Vol. 164, Issue 6 | Nov. 8 – Nov. 22, 2017 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
Community activist’s voice falls on deaf ears Official complaint lodged against handling of the Balboa Reservoir Project By Victor Tence victortence@gmail.com
As the Balboa Reservoir development enters its final stages, one concerned student and active community member escalated his attempts to make his voice heard. Alvin Ja, retiree and City College student of seven years, lodged an official complaint against City College’s Board of Trustees (BOT) on Monday Oct. 30. The 10-page document is a compilation of two years of independent research and Sunshine Ordinance requests that support Ja’s position that City College has violated the accreditation standard IV.C.4, which requires the board to protect the school from undue pressure and political influence. As Ja states in his complaint, “city agencies representing the interests of the reservoir project have had an outsized influence on SFCCD (San Francisco
Community College District).” As of Nov. 2, the BOT has referred Ja’s complaint to City College’s General Counsel Steven Bruckman. “I’ve been fighting for the Board of Trustees to defend City College for two years now, but they ignore everything,” Ja said. The complaint is only Ja’s latest attempt to raise awareness around his findings. Ja utilized the school’s policy BP 1.10, which allows members of the public to request agenda items at the board’s meetings. Over the course of two years he submitted 10 written requests, including a hand delivered and signed document, which he gave directly to Linda Shaw, assistant to the chancellor and liaison for the BOT. His requests specified that “SFCCD’s (San Francisco’s Community College District) Handling of the Balboa Reservoir Project” be placed as an agenda
item. The board only responded to Ja’s requests twice. In one instance they agreed to place “Balboa Reservoir Project,” on a future agenda, a generic title omitting most of Ja’s key concerns. The second response Ja received was directly from Chancellor Mark Rocha. The email thanked Ja, and assured him “the Board of Trustees and I (Rocha) take your input very seriously.” “He was too new in his job to ignore me,” Ja said. “But ever since then I haven’t heard anything from him either.” After years of failed attempts, Ja decided to “escalate this issue,” by submitting his concerns as a formal complaint. This forces City College to address the issue directly by first assigning a staff investigation and study of the matter. However, as Ja notes, under BP 1.29, City College’s policy manual, states “unless the
complaint or criticism is met by the administration to the complete satisfaction of the complainant, the item will be included on the next board agenda.” Described by others as “an astute community member,” Ja first became acquainted with the intricacies of the school’s by-laws and policy manuals during the 2012 accreditation crisis, during which he poured over documents and public records looking for ways to help save City College. “It just didn’t sit well with me that the school, which has good teachers and good programs, would get shut down,” Ja said. With the owners of the Balboa Reservoir, the Public Utilities Commission, holding their next meeting on Nov. 14, Ja hopes that his complaint isn’t too late. “If the board doesn’t respond, this is all over,” Ja said.
Photo by Otto Pippenger/The Guardsman
Cartoon Orchestra records By Adina J. Pernell apernell@theguardsman.com
Simon Planting on Bass Photo by Dana Jae Labrecque
Broadcast Electronic Media Department (BEMA) recording Studio B was bustling with hectic energy on Monday, Oct. 23, when composer, guitarist and City College music professor, Lennis “Lenny” Carlson stepped outside for a brief respite from the
busy musicians of Jeff Sanford’s Cartoon Orchestra Septet tuning up their instruments. The Cartoon Orchestra Septet was preparing to record an album of Carlson’s original composition and has been performing his music since 2009, in what he called “arguably the best creative relationship [he’s] ever had.” “They’re all top freelance professional musicians in the Bay Area,” Carlson said of the septet, which is composed of bandleader Jeff Sanford on reeds and wind instruments; Hal Richards on reeds and winds; Eric Wayne on trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn; Andy Ostwald on piano; Randy
Johnson on guitar and banjo; Simon Planting on the double bass and Mark Rosengarden on drums. Special guest artist and tuba virtuoso Zachariah Spellman, who according to Carlson “has been with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra since 1977,” rounds out the talented ensemble of musicians. Carlson was excited to compose for Spellman on this album because he was “able to write some very interesting and challenging things for him, both in solo capacity and as part of the group.” This ongoing collaboration with The Cartoon Orchestra Septet is something that Carlson has always treasured, because even
though he started out as a guitarist and devoted over 50 years to the instrument, he considered himself to be “naturally more of a composer than a performer.” “It’s just an unbelievable gift. It’s just something I’m really very humble in the face of. This is not a one night stand. Jeff [Sanford] has shown a lot of loyalty to me. They have enough faith in me and the product that we’re developing together,” Carlson said. “I mean I write it, but they’ll work hard enough to evolve it to performance level.” Orchestra continued on page 3