Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September 11, 2019 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
City College Professor and Students Report Racist Harassment By Caoilinn Goss cgoss2@mail.ccsf.edu
Two students orchestrated a racist disruption in a class on diversity taught by Dr. David Ga’oupu Palaita, Ph.D in June, threatening the instructor and insisting that the course should not be taught at all and that Palaita had a genetically inferior intellect. Palaita cited the attack on himself and his classroom at the June 29 Board of Trustees meeting in an appeal to the Board of Trustees not to cut the school’s Interdisciplinary Studies departments by a third.
Professor David Palaita of the Interdisciplinary Studies department. Photo by Cassie Ordonio / The Guardsman
“This is not a time to consolidate, especially at a time when around our country, nationally, our political climate empowers and emboldens people,” Palaita insisted in his address to the board. Palaita, who has taught at City College for 12 years, co-founded the Critical Pacific Islands and Oceania Studies Program. He also teaches in the Diversity and Social Justice Program. Both programs may lose their departmental status under new budget cuts. In an interview published on Youtube by The Labor Video Project, Dr. Palaita further described the June incident. “We had students enroll into my racism class for the purpose of disrupting it. They’re students that are from fringe organizations that do not believe in diversity. They do not believe that other communities, particularly communities of color, belong in spaces of education.” According to Palaita, the Pacific Studies Program at City College has graduated more students in the major than even the University of Hawaii. Other colleges have followed City College’s example and created Pacific Studies departments, ranging as widely as UCLA, the College of San Mateo, and the University of Washington. The broader academic arena, Palaita asserted, is “looking to our program to lead and to provide support to these communities.” “I want the Board of Trustees to know that if you weaken and consolidate our Ethnic Studies Programs, you will lend this power to those students,” Palaita concluded in his statement to the board.
The disruption in Palaita’s June class is not an isolated incident. “They send me emails with articles. One constructed an essay explaining in an academic way why I should not be teaching, why these classes on ethnic studies and courses on diversity and social justice should not be taught because the work we do does not debunk the science. That we should continue to adhere to genetic policies around the superiority of those who are considered biologically white,” Palaita said. “These students are very deliberate. They continue to harass me.” Students have experienced harassment as well. On Wednesday Aug. 25, at midday during the first week of classes, the Guardsman’s own Anshi Aucar was accosted while walking to class near the athletic fields. The driver of a passing car shouted racial slurs at her because she was ostensibly in his way. “He tried to intimidate me by driving backwards,” Aucar said, “trying to say that he would hurt me or try to run me over.” “The sad part about this is that this isn’t the first time that this has happened. It is the first time that it happened to me on campus,” Aucar said. Palaita expressed similar sentiments, stating, “I am shocked. I am not surprised.” When asked what City College students and faculty can do to combat the creep of racism into campus culture, Palaita stated, “I think faculty and students are doing what they can. I can tell you what the board of trustees should not do is eliminate those departments.”
City College Administrators Eliminate More than 200 Courses During Summer Break By Anshi Aucar While trying to balance the budget, City College Administrators cut more than 200 classes during the summer, preventing students from being able to register for and attend those classes this fall. From Fall of 2018 to Fall of 2019, 307 course sections were lost and 135 classes were eliminated completely. During a summer Board of Trustees meeting, Chancellor Rocha announced that 200 more “low-enrolled” courses would be eliminated six weeks before they were scheduled to begin, which has prevented courses from reaching the contractually protected 20 students minimum that the Board of Trustees had previously established. However, the 20 students minimum has proven to not be a definite measure of whether or not a class can be cut from the schedule. Aircraft 10, an aircraft metals course was cut, in spite of the fact that the class was full and had maxed out its 10 student waitlist. Vice Chancellor Dianna Gonzales said that because of “budgetary reasons” the administration can waive the AFT2121 contract provision protecting classes with 20 or more students. According to the college’s 2019 budget, City College is shown to have a surplus of around $1.5-$2 million dollars. Although, some students believe that the claim of a negative budget is irrelevent when speaking about student success; “The Chancellor needs to reevaluate where he is spending the money, instead of having the students pay for it. And to see if there is a leak of money somewhere. He has to check to see why students are paying for it instead of budgeting correctly
if there is a surplus” said student volunteer Helen. Counselor Jorge Avila said “What my previous Dean had told me was that some of these classes were necessary. Some classes aren’t funded by the state. The school has to provide the cost to fund these classes and if the school doesn’t have any money, they can’t pay the instructor and it makes it hard to keep the classes open.” In years past, printed versions of the Fall schedule were published weeks in advance, however this summer, the schedule failed to appear before class registration for Fall 2019 began. When the schedule was finally printed, students received an email stating “Printed Class Schedules are available at each City College Center and the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library”. This upset many students, as they believe this breaches the education equity gap City College is looking to close: “I was upset that I had to enroll in my classes and the print schedule was not out yet. And when it did come out, it took a while to find. I spoke to many of my classmates who also had the same issue,” said Sylvia Luna, a Mission Campus student. The actual printed schedule contains no index besides the 120 pages of classes, which has led students to believe registration is being made even more inaccessible. “I tried to register for classes, but it seemed that all the classes were full and when I got waitlisted for one of them. I later found out that it was cancelled! Even throughout the process, Web4 wasn’t working correctly. And later on when I was able to register for my class, I had to rearrange my schedule so I could be in that class. Which is extremely frustrating,” said former Skyline College student Mauricio.
