The Guardsman, Vol. 169, Issue 5 City College of San Francisco

LEAKY PIPES MYSTIFY STUDENTS

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MISSION CELEBRATES AZTEC NEW YEAR

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COVID-19 BRINGS AN END TO RAM'S SEASON

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Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 – March 18, 2020 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE | www.theguardsman.com

COVID-19/Coronavirus Outbreak Forces Academic Institutions to Close All Across t are now being forced to cancel all face-to-face classes. he Bay Area. Colleges Will online be the new form of education?

By Jennifer Yin jyin4@mail.ccsf.edu

San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency on Feb. 26 in preparation of a possible outbreak of the COVID19/Coronavirus, a newly emerged form of coronavirus which has not previously been seen in humans.

According to San Francisco’s news station KRON4, there were 28 positive cases of the new virus in San Francisco as of March 14.

Some confirmed COVID-19 cases include Lowell High School where San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) received wind that a parent of a student was being treated for COVID19. Academic institutions across the Bay Area such as Lowell High School, City College, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University have been forced to shut down to combat the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases.

On March 12, SFUSD decided to close all of its schools for at least three weeks. “It was inevitable based on worldwide data that San Francisco would experience an increasing number of cases in the next few weeks,” said Dr. Curtis Chan of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH).

Preperations Chan recommended that City College close its buildings, suspend face-to-face classes, and halt events, for at least 14 days.

On March 9, the City College Board of Trustees announced the temporary suspension of all faceto-face classes, student services, meetings, and events.

A college statement released

on March 12 stated, “All centers will be closed. Student services are suspended at CCSF locations during this time. Administrators, faculty, and classified staff will have access to campus buildings as a part of this preparation activity.

All centers will be closed March 18 through March 20, librarian faculty shall work from home to prepare for the resumption of instruction and student services on Mar. 30, and student workers will not report to their normal assignments for the period March 13 to March 20.”

In addition, City College will reassign its spring break vacation to the week of March 23 to enable the college to complete a contingency plan for continuing instruction through online services and modified learning.

Online Learning Modified learning is defined as a class that is delivered remotely through online programs such as Canvas, a web-based learning management system.

“The core of our contingency plan is not the decision to close the college itself, but how, given a suspension of normal face-toface classes and activities, we will continue teaching, learning and operations so that students will complete their courses this semester and employees will be paid,” Chancellor Mark Rocha said.

Chief of Staff Leslie Milloy also explained how classes are scheduled to resume on March 30, through modified online learning formats and will remain in these formats until the end of the Spring semester or until the current state of emergency is officially lifted by the Board of Trustees.

Sign in front of the Student Health Center urge students with symptoms of COVID-19 to call and set up an appointment. The Student Health Center is located at Ocean Campus. Photo by Matheus Maynard/ The Guardsman

Concerns regarding the implementation of online courses and services were discussed in a March 4 Academic Senate meeting.

“What does the work look like for us if we are to shut down?

There still is an expectation from us to do our jobs and I think there definitely needs to be a plan,” Nixora Ferman, faculty at the New Student Counseling Department said. “You can’t just be on the fly about this and expect us to process petitions, certificates, transfers, and whatnot.”

A letter written by the college and addressed to the students stated how City College is preparing to continue providing access to computers and supporting students with limited access to technology.

The college will also continue accommodations for Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) students.

However, Dean of Library and Learning Resources Donna Reed said, “We have decided not to make a statement about services post spring break at this time because of changes that we see happening in the community. Please tell students to refer to the link at the top of the library website. As soon as we know enough to project the scope of in-person services that we can provide we’ll post there.”

Brent Gannetta, 42, a Computer Science major said, “If you go to the library there is a bunch of people sitting with their heads down and there's food

around them. Those are the homeless students and I've heard people talking in the library saying, ‘I don't have anywhere to go, what am I going to do, I don't know if the library is going to be open next week.’ They don't have internet access outside of this. It's a really scary proposition for them.”

Chancellor Mark Rocha said, “Perhaps most importantly we will be establishing this week a phone hotline/internet chatline so that any member of the college community can talk to a helpful person with a question, concern or even for practical advice and referrals. We want to know about anyone who is in distress for any reason so that we can help.”

Students Pressure City and College to Continue Older Adults Courses

By Alexa Bautista abauti34@mail.ccsf.edu

City College students are still reeling from last semester when without warning, almost the entire Older Adults Program (OLAD) was cut from the Spring 2020 schedule, leaving students with no classes and professors laid-off.

These class cuts have dramatically affected figure drawing instructor Meiru Huang.

“I taught the class from spring 2016-fall 2019. CCSF announced class cuts back in November 2019

without consulting with our chair or dean. Some OLAD classes had been restored due to our students' protests. Unfortunately not for my class even though I had about 28-35 students who have shown up constantly in each session.” Huang said.

“Here is the biggest disappointment for me: we don't feel valued. Both senior students and faculty members. The school tried to label us as "under-enrolled" classes, which is not true at all. As a figure drawing class, I schedule models to come in for students

to draw from. Our students even paid for the model fees by donating money to CCSF/OLAD.” Dignity Fund In December, Mayor London Breed announced that 17 of the 50 OLAD classes would be reinstated through monetary support from the San Francisco Dignity Fund, a resource which “stabilizes funding for current services and support for older adults, veterans, adults with disabilities, and caregivers.”

In Nov. 2016, the Dignity

Fund was passed by San Francisco voters to “allocate $38 million annually with increases until June 30, 2037.” The Dignity Fund is managed by the Department of Disability and Aging Services and programs under this entity are typically administered by non-profits such as YMCA Stonestown and Aquatic Park.

