his biggest downfall. While he certainly is doing more than I would have expected him to do on climate issues, the human rights abuses of fossil fuel companies leave little room for half measures and pats on the back.

Over the last few months, the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline has continued to garner significant media attention from mainstream, independent, and alternative publications. While it hasn’t had the frenzied coverage that the Dakota Access Pipeline had when bloody attack dogs were bestowed upon indigenous inhabitants, (or water protectors, as they called themselves), it shouldn’t take such an action for the public to stand up and take notice and realize that now might be the time for them to act.

For Houska, this sort of fight is about survival and preservation of culture, environment, wildlife, and human rights. It’s about grappling with the reality that genocide and destruction are the real cancer, the real virus that plagues and has always plagued indigenous folx since colonization.

Editorial Cartoon by Erin Blackwell/The Guardsman. Instagram: @blackwelldrawingfool

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

Vol. 171, Issue 6 | April 14 - April 27, 2021

COVID-19 restrictions leave uncertainty for Rams baseball season

By Colton Webster

cwebster1963@gmail.com

Rams baseball has decided not to compete for the upcoming 2021 season according to players.

“Chances are our baseball team is probably opting out for the season, we’re just gonna focus on practicing, getting better,” said head baseball coach Mario

Mendoza.

Currently Rams baseball, unlike other teams such as football or water polo, has not commenced in-person practice or conditioning.

When asked if the team had begun any sort of in-person training, freshman right fielder Darren Le‐ ung said that there is currently no in-person training, “nothing at all, we haven’t started any kind of train‐ ing… it’s kind of concerning at this point.”

As to why the team isn’t practicing in person, Mendoza points to issues with their field. Rams baseball shares Fairmont Field in Pacifica with St. Ignatius High School, a private Catholic high school based in San Francisco.

When asked to elaborate on which issues reside in the field Mendoza declined to comment.

However, there is still hope for the players to compete in 2021, just without City College. “Most of my guys that I have right now [are] trying to get them into summer baseball programs so they can get some games in,” Mendoza said.

Rams pitcher Sean Mueller said he was given resources to club teams in San Diego, Florida, South Carolina, and Idaho. “Our coach is trying to get us out and able to play because he knows that it means a lot to us because we all love the game.”

Both Mueller and Leung plan on playing for club teams and the Rams simultaneously.

The team is not likely to compete because of the distance between the team members, the field, and the uncertainty of the season.

“We’re deep in March and we don’t even have a schedule for the season yet, who knows what type of season we’re going to have,” Mendoza said. “The CCCAA (California Community College Athletic Association) has already announced this season doesn’t count anyway.”

“It’s March something, we’re off-campus, some of my team doesn’t live in San Francisco,” Mendoza said. “They live in Sacramento, I have some guys in the LA area, and I can’t tell them to come out here and get a six-month lease to [say] maybe we might play, maybe we might practice.”

When it came time to make a decision with their field issue at the time, with the coronavirus, with the living situation, Mendoza said it’s likely the team won’t play this season.

Mueller said that a lot of his teammates “were bummed, we were definitely hoping to actually be able to play but when you look at how much [the season] relies on different teams in different counties being able to compete you kind of realize there was no chance of there being able to play … we’re ex‐ cited that we’ll be able to at least practice.”

“We’re putting these kids in limbo without know‐ ing [so] me and my coach kind of decided we don’t have time. We kind of got screwed compared to everyone elsewhere we didn’t practice as much as other people did this whole time,” Mendoza said, referring to the COVID-19 restrictions on San Fran‐ cisco schools versus schools based in other counties.

“For right now it’s probably off but like I said, things can change,” Mendoza said. “If everything opens up and everything looks better … we’ll see, take it day by day.”

Fairmont Field in Pacifica, CA, where both City College and St. Ignatius College Preparatory men's baseball teams practice.

Photo by Colton Webster/The Guardsman.

By Kaiyo Funaki

kaiyo.funaki@gmail.com

The men’s and women’s soccer season is coming to an abrupt end a mere four and a half weeks after it began, leaving players and coaches conflicted over what to make of this tumultuous year.

From the letdown of a canceled season in the fall to the fleeting joy of a condensed schedule this spring, both teams have dealt with a wide range of emotions as they approach their final game of the season.

Second-year center back for the men’s team Sora KonishiGray was disappointed by their brief schedule but was still appreciative of the efforts behind the scenes that ensured that they would play games at all.

“We were very fortunate to be able to play in the spring,” Konishi-Gray said. “The athletic trainers, they worked really hard to make this all possible for us to be able to play. Honestly, without them, none of this is possible.”

However, for women’s head coach Jeff Wilson, this abbre‐ viated season was a bittersweet reminder of what could have been.

Wilson has led his team to the playoffs in four out of his five years at City College, but believed this year’s squad was the “deepest and most talented team ever assembled under my tenure.”

“That was really the unfortunate thing as a coach, is to know how special your team is, in terms of characters and also ability, and not be given the chance,” Wilson said. “I was so excited about being able to play a normal fall schedule and trying to compete for a state championship because I think we had the pieces in place to give it a run.”

Wilson’s squad has won all four matches they have played and notched three consec‐ utive shutouts, reaffirming the high praise he had for his team.

Meanwhile, the men’s team has stum‐ bled in their two scrimmages, both of which came against Cabrillo College. They have managed just one goal while conceding four across their two losses.

The team also had a game canceled against Las Positas College due to a positive COVID-19 test on the opposing team, a reminder of just how precarious this season is.

Neither team’s record means much in

the grand scheme of things, as there is no conference title to play for or a bid for the postseason at stake.

Nonetheless, the physical and mental preparation for every practice and game remained the same for the studentathletes, who have dedicated their lives to improving their craft.

“The intensity and the attitude we approach the games, they felt pretty similar to how the games were in the fall season back in 2019,” Konishi-Gray said. “Everyone was excited to play, so I think that definitely helped keep us focused for the game itself.”

Sophomore defender Alyssa Forsman has felt a similar level of effort from her teammates.

“I really like how motivated everyone on our team is,” she said. “I constantly see my teammates pushing themselves and others to get better and improve their skills.”

Both teams have been working tirelessly to shake off 12 months of rust and develop chemistry, since the strides they have made this season should pay dividends next semester when the schedule presumably returns to normal.

Above all else, the student-athletes have been overjoyed just to be able to experience the competition and the cama‐ raderie of their sport, even if it came in a limited fashion.

“We're all just excited,” second-year center back for the men’s team Stone Garland said. “Everybody has a smile on their face when we’re out there.”

The men’s and women’s soccer teams will both conclude their season at home on April 15 in a match against Las Positas College.

Illustration by Serena Sacharoff/The Guardsman