International Counselor Department Dissolved By Matheus Maynard mmaynardfrank@aol.com
City College’s Board of Trustees approved the layoff of international counselors over the summer amid concerns of budget deficits, leaving international student affairs to the discretion of regular academic counselors. Students with F1 visa status must meet certain requirements in regards to studying in the United States according to the USCIS, and for this reason, City College designated a separate counseling program to assist international students. Even with City College administrators assuring F1 students that they won’t be affected by this change, some F1 students are deeply concerned with the future of their education at City College. Brazilian international student, Rodrigo Chen said “I don’t necessarily think counselors affect my decisions over my educational path, however, I feel sympathetic towards my fellow international students because some might need instruction and guidance to understand the college system in the U.S.” The main requirements to keep F1 students’ status at City College is “to take a minimum of 12 units, maintain a GPA of 2.0, and to have satisfactory progress towards their academic programs” according to the Office of International Programs. In the case of unsatisfactory progress and GPA, international students are put on probation and assigned an international counselor to oversee their case and guide them through the work to bring their status back to satisfactory again. International student Davi Luo said, “I think it is not fair with international students to have a service destined to them to be cut since we pay a lot of money to be here.” Dean of International Education, Dr. Vinicio Lopez explained that “International (F-1) visa students have always been able to see all counselors at CCSF. Any CCSF counselor can meet with students regarding the Educational Plans. That is what they are qualified and trained to do. This has not changed! Any issue related to F-1 students (I-20 questions, visas, Optional Practical Training (OPT), working on campus, extensions, Immigration requirements, etc) is handled by the Designated School Officials (DSOs) or Primary Designated School Official (PDSO).” Students, both domestic and international, are concerned with the increase of the wait time to see a counselor that could happen to this merge and diminishment in the number of counselors available. “I don’t think cutting core student services is an effective way to save money in an educational institution,” said Luo.
Illustration by Chiara Di Martino
2 | NEWS
Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September 11, 2019
Project SHINE Connects Language Coaches to Immigrant Community
Community members participating in the SHINE program at City College’s Chinatown Campus receive instruction from a volunteer over the summer. Photo courtesy of Marianne Etlinger
By Matheus Maynard & Claudia Drdul mmaynardfrank@aol.com & claudiadrdul@gmail.com
During the age of Donald Trump, immigrants across the United States are threatened with harassment and violence simply for not being fluent in English. City College’s Project SHINE (Students Helping in the Naturalization of Elders) program works to assist returning students in gaining English language skills free of cost by giving them the opportunity to work with in-class language coaches or to become one themselves. Project SHINE was created to connect volunteers to those in City College’s non-credit ESL and citizenship classes by offering classroom-aide positions. The organization was
brought to San Francisco, a city where over a third of all residents are immigrants, 23 years ago and has served the ESL population ever since. Student Jiaomai Mai has been coaching with the organization for over seven semesters and believes that SHINE has significantly contributed to her personal growth. “I improved my personality. I became more confident in speaking English, and it helped me realize that if I want to do something, I will do it,” she said. The program meets the needs of both college students looking for community service hours, and ESL and non-credit students in their personal process of becoming fluent in the English language and passing the citizenship test. “I see SHINE as serving different stakeholders at the college and the community. Students who come into our office have many different reasons and motivations to do it, and the outcomes are also different, but there is always this sense of serving or give back feeling. For all cases, there is always this positive growth, ranging from academic, personal, to language skills growth,” said Project SHINE coordinator, Marianne Etlinger. Instructors also see the benefit of having a SHINE coach in their classrooms. “Having a SHINE coach in my classroom is like having a third hand. They help me to answer all the students' questions, and serve as a bridge between me and the students because it is hard to individually attend every need or every doubt of a student in a classroom of 25 students,” said ESL instructor Helen Frazier. City College students are encouraged to apply for Project SHINE for the Fall 2019 academic year where they will receive training before entering the classroom. Volunteer coaches must be able to commit to two hours every week on days of their choosing over a ten-week period to receive a certificate of completion. International Student Davi Luo coached for the first time in Spring 2019, “The reason why I volunteered for SHINE is that I really like to help people, and will also help me to transfer. I will volunteer again next semester because the program is helping me to overcome my shyness and my language skills.” Students interested in applying for Project SHINE can go to www.projectshineccsf.org to make an appointment with a coordinator and placement interviews will take place on Sept. 3.