Coalition Shortly after the passing of this measure, the Dignity Fund Coalition was formed by “San

Francisco nonprofit and community organizations and advocates.”

The coalition was created to improve the allocation of funding and remain supportive for people with disabilities and older adults in San Francisco.

The Dignity Fund Coalition meets every fourth Wednesday of the month to discuss community needs and to oversee the allocation of the Dignity Fund.

The coalition has estimated nearly 14,000 seniors and people

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2 | NEWS WASH YOUR HANDS FOR 20 SECONDS TO PREVENT FROM COVID-19 Infographic by Nazli Ece Kandur/ The Guardsman Information retrived from World Health Organization

Older Adults cont. from page 1 with disabilities who need in-home care cannot afford private care and 1,000 adults have been waitlisted for San Francisco’s grocery delivery program. The Dignity Fund Coalition did not respond to The Guardsman’s request for comment by press time.

Steps Forward The printed schedule for Spring 2020 included 19 classes offered by City College’s OLAD, but the class cuts in November 2019 eliminated most of them. The web4 registration system showed only five Older Adults classes were available

this semester. OLAD Chair Kelvin Young did not respond to The Guardsman’s request for comment by press time.

OLAD student Julie Rothman took her own steps to ensure her classes would be reinstated.

“I wrote to every supervisor, not just my own, but to everyone including London Breed. I attended meetings and was on email lists that were very long” she said.

“Seniors pay a lot of taxes and there are a lot of seniors in this city, and I think this is age discrimination very clearly.”

City College’s Plans to Increase College Enrollment During a Time of Construction

Chancellor Mark Rocha addresses the public at a Board of Trustees meeting at City College's Chinatown/North Beach Center on March 21 , 2019. Photo by Claudia Drdul/ The Guardsman

By Aminah Jalal nima96290@gmail.com

Chancellor Mark Rocha attended the college’s Academic Senate meeting at Ocean Campus to answer to the senate’s plan to stabilize and grow enrollment during a time period of declining enrollment.

The meeting was one day after the passage of Proposition A, allowing the college to spend $845 million for building repairs

and equipment. There are seven projects already approved for contracting. However, enrollment typically declines during times in which there are transitional facilities and difficulty navigating due to the grounds undergoing large construction. This is why the Senate wanted to raise the issue of declining attendance with the chancellor.

According to a handout that Rocha distributed at the meeting, “enrollment declines during

Staff Editor-in-Chief Claudia Drdul

News Editor Tyler Breisacher

Culture Editor Jennifer Yin

Opinion Editor Caoilinn Goss Photo Editor Amal Ben Ghanem

Class Cuts and Safety Dominate Discussion at Associated Student Council Town Hall

By Caoilinn Goss cgoss2@mail.ccsf.edu

The Associated Student Council of Ocean Campus (ASCO) fielded student questions about campus safety, reversing class cuts, and expanding student representation at a Town Hall meeting in the Student Union on Wednesday, March 4th.

The ASCO responded to questions regarding the vetoed Bridge Fund, last fall’s bomb scare on Ocean Campus, and facilities breaking down.

One student raised questions regarding the cancelled older adults courses and challenged the chancellor’s ability to do his job.

“We have taken a stance on class cuts, we are not in support of class cuts,” ASCO President Angelica Campos said in response.

“We do agree that we need to find a way to balance our budget, but that shouldn’t come at the cost of all the programs that are being affected.”

Expanding student representation became a major theme of the night. The senators urged the students present to join one of the committees that makes up the Participatory Governance Council (PGC) in order to be part of the solution to the issues raised.

Most of the students who sit on ASCO also represent the student body in several other capacities.

Senator Katarina Spisz, for example, serves on the Rules and Regulations Committee, Public Relations Committee, and is Vice Chair of the Multicultural Affairs Committee.

“This town hall is an eye opener in terms of shedding more light on Participatory Governance Committees,” Tupou Drake, an attendee who works with Students Supporting Students said. “I don’t think too many people really know about them and what they do.”

The PGC, and the committees that make up this body, advise the chancellor on the budget, college initiatives, Board of Trustees policy, administrative procedures, etc. The council includes members

major construction projects when there are no plans for swing space, mitigation of parking and provision of food service.”

“We do not have comprehensive plans in place,” Rocha said. “Many buildings which are not in use may be swinged so that construction takes place, mitigation of parking may involve shuttles, may be paid for in the bond, or clipper cards.”

Continued food service may also be planned to occur so college-goers Asst. Photo Editor Fran Smith Sport Editor Meyer Gorelick Copy Editors Antoinette Barton

Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 - March 18, 2020

of staff, faculty, administrators, and the student body.

Several ASCO senators assured the audience that they shared their concerns about the way the administration is budgeting funds, and that they have advocated for more transparency. They also pointed out that their role is advisory, and that they do not have any power to make budgetary decisions themselves.

“We do our best to hold the administration accountable if we don’t feel like our questions are being answered,” Rodriguez said.

“We also have to realize that they’re not always going to have a clear cut answer for us. There are people above them, too, that also don’t have answers. So it’s a tough spot to be in.”

Senator Xianna Rodriguez serves on the Associated Student Council at Ocean Campus, as well as the Finance Committee.

Reflecting on the event’s success, ASCO members admitted there was room for improvement and growth.

“The turnout could have been better,” Rodriguez said. “We need to do more outreach, get the word out more. Not only with flyers and social media, but with actually talking to people in person and making announcements in classrooms.”

