Vol. 164, Issue 4 | Oct. 11, - Oct. 25 , 2017 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
Expired extinguishers Students concerned about campus safety
By Sarah Berjan Expired fire extinguishers have been discovered among the 82 located on City College’s Ocean Campus. According to the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) on Ocean Avenue, extinguishers are to be inspected and changed on an annual basis. However, inspections are not conducted under the SFFD. The Injury and Inspection program at City College requires a Workplace Safety Inspection forum be filled out and forwarded to the superintendent of Buildings
and Grounds. “I think that is a major problem....I think it’s important to really speak out about equipment of the school being expired, because there is so much danger and threats that can occur,” City College Student Ana Santelices said. Extinguishers are stored in locked, white, metal boxes, which can be opened by breaking the glass window on the front. Evacuation routes located near the elevators detail where extinguishers can be found on each floor of a building. The yellow tags attached to
fire extinguishers determine the month, date and year when that extinguisher was last inspected. One of the oldest fire extinguishers found on the campus dates back to Aug. 3, 2010, and can be found in Bungalow 615. Santelices, an engineering student, was reminded of a discussion she had in class which focused on a United Kingdom building that went up in flames due to inadequate fire safety. “Every time we have a heat wave, I hear on the news that there are so many fires that occur...within San Francisco. I think the school
shouldn’t discount that and really do something about it,” Santelices said. According to City College Risk Manager Aaron Holmberg, further information on this year’s fire extinguisher inspection is pending. Head of the Buildings and Grounds Department Kenneth Dang was unavailable for comment, as was Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Linda da Silva, whom reporters have been told is on administrative leave for unknown reasons. “I feel like it’s taking away from the students’ safety, because
if something were to breakout and happen, then where are we going to turn to? We can follow the rules and instructions that the school provides, but it’s not as safe as personally putting out a fire. It’s still risky, especially when it involves other lives, and they decide to not tell us about it.” City College Student Genesis Nelson said. The exact details of City College’s extinguisher service contract are still to be determined. Photos by The Guardsman Staff (2016-2017)
Transgender community seeks safe space on ‘hostile’ campus Chair of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies Ardel Haefele-Thomas sent an email to City College’s Department Chair Counsel, the Diversity Collaborative and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) 2121 regarding the safety of campus bathrooms for LGBTQ students at 6 p.m. on Sept. 16. As a nonbinary transgender professor, Thomas spoke for themself and their students about the harassment and stress attempting to use City College restrooms is causing. “I am truly, truly at the end of my rope on this,” Thomas wrote. “This is not just about me but an entirely hostile working and
learning environment.” Even after three or more hours of teaching, there are no bathrooms on City College’s Downtown Campus for Thomas to use. Ocean Campus doesn’t fare much better, with the few gender neutral bathrooms located in isolated places which are difficult to locate, such as the basement of Conlan Hall. To reach the ones in the Wellness Center, a person would first have to pass through one of the two gendered locker rooms. The Multi-Use Building is the only location with multiple, accessible restrooms for any gender. Due to lack of options, many non binary and transgender students and faculty resort to picking the male or female bathrooms instead, a risky choice
which can result in harassment and discrimination. Thomas shared several anecdotes from students who were mistreated for not fitting others’ perceived gender norms, though they refused to share names to protect the students’ identities. One of the most memorable incidents on Mission Campus involved a transgender female student being physically forced into the men’s restroom by a police officer. Other students have reported being laughed at and mocked. The impetus for Thomas’ email was a cisgender lesbian student who was “kicked out” of the women’s restroom “because the custodian did not think she looked like a woman.” “This isn’t just a problem for
Photo by Julia Fuller/ The Guardsman
By Quip Johnson
Free snacks and bowls of soup are offered to students at the Queer Resource Center, dishes are collected in this box due to no kitchens or sinks being available. The staff collects the dishes and takes them home to be washed in his/her personal dishwasher on Oct. 7, 2017.
LGBTQ continues on page 3