BRIEFS
A New Vision for Free City By Jennifer Yin jyin4@mail.ccsf.edu
The efforts by faculty union AFT2121 and City College’s administration to secure funding for the Free City program finally came to fruition when the City College Board of Trustees approved a new Memorandum of Understanding, 6 to 0 with one abstention on August 22. The new MOU, a type of agreement between two or more parties, will ensure funding for Free City for the next ten years, and will set aside a reserve fund in case of cost overruns. Designed by Senior Vice Chancellor Dianna Gonzales, the plan will receive $15 million in funds, with a 3% growth at the beginning of each fiscal year from the city. A yearly audit will be required from City College, at the end of each year. Any expenses must remain consistent with the Free City ordinance, regarding enrollment
Staff Editor-in-Chief Lisa Martin
News Editor Claudia Drdul
Same Old Song And Dance
fees, and other education related expenses. There will also be some changes to the Free City plan. For example, students will no longer be required to complete a FAFSA form, and the program will no longer be a conditional financial aid program. The new MOU comes at a time when the old plan was due to expire in July. Chancellor Mark Rocha explained how the prior MOU had failed due to an over expenditure on unfilled classes. In year one of the old MOU, there were an estimated 27,000 empty class seats. In year two, City College decided to cut classes, as to stay within their budget. However, with the new MOU there is still no security for faculty and students regarding future class cuts. AFT2121 and student speakers remained vocal, during a summer meeting between the board of trustees, regarding the discontinuation of future class cuts.
Culture Editor Matheus Maynard
Opinion Editor Andy Damián-Correa Photo Editor Amal Ben Ghanem
By Peter J. Suter suterjpeter@gmail.com
By dancing and singing alternative lyrics to some well-known classics like “Another Class Bites the Dust”, over 50 faculty union members and students wearing their #redfored t-shirts came out during FLEX Day to peacefully protest and air their grievances with the direction City College has been heading. FLEX Day consists of professional development activities for faculty and staff in-lieu-of regular instruction — but, for those involved in the protest it was an opportunity to have their voices heard among their peers. Donning red AFT2121 shirts, students and faculty made their message clearthey are not happy with the direction the college has headed under the current administration and chancellor. Through the use of Tombstones reading phrases such as “Recently Evicted From My Class” and “Cultural Anthropology Matters” protestors made a vibrant visual appeal to the City College administration. “We feel that the Chancellor has a narrow vision of what success is here at CCSF,” said Wynn Koffman, engineering instructor and president of teacher union, AFT2121.
Sport Editor Alec White Chief Copy Editor Antoinette Barton Tyler Breisacher
Designer Director Chiara Di Martino Online Editor Fran Smith
Staff Writers Anshi Aucar
Koffman believes the measure of success the administration has defined through focussing mainly on transfer degrees, certificates, and two-years students, doesn’t meet the needs of the “rich and diverse communities CCSF has traditional served”. These types of informal grievances have yielded some results. Classes with 20 or fewer students enrolled have been threatened to be cut– violating the contractual agreement the college has with AFT2121– but, through negotiations and push-back, many of the courses have been reinstated after being cancelled, according to Koffman. Other grievances, such as the college not going after Community Higher Education Funds (CHEF) money and “thinking out-side-of-the-box” to raise revenue, and how the enrollment management has been handled, are what brought many out to protest. Chancellor Mark Rocha says he welcomes the protesters. “Protest is a large part of democracy, and college of all places. Everyone today has been perfectly peaceful,” Rocha said. As the administration goes forward with their new direction for City College only time will tell how much faculty and students can do to meet their differences.