Spisz agreed that outreach was a factor in the turnout, and also mentioned that they hoped to address some sound issues for their next event, as the meeting was not properly equipped and audience members had to ask the ASCO senators to speak up several times throughout the event.

“I really appreciate all the students who did show up and expressed their concerns,” Spisz said. “As a council, we’re going to come together and reflect on what everyone said and see what we can do to help support you all.”

You can follow ASCO on Instagram and Twitter @ascocean to learn more about campus events and find out more about joining a PGC.

are comfortable during this period.

There was no audible reaction from the faculty attending, only listening with crossed arms and skeptical looks.

Rocha assured the faculty that plans were underway to increase enrollment. During the stabilizing enrollment process is a ten-step decisive action plan to grow the college by 50% to get $50 million a year.

In the future, there will be

Design Director Nazli Ece Kandur Online Editor Matheus Maynard Ad Manager Diana Guzman

Staff Writers Aminah Jalal Rachel Berning Alexa Bautista Jay Sea

more emphasis put on degree and workforce certificate programs that are delivered in convenient, supported formats for working adults, the only growing demographic over the next ten years. One goal of the construction is to increase the capacity of high demand (and high-cost) workforce programs, such as health care, automotive

cont. on page 3 Photographers Matheus Maynard Amal Ben Ghanem Fran Smith Joel Wagner

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Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 - March 18, 2020

Broken Pipes

Academic Senate cont. from page 2 technology, construction, and computer science.

Among the programs to be advanced is the Promise Program, which they hope to increase in recruitment of the declining number of high school seniors with “one-click” 21-month registration.

“The future is about scheduling programs,” Rocha said. “Not courses.”

Rocha also spoke of possible adjustments being made to the Free City program in order to include former San Francisco high school graduates regardless of their current residential status.

The curriculum flexibility style of the WADP (Working Adults Degree Program) scheduling is planned for use, offering to create a 21-month revolving carousel for all programs in order to increase enrollment and capacity.

By doing this, part-time students who have to work and take care of their family and wish to be full-time students are given space in their schedule to take on more units in a semester. Modification of the college’s default “opt-out” option for financial aid application may also help to support part-time students who may struggle with balancing their work and academics.

“Financial aid should not be optional,” Rocha said. “We need to retool our website and retool our IT system so students have to say they do not want financial aid.”

In the plan is also reinstituting 1% marketing advertising budget, $2 million annually, in order to better promote the college as well as expand City Online in order to increase out of the city, state, and international enrollment.

Rocha noted that there will be change and adaptation as the college has never experienced anything like this before in which the construction will be “literally changing the whole heart of the campus”.

“There may be an emotional problem for a while until we adapt to it,” Rocha said.

“Until it becomes the normal.”

By Alexa Bautista abauti34@mail.ccsf.edu

The Women’s Resource Center, located in Smith Hall on City College’s Ocean Campus, gives everyone a space to confide in one another, discuss experiences, and create a family with a foundation in unity.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Women’s Resource Center has organized a number of activities to share with City College students. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, these events have been postponed to a later date.

There were four events that were going to occurred throughout this month: the Feminist Discussions Mini-Series on Mar. 6, Writing as Alchemy for Healing on Mar. 12, Healthy Relationships with Project SURVIVE, and a Film Screening: No Más Bebés on Mar. 24 and 26. The Women’s Resource Center most notable event is the Writing as Alchemy for Healing with Tanea Lunsford Lynx. This workshop enables students to share their individual trauma and experiences through the power of writing in the process of healing and transformation.

All of these events were organized and co-sponsored by the Women’s Gender Studies, Project SURVIVE, the Women’s Resource Center, the Queer Resource Center, the Link Center, Interdisciplinary Faculty Advisor Juan Gonzales

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By Starr A. Wilson swilson3@mail.ccsf.edu

Anyone who has been on campus for a while would have noticed the pipes alongside Cloud Hall and Visual Arts spouting steam on a 24/7 basis, the trees dying and their roots pulling out of the ground.

Student Ryan Louie stated, “I thought it was fog. It’s so cool. A natural phenomenon before your eye.”

Student Caitlin Reilly said, “I wasn’t quite sure where the fog was coming from so I avoided it.”

Student Cafeteria Operations Manager Don Rice, said, “In January, all the heat was off so we generate heat.

Everything runs on gas except for the mini inconveniences.”

Evette Davis, a spokesperson for City College, said, "We have at least two buildings on the Ocean campus that have suffered heating and/or water supply failures. One is adjacent to Cloud and the other is near Batmale Hall.

Davis added both of the issues were identified and temporarily repaired.

Cinema Instructor Dan Olmsted

said, “It doesn’t stink anymore. That’s what I call progress.” “The permanent repairs will need planning, design and construction, which will take several weeks" Davis said.

Davis further said the initial cost of the temporary repair is about $46,000, which was approved by the Board of Trustees last month, with the final permanent repair approximately $250,000.

Davis added, “The Board of Trustees Facilities Master Plan Oversight Committee has been informed.”

“There are several items on the next Board of Trustees meeting agenda for March 26, that will help us respond to these types of repairs more expeditiously.

Both bond funds and general funds may be used to effect these repairs,” Davis said.

Girl Power Ignites in the Women’s Resource Center

Studies, Health Education, Student Health Services, Associated Students, and are supported by the $5 Student Activity Fee. Moreover, these workshops and events are free for all City College students to attend.

Shella Cervantes, Women’s Resource Center advisor, encourages all students to come to the events throughout the academic year to find a community with others on campus.

