Vol. 167, Issue 2 | Feb. 6 – Feb. 19, 2019 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
Rams Free Food Market debuts at City College
Jerusha Kamoji
farms in Central Valley, with additional produce stemming from Safeway and different markets, jkamoji@gmail.com according to SFM Food Bank representative In an effort to address food insecurity among Tina Gonzales. college students, City College partnered with the “The idea is that it’s fresh produce,” Siekmann San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and held its first said. “Not only is it nourishing and satisfies Rams Food Market on January 29 — free to all hunger, but these are things that are important students every Tuesday from 9 a.m. — 10:30 a.m for a healthy diet.” outside of the Ocean campus amphitheatre. For Siekmann, food security means a student is Faculty and student volunteers began the able to eat three meals a day that are culturally and morning with event setup and food distribution, socially appropriate and nutritionally adequate, with produce ranging from broccoli and sweet but for many students that is not the case. potatoes to onions, granola and sparkling water. Among 1,100 students enrolled in English “I think there’s about 15 items on offer today courses on Ocean campus, 41 percent of and it will be different every week,” said Jonathan respondents qualified as food insecure, accordSiekmann, a nutritional instructor at City College. ing to a 2017 survey conducted by the City The majority of the food comes from small College Food Pantry Workshop. The number of
those considered food insecure increased if they had children. The Rams Food Market is part of the ongoing Food Shelves program organized by faculty members in the English and Behavioural Sciences department. Produce for the Food Shelves was purchased at the end of the fall semester in 2017, however the program itself, took off during spring 2018. The Food Shelves program began shortly after faculty members started bringing food from their homes to give to hungry students, some of whom they noticed were struggling to do well in class. In doing so, many teachers realized the overall severity of the issue and started to network. Free Food Market continued on page 2
A mix of fresh produce and shelf-stable snacks were available for students at the first ever Rams Food Market on Jan 29, 2019. Photo by Lisa Martin / The Guardsman
Department chair’s transgender studies textbook to be used in classrooms By Susannah Spengler City College’s own Ardel Haefele-Thomas created a new approach to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) studies in their latest work, “Introduction to Transgender Studies,” a textbook that will be used by City College and several other schools this semester. Over the last three and a half years, the college’s LGBT Studies chair worked incessantly on their new textbook, which they see as the “world’s first introduction to that field of study.” The course “LGBT 18: Transgender Lives, Culture, and Art" is currently using it, with the publisher providing free copies to students until its official release by Harrington Park Press on February 5. Writing the textbook from their perspective as a white non-binary transgender person, Thomas realized that including other views and voices was crucial. They reached out to the LGBT community around the globe and asked them to be a part of their undertaking, keenly aware of the need for diverse representation. “I really tried to get people from all over,” Thomas said. Each chapter of the textbook touches on a different facet of transgender studies, each concluding with “Writings from the Community” essays contributed by one of over 20 people. Many of “Introduction to Transgender Studies” will be released by the contributors are former City College students, with most of the art created by former City College Harrington Park Press on February 5, 2019. Stop by the LGBT student Cameron Rains. Studies Department for more information about its courses. According to its Amazon description, Thomas’ Photo courtesy of Ardel Haefele-Thomas. textbook will leave behind the binary aspect long
associated with gender, aiming instead to “encompass the brilliant spectrum of intersecting identities.” Thomas hopes their textbook will help not only transgender studies classes, but also transgender students and even “those terrified of all that.” When asked how it felt to receive the first notfor-resale copy of their work — some 500 papes of blood, sweat, and tears bound by a spiral backing — all Thomas could say was, “Wow.” Between being City College’s LGBT Studies chair, an instructor for several classes and a parent, Thomas worked hard to find enough time to write their second book. This wasn’t their first undertaking for the LGBT community. Thomas taught the first Queer Rhetoric course offered at Stanford University and is also the international non-binary and intersex liaison for the LGBT Global Powerlifting Congress, which began including a third gender option for contestants. In their spare time, Thomas competes in the Gay Games, where they won gold, silver, and bronze in various sports. Sixteen years after City College established the first LGBT Studies Department of the United States in 1989, Thomas saw a job opening in the department and applied immediately. After a year of teaching LGBT Studies and English 1A, Thomas became its chair. City College is one of five schools teaching transgender-focused classes in this semester, and boasts more LGBT Studies courses than ever before, all of which are UC and CSU transferable. Stop by the LGBT Studies Department for more information about its courses.