“All of the different services that we offer are very connected to the Women and Gender Studies department because we are the only one who have a faculty advisor from a department, and is very interconnected. We always have wonderful events held here, and are always deeply involved with them. We are a resource for all students on campus.”

The Women’s Resource Center is a student run organization created by students. What’s unique about this resource center is that there is no coordinator. Instead, there is an advisor from the Women and Gender Studies department. Through an advisor, they are able to bridge the gap between students and the administration. The majority is run by the students about programming, ideas, and daily function of the Women’s Resource Center.

On a daily basis, many students advocate the Women’s Resource Center by

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Caution tape blocks off a section of the under-construction sidewalk next to Batmale Hall at Ocean Campus on March 4, 2020. Photo by Starr A. Wilson/ The Guardsman

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Shella Cervantes and Angelica Campos work together at The Women's Resource Center on March 10, 2020. Photo by Kevin Kelleher/The Guardsman

spreading the word to their professors, classmates, and social media for events and to use their resources. The Women’s Resource Center also does collaboration with other resource centers on campus.

Moreover, students are able to receive referrals to different women’s shelters in the bay area. Lastly, the collection of feminist novels in the Women’s Resource Center is available for all students.

According to Evelina Karlsson, student worker, there are many students utilizing the space.

“I would say about 25 to 50 students depending on what day it is. Friday is our slowest day obviously because there are not

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a lot of students on campus, and Monday to Wednesday are our heaviest days.”

Many students, such as Angelica Campos, the Women’s Resource Center allowed students to get more exposed to City College’s resources.

“The Women’s Resource Center empowered me in a way that I didn’t even realize at the time. Now that I look back, I’ve met so many people through the Women’s Resource Center.” Campos added. “I think having a space where you can print, have snacks, and gain support from peers is really important.”

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4 | CULTURE

Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 - March 18, 2020

Mission Campus Celebrates Mexika New Year

A young man dances on Valencia street during a ceremonial Aztek Danza on March 13, 2020 at City College's Mission Campus.

Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/The Guardsman

A group of young women blow their conch horns at the Aztek Danza on March 13, 2020 at City College's Mission Campus.

Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/The Guardsman

Mazatzin gives blessings to events patrons and band members of The Bernal Beat in the back patio area of City College's Mission Campus.

Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/The Guardsman

A women assists others in laying a bed of flowers as the center piece for the Aztek Danza on Valencia street at City College's Mission Campus.

Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/The Guardsman

St. Anthony’s and the CCSF Fashion Department Collaborate Organize Clothing Drive

City College Image Consultant Instructor Kelly Armstrong and Student Haja Mondisa, pursuing a Fashion Styling/ Personal Styling Certificate at Nordstom in the Westfield mall in Down Town San Francisco on March 2, 2020, with two St. Anthony's Clothing Drive Bins.

Photo by Natalia Bogdanov/The Guardsman

By Natalia Bogdanov nataliabogdanov@iCloud.com

City College Image Consulting Instructor Kelly Armstrong and St. Anthony’s Free Clothing Program teamed up to bring professional attire to the Fashion Department’s Advanced Personal Styling Course and to San Francisco’s largest free clothing program.

Collaboration Armstrong has been partnering with St. Anthony’s for two years and has greatly appreciated the collaboration this partnership has brought about. "The fact that you (St. Anthony's) are allowing my students to have access to your clothing closet is a gift that continues our partnership and allows the students a service-learning experience" said Armstrong.

This year when Armstrong found out that professional attire was low in stock at St. Anthony’s, she decided to put on a clothing drive in order to collect the clothing necessary for both her Advanced Styling class as well as

the non-profit itself.

This specific clothing drive seeks to collect professional attire at the Chinatown Center, Evans Center, and Ocean Campus.

Donation Bins are also available off campus at Nordstroms, Express, Aerie, Hotel Nikko, Mark Hopkins, The Hotel Council, NEMA luxury Apartments, Don Ramon’s Mexican Restaurant, and Magic Bayview.

Class Project Clothing collected will be used by students in City College’s Advanced Personal Styling course in their three-month-long project entitled “Image Makeover” to style predominantly low-income San Francisco residents for the current job market.

The Image Makeover project provides the fashion student’s clientele with three professional outfits specifically geared toward their personality and their potential future professions, completely free of charge. One of the main goals of this project is to allow students to have hands-on experience and

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Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 - March 18, 2020

Fashion cont. from page 4 opportunity to develop a clientele group within the styling field.

Any professional attire that is not used for the student’s clientele will all be donated to St. Anthony’s and a private presentation of the Image Makeovers will take place on May 4 at 8 p.m. at City College's Downtown Center.

St. Anthony's Unlike Goodwill, clothing services at St. Anthony’s are completely free for San Franciscans who are lowincome or homeless. “The clothing that is generated through clothing drives is donated to us, and in turn, we process and quality-check the clothing, and ultimately distribute it to the over 10,000 San Franciscans that our program serves each year, including men, women, and children” Manager of the Free Clothing Program David Watterson said.

Each year, St. Anthony’s gives out more than 36,000 articles of clothing, which comes out to more than $3 million in donations per year. “Each year, we serve nearly 400 children from low-income families in and around the Tenderloin, providing them with backpacks, school supplies, shoes, and of course, clothing. It’s a huge cost burden that we are able to relieve for their families” Watterson said.

St.Anthony’s is particularly aiding the Advanced Personal Styling course by making their clothing store available to students by appointments to select clothing and accessories for their clients free of charge. Upon arrival, they will begin by receiving an orientation of the store and how their Free Clothing Program operates.

The personal stylists then have just 30 minutes to select 2-3 complete outfits for their clientele.

Student Involvement A lot of students like Haja Mondisa, who is pursuing a Fashion Styling/ Personal Styling Certificate at City College are getting very involved with this clothing drive. Mondisa works at Nordstrom in downtown San Francisco and was able to get Nordstrom involved in the clothing donations.

“It’s crazy. I found out that Nordstrom usually donates their lost and found items to Goodwill or St. Anthony's and Nordstrom hasn't had them pick up anything in awhile” Mondisa said. After being informed about this, Haja contacted St. Anthony’s and had the program pick up over 11 boxes of donations.

After Mondisa had accomplished this, she quickly received cooperation from the Express and Aerie stores in downtown San Francisco’s Westfield mall. “My goal is to get a total of 5 stores willing to host barrels for donations,” Mondisa said.

Fashion Department Chair, Natalie Smith said “I applaud Kelly for the extraordinary work she is doing with St. Anthony’s and her students". "We’re in the midst of challenging times at CCSF, and the fact that faculty and students have turned their focus to help those in need is a beautiful testament of what makes our college community special.”

Students Compete in Culinary Clash

Sous chef, Justin Griffin (center), explains the dessert he has created for a panel of judges at City College's annual Culinary Clash competition. The event was held at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins’ Nob Hill Club and included the City College Culinary Department's Chef Instructor, Keith Hammerich. March 7, 2020. Photo by Jennifer Yin/The Guardsman.

By Tyler Breisacher tbreisac@mail.ccsf.edu

Aspiring City College chefs got the chance to step out of the classroom and into a high-end kitchen, cooking a threecourse meal at the Nob Hill Club in the Mark Hopkins hotel.

The opportunity was part of Culinary Clash, a competition that InterContinental Hotels has run for nine years. The duo, head chef Tina Tian and sous chef Justin Griffin, is one of several pairs of students chefs who will be designing a customized menu and serving it at InterContinental hotels over the next several weeks.

As an appetizer, they served Hamachi Crudo with slices of citrus, on a chive aioli.

“We wanted our menu to reflect our team so we trusted ideas that were connected to our homes,” the team explained. “The appetizer is fresh, colorful and uses local ingredients like Fresno chilis and California citrus.”

The freshness of the Hamachi Crudo, the sweetness of the citrus, the creaminess of the aioli, made from a chive-infused olive oil, and a hint of pepper combined for a delicious appetizer that was “elegant and simple, like the town of Ventura where Justin is from,” as the chefs put it.

The entrée was a bright and colorful take on a traditional Chinese recipe called Dongpo Rou: slices of very tender pork belly accompanied by a carrot puree and slices of watermelon radish to add splashes of bright orange and pink to the plate, reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss illustration.

“It’s a dish my family loves during holidays that is not as well known here, and we wanted to share it with some changes of our own,” Tian said. “We included red dates and goji berries which in addition to the medicinal properties add a great sweet flavor. We also added miso and sake to give more depth.”

For dessert, the team served a refreshing rose champagne sorbet, with a long thin tuile on top. Of course the chefs couldn’t end the meal on such a simple note without adding a couple of interesting twists. On one end of the tuile were three tiny dots of lemon curd, each topped with a petite basil leaf.

The other end was sprinkled with black pepper, adding a surprising but welcome kick to the dessert.

The whole experience was “stressful and nerve-wracking, but it was totally worth it,”

Sous chef, Justin Griffin, creates a rose champagne sorbet, topped with Thai lemon curd, Urfa fiber tulip, and served with a side of brandy soaked strawberry. Griffin's dessert was all the rage during City College's 9th annual Culinary Clash competition held at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins’ Nob Hill Club. March 7, 2020.

Photo by Jennifer Yin/The Guardsman.

KC Suraj (right), Gabriela Razura (center right), Tina Tian (center left), Chad Bayless (left), congregate before they dinner service during City College's annual Culinary Clash at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins' Nob Hill Club. March 7, 2020.

Photo by Jennifer Yin/The Guardsman

Tian said. “We cannot stress how grateful we are to have this rare opportunity to learn, grow, and build our portfolio in such a fun and creative way.”

In total, ten students will compete in

Culinary Clash events, leading up to the Ultimate Culinary Clash on May 6. The head chef of the winning team will receive a $5,000 scholarship and the sous chef will receive a $2,500 scholarship.

6 | OPINION

Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 - March 18, 2020

WE STAND WITH DAVID WRIGHT

By The Guardsman Staff cgoss2@mail.ccsf.edu

The recent suspension of ABC News reporter David Wright for comments about the corporate news environment should be alarming to everyone, and is particularly alarming to us as aspiring journalists.

Project Veritas, an “anticorruption” outlet which itself is plagued by bouts of right-wing biases, recorded Wright’s supposed “inflammatory” remarks without his knowledge. This act is only the latest in their mission of guerilla attacks intended to undermine the legitimacy of journalism.

Wright spoke off the record about his personal political beliefs, and even in the context of a casual bar chat was careful to preface his words with the disclaimer, “Setting aside my professional dispassion.”

As student journalists, we have less experience than Wright, and work on different types of news stories, but our job is fundamentally the same: Find the truth about the topics we cover, and bring that information to our audience.

Every job comes with challenges and Wright’s only “infraction” is telling the truth about those challenges in his job.

We don’t know which part of his comments really caught his bosses’ attention. Perhaps it was when he said, “I would consider myself a socialist…I think there should be national health insurance. I’m totally fine with reining in corporations, I think there are too many billionaires, and I think there’s a wealth gap.” The days of anti-communist court proceedings are long gone, but due to the rise of democratic socialist politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the days of McCarthyist red-baiting are returning.

“Objectivity” is Defined at the Top If ABC News editors and owners believe socialism is outside the range of acceptable political thinking, viewers should keep that in mind when getting our news from them. They may be providing a range of opinions in their coverage, but this suspension highlights the fact that the range will always be limited. So, when a “neutral” news report implies that a bill is “extreme” or “too far left,” viewers should keep in mind which voices are absent from that conversation.

But maybe the part that really bothered the ABC News leadership

was Wright’s comment about news shows being used for promotion of Disney movies: “You can’t watch ‘Good Morning America’ without a Disney princess or a Marvel Avenger appearing.” It’s just factually true that Disney and ABC are structured first to maximize profit, with other goals, such as informing the public, being secondary. It should not be shocking that someone dared to say it out loud.

Besides maximizing profits through advertisements, the ownership of mainstream media has brought into question the so called “objectivity” it prides itself upon. ABC is owned by Disney/21st Century Fox, which is one of six corporations that own nearly 90% of media outlets today, alongside AT&T/Warner Media, Netflix, Comcast, Verizon and Charter.

The crisis of this monopolization of media is only exacerbated when examining the yearly salary of each corporation’s CEO. Disney/21st Century Fox’s CEO Bob Chapek has an annual salary of $2.5 million, which may seem modest compared to the company’s former CEO Bob Iger, who was compensated $65.6 million in 2018.

Why would someone who makes more than 1,000 times the

HAVE

salary of his employees broadcast neutral statements about legislature which would cause him to lose profits and his grip on public narrative?

We are not Robots We are certainly not the first to point out that journalistic “objectivity” can be harmful to good journalism. It is almost a cliché at this point to say that journalism is under attack in the era of Donald Trump, but when Lewis Raven Wallace, then a journalist at Marketplace, pointed this out in the early days of the administration, he was fired for it.

“I think people crave the honesty, the uniqueness, the depth that comes out of bringing an actual perspective to our work,” he wrote in a January 2017 blog post.

“My experience is that audiences want us to be truthful and fair, but they don’t want us to be robots.”

Audiences might want to hear news from real people, but the fact that Wallace was fired after writing that suggests that the people in charge of the major news organizations would in fact prefer it be delivered by robots — or at least, by people who are willing to stick to the “conventional wisdom” in

Illustration by Nazli Kandur/ The Guardsman

their coverage, and make sure that deviations from that are characterized as extreme and unrealistic.

The field of journalism has changed immensely in the past two decades and continues to evolve rapidly. There must be room in the future of journalism for frank commentary like the words of David Wright, as well as an expanding definition of objectivity that reflects the full spectrum of consumers’s beliefs, not merely the narrow lens of media CEOs.

“HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE COLLEGE SHOULD DO?”

YOUR SAY

BY JOEL WAGNER jcw0341@gmail.com

“I am pretty concerned, maybe like a 7 out of 10. I’m not really sure what the college should do, but I think the corona virus has shown very obvious inadequacies in our education system, and it seems kind of unreasonable to suddenly force professors and teachers into teaching online classes, when that in itself is a very different skill than teaching in-person classes” — Wesley Wang English

“After a class discussion with my teacher today, I do think precaution-wise, it is a smart step to take. As far as how I feel about it, with myself being here, I think that is the best way to protect us.

The classrooms are pretty small, and with the virus, it can spread in nice, warm areas, which they keep the rooms hot. We’re taught at a young age to wash your hands and cover your mouth, but not everyone is on the same page, and with that, it’s kind of creates havoc. At the rate they’re going with taking the precaution, I thank them for that.”

— April Wantz Business Marketing

“I’m not super concerned because, even though it’s a fast spreading virus it’s not super dangerous except for people with autoimmune diseases and like older people and super young people. But I’m not too concerned with most college students, because most are healthy. I don’t think it’s very fair of the college to bust everyone into doing online classes—especially for science classes—it’s really hard to do online.”

— Katelyn Dever Design

“I think it’s dumb, to be very honest. If you’re old, don’t come in, because you’re most likely the person that’s going to be affected by it. Everybody who’s in relatively good health really don’t need to go anywhere. You can just get it, and that’ll be the end of it. It’s like the flu. It’s already spreading. It’s already here. Whether we want to deny it or accept it, is the real answer.”

— Charlie Bergen Travel and Tourism

COMMUNITY | 7

Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 - March 18, 2020

Safe Injection Sites Keep the Public Safe

By Rachel Berning Rachelo.berning@gmail.com

How are we keeping the public safe from San Francisco's rampant public drug use? Sidewalks and public transportation are open to endless syringe and needle waste, due to abuse of injected drugs. According to the New York Post, over 52,000 Americans died from overdoses in 2015 at the height of the Opioid Crisis.

Safe injection sites give addicts a safe and monitored place to use, creating a major impact for the addicts.

Safe injection sites already exist in such cities as Philadelphia, New York, and Seattle. A report by Thomas Jefferson University and Main Line Health estimated that a single site in Philadelphia could prevent up to 76 drug overdose deaths per year. In 2017, 1,217 people died from an overdose in Philadelphia. The number of deaths dropped by 8% the next year due to progressive measures, according to the Philly Voice.

Here in San Francisco, Mayor London Breed has made plans for two safe injection sites. She thinks it will help reduce the spread of diseases like HIV and fatal drug overdoses.

“This is not just the conditions that we are tired of seeing out on our streets, this is about saving people's lives,” Breed said.

Amid legal threats from the Trump administration, the California state legislature will attempt to pass bill AB362, which gives the city legal protections for people involved in operating safe injection sites.

Safe injection sites outside of the United States have shown to be effective in slowing down the spread of disease and preventing overdoses.

These sites have also had success connecting people to addiction treatment services that aid in slowly

getting them off drugs.

It all started in Vancouver, where the first safe injection site opened in 2003.

“A study released in 2013 by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS found that the number of users sharing needles in Vancouver dropped from 40% in 1996 to 1.7% in 2011, while the number of people accessing methadone soared from 12% to 54% during that same period,” The Fix reported. This data shows us that these safe injections sites have a major impact.

“Coming here made it easier to focus on doing what I should be doing to try and stay clean, on what I already should have done a long time ago,” a safe injection site user told the Seattle Times.

The woman chose to remain anonymous, perhaps due to the lingering stigma around addiction, and has been living in a supportivehousing complex.

San Francisco is not the only city with proposals to build these sites.

Ithaca, Denver, and New York are also considering opening supervised injection sites to stop the steady rise of opioid overdose deaths.

Supervised injections sites are a controversial ideology of harm reduction, which views drug use as inevitable from a public stand point.

Those against the construction of safe injection sites worry that it will encourage or condone drug use and threaten the public safety of the neighborhoods they’re built in, all at a high cost to taxpayers. However, the evidence is clear: supervised injection sites save lives. Shouldn’t that be worth the cost?

Safe injection sites are already helping people. Big cities like San Francisco are in need of safe injection sites so we can keep people safe from overdose and keep drugs off the streets.

HOW TO PREVENT CONTRACTING CORONAVIRUS

1 2 3 4 5 6

Wash hand frequently Maintain social distancing Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth Practice respitory hygiene

If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early

Stay informed and follow advise given by your provider

Infographic by Nazli Ece Kandur/ The Guardsman Information retrived from World Health Organization

8 | SPORTS

COVID-19 Steals Title From Undefeated Rams

Oh So Close!

By Meyer Gorelick msggorelick@gmail.com

By Meyer Gorelick msggorelick@gmail.com

The City College women’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with the #2 ranked team in Northern California, Diablo Valley College Vikings on Saturday, March 7, and nearly pulled off an upset to advance to the state finals.

The Rams traveled well, and although it was an away game, City College fans at least equaled the number of Vikings supporters in the bleachers.

Each quarter told a different story and the game swung back and forth wildly throughout the night. After a tense first few minutes, the Vikings went on a run and closed the opening frame up 24-17.

A buzzer-beating three-pointer from sophomore forward Katie Osaki kept the Rams within striking distance though.

The Rams took control in the second quarter, taking the lead about halfway through thanks to game-changing blocks from freshman center Becca Tasi, a barrage of buckets from sophomore leaders and first-team all-conference performers Jayden Benitez and Vivian Woo and two timely baskets from freshman guard Francesca Cornell.

But the Vikings weathered the storm as first-team all-state forward Nia Johnson kept her team in the game via relentless attacks on the basket. The first half ended in a deadlock, 33-33.

The third quarter was just as tight and intense. It was like seeing two heavy-weight boxers trading blows and refusing to go down.

The Rams’ star forward and co-conference player of the year Errayanna Hatfield broke her nose early in the second half. With the season on the line, she courageously checked back into the game after spending a few minutes on the trainers table.

Despite missing Hatfield, the Rams built a small lead thanks to Benitez’s outstanding play. She was getting it done in the paint, finishing and-one layups while also splashing shots from deep. But the Vikings again clawed their way back, and finished the third quarter up 54-52.

Turnovers and red hot three-point shooting from the Vikings in the final quarter proved too much for the Rams to overcome.

Diablo Valley’s aggressive pressing defense forced the Rams into too many give-aways which were turned into decisive points on the other end.

It was a frantic final five minutes, during which the Rams, down double-digits, left everything out on the floor in an effort to come back, but in the end the deficit was insurmountable. The game ended 77-63 in favor of the Vikings.

Sophomore guard Jayden Benitez fights for a loose ball during the fourth quarter at Diablo Valley College on March 7, 2020.

Photo by Franchon Smith/The Guardsman

“We played with energy for 40 minutes,” Head Coach Derek Lau said. “Unfortunately the balls and the calls weren’t falling our way a few times here and there.”

“I thought we fought till the end,” said Benitez who finished with a team-high 16 points. “DVC is a good team, but it was just a good fight, good game overall.”

“They deserved the win tonight,” she added about the Vikings.

What a Season It was clear that all the love the team and its coach expressed for each other after the game were heartfelt and not just lip service.

There were lots of moist eyes heading to the locker room after coming devastatingly close to advancing to the state finals.

“It was a fantastic season,” Head Coach Derek Lau said. “They were focused, locked in all season long.”

“I had a great time with this group, this is a phenomenal group, I’m going to miss this group tremendously,” he added.

Woo shared Lau’s appreciation of how special this team was.

“They’re real ones,” said Woo. “We ride or die together all day long. This journey would’ve been, we wouldn’t have gotten this far without them.”

Benitez acknowledged that it was going to be hard to let go.

“It was a family,” said Benitez. “One of the tightest bonds I’ve ever had with a team.”

“I’m heartbroken honestly,” she added.

“I’m gonna miss everybody.”

Woo and Benitez are both trying to play at the next level, with Benitez in talks with San Francisco State University and Cal State University of Los Angeles.

As the undefeated City College men’s basketball team got packed in the film room to travel down to Fresno and earn its state championship, the news started flooding in. After it was announced that the NCAA Tournament was canceled, the writing was on the wall.

When word finally came in that the CCCAA men’s and women’s state basketball championships were canceled, the team was devastated. “We were hurt,” Sophomore wing Quincy Urbina said. “We cried, me along with my teammates.”Players wanted their undefeated season to end the way it should... with a title.

“Being 30-0, with a chance to go undefeated, with a perfect season, and not get the chance to play was just devastating,” Sophomore wing Emeka Udenyi said.

For the five players committed to play at Division I programs next year it was a major disappointment. The people who took it even harder were the three players who were going to get looked at by coaches and hopefully earn scholarship offers at the state championship.

“They were the ones who were most beat up about it,” Head Coach Justin Labagh said. “I felt really bad for them.”

While it impacts their recruitment, the silver lining Labagh pointed out is that everyone is impacted, and it’s not as if those Division I coaches got the opportunity to go scout other players instead.

“It’ll slow things down, but in the end, I think these guys have just such a huge sample size of all this good basketball underneath their belt,” Labagh said. “I think once the dust settles they’ll probably end up where they're supposed to.”

Dominance Labagh who has been the head coach at City College for 17 seasons and won three state championships said this is “one of the most dominating JC teams” that he has ever seen.

With an average margin of victory of 39 points, the Rams led the state in offense, scoring 101.7 points per game, and were fourth in defense, limiting opponents to 62.5 points per game.

They were deep, featuring 10 unselfish players who could share time, and share the ball. “A guy like Miles Norris, Nate Robinson, even Quincy Urbina, those guys on any other team are playing 35, 38 minutes a game,” Labagh said.

“They sacrificed. They gave up points, they gave up minutes,” added Labagh.

Udenyi witnessed first hand how this lack of ego elevated the team. “There was

Rams Advance but Championship Cancelled

By Aminah Jalal nima96290@gmail.com

The Rams defeated the College of the Redwoods Basketball team with a 108-64 win ont at their home game March 7, marking a win in the Northern Regional Final.

It was the Ram’s 30th consecutive victory in their undefeated season.

Right off the bat, the Rams were on a roll, scoring basket after basket. Despite the Redwood's working the court, the Rams led 53-22 by half-time.

The Redwood's began picking up the pace mid-way through the second half of the game, though not enough to match

the Ram’s determined and aggressive stamina which was unfaltering throughout the game.

“We played with high intensity and with good energy,” sophomore wing Quincy Urbina said. “I believe we’re ready.”

Sophomore wing Emeka Udenyi led the Rams with 8 points in the first half while sophomore guard Nate Robinson led the Rams with 10 points in the second half of the game. The Rams showed great teamwork in this game as many good shots were scattered among all players.

"It went really well," Head Coach Labargh said. "I thought we got a good

Vol. 169, Issue 5 | March 4 - March 18, 2020

rhythm and that it'll take us into state."

Unfortunately, on Thursday, March 12 the California Community College Athletics Association announced that both the men’s and women’s basketball state championships were cancelled due to concerns over COVID-19.

(Right) The Rams celebrate after defeating College of The Redwoods on March 7, 2020, to advance to the State Championship playoffs. Photo by Amal Ben Ghanem/The Guardsman

no jealousy on this team, and you don’t see that a lot,” he said.

Being able to fully utilize the entirety of an ultra-talented roster allowed the Rams to play relentless defense, speed up the game.

Given more possessions and superior players, they utterly demolished every team they faced.

Family Aside from having a rare collection of talent, what made this team unique was its closeness off the court. It’s not something that happens every year.

“We can try to create a real positive atmosphere with these guys, but you can’t force them to like each other,” Labagh said.

When asked what they would miss the most about this team, both Urbina and Udenyi focused on the time spent with teammates. “I can honestly say that when I get married, those guys will be at my wedding,” Urbina said. This bond translated to unprecedented success on the court.

“When we went out to play, it was easy.

You know, we all were friends and we all wanted to see each other do well,” Udenyi said. “This was hands down the best team I’ve ever been a part of, on and off the court,” Urbina said.

The incredible synergy has helped propel the players to not only team success, but individual accolades as well and opportunities to play basketball at the next level.

Awards and Legacy Sophomore forward Miles Norris was named Coast Conference North MVP and will attend Division I UC Santa Barbara next season.

Udenyi, Urbina, as well as freshman guard Darrion Trammell were named firstteam all-conference, while sophomore guard Nate Robinson earned a second-team nod.

Udenyi, Robinson and Trammell will all transfer to Seattle University to compete together at the Division I Level.

“I’m excited to get a chance to compete with those guys for a couple more years and see what we can do,” Udenyi said. “And hopefully, eventually we can make the NCAA tournament, that’d probably be the ultimate goal.”

Urbina will play at Division I Grand Canyon University in Phoenix next year and hopes to make a big impact while he’s there. “I want to be remembered as one of the best players ever at Grand Canyon,” Urbina said. “I want to make an impact in Phoenix, on someone or something and have it be positive,” he added.

Guards Kyree Brown, Ezekiel Holman and Dale Curie are all deep in the recruiting process and hope to make transfers to Division I schools for next season as well.

Meanwhile Labagh will be starting almost from scratch and reload for a brand new run at the state title next year.