Rachel Berning Caoilinn Goss Amelia Hobbs Peter J. Suter Jennifer Yin
Illustrator Dimas Jose Arellano Chiara Di Martino
NEWS | 3
Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September, 2019
Bay Area Students Demand Free College Tuition By Claudia Drdul claudiadrdul@gmail.com
City College student organizers refused to remain inactive over the summer as they joined the national “College for All” initiative in support of free state tuition. Michelle Do, Tiffany Jade Ho and Angela Santelices, all students involved in City College’s Student Assembly, Arlyn Rosales signs up to phone bank for the "College For All" initiative upon hearing of the group's joined San Francisco Rising’s Summer Rising Fellowship. successes in connecting with Bay Area voters at the Aug. 1 open-mic night. Photo by Claudia Drdul / The fellowship is made up of activists from across the The Guardsman greater Bay Area hoping to “give local college students a platform to voice struggles and concerns on the current been organizing with the SF Rising Coalition, led the a passionate poem: “The real cost of art school is being accessibility and unaffordability of higher education in our information portion of the open-mic night because he verbally abused by your department director because you state’s public colleges”. felt concerned by the current educational funding system couldn’t finish your final on time, because your job made Do explained her involvement in the initiative by saying California has in place: “It’s difficult to find a student loan, you work the holiday rush, and you got sick, and you’re “If we had access to school for free, we wouldn’t end up explain to your parents the loan, while not understanding only human.” struggling as much in life. College can be free.” the language. It’s communicating to your parents while not In his spoken word piece, Kevin Caldron of Stanford Although Do and other City College organizers have knowing all the facts. This process should not be this hard”. University noted that “the movement is a wave, each drop of access to free tuition if they reside in San Francisco, they Arlyn Rosales of UC Riverside elaborated by saying water is what counts. College used to be free in California… acknowledge the importance of expanding the program “There’s this added pressure of understanding the financial why can’t it be free again?” Free City has established. aid system yourself, when your parents are immigrants and “Up until the 1970s, public higher education in California The coalition spent the summer working with various English is not their first language.” was enshrined as a democratic right and effectively tuitioncommunity organizations to phone bank, outreach and However, College for All offers a solution to the current free. For decades, we’ve watched politicians cut funding, create interactive events in order to draw in more support United States financial aid system. “If we were to tax the raise tuition, and push more and more students deeper from the local voting community. wealthiest two percent, an additional 2.5 million students into debt, all while handing out tax breaks to the wealthiest SF Rising, itself, is described as an “electoral alliance would be able to go to college for free. Anyone who has Californians,” according to the College for All CA website. that builds the political power of working-class communities that much money, has gotten it by exploiting others” said City College dance professor Kathy Burick received of color in San Francisco” that is made up of 10 parent SF Rising Field organizer Celi Tamayo-Lee. free tuition while attending college in California in 1973 organizations focused on social justice. Students used the space to perform original music, and believes that students should have hope for the future, On Aug. 1, the fellowship hosted an open-mic night in display art pieces and recite poems about their experiences receiving free college tuition when she attended City College the historic Women’s Building inside the Mission District, not being able to afford college tuition. The themes were in 1973, giving students hope for the future; “We are all which drew in a crowd of more than 30 students from the common among each piece; the inability to afford tuition, unstoppable, because college for all is possible.” southern UC Riverside to the northern Academy of Art. and therefore performing poorly in class. Justin Carson, a San Francisco State student who has Jewel Ross, a former Academy of Art student, read
Oakland Musician AR The Believer preforms “We Makin Waves”, a highly politicized mix of hip hop and electronica at the Aug. 1 "College For All Open Mic-Night". Photo by Claudia Drdul / The Guardsman
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Former Academy of Art student, Jewel Ross, participates in the networking portion of the "College For All Open-Mic Night" event in the Audre Lorde Room in the Women's Building. Photo by Claudia Drdul / The Guardsman
4 | CULTURE
Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September 11, 2019
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Bac Sierra
Second Annual “King of the Streets” Memorial Honors Alex Nieto By Rachel Berning rachelo.berning@gmail.com
Hosted in the parking lot of the Multi-Use Building on Ocean Campus, the second annual Alex Nieto lowrider memorial “King of the Streets” gathered thousands last July. The event was hosted by Professor Benjamin Bac Sierra and organized by the San Francisco lowrider community to honor the memory of a City College student murdered by the San Francisco Police Department in 2014. “We organized and became the biggest movement ever in the history of the United States, to defend the honor of a latino victim of a police killing” said Bac Sierra. Families of the lowrider car-enthusiast community gathered from various states such as Arizona, Washington and California to memorialize Nieto’s name and show support for victims of police brutality. Lowriders, also known as “Cars with identities”, have been around for 80 years and play a central role in California Latinx culture. Los Angeles Mexican-American youth invented the “low and slow” car, during the mid 1940s. Lowriding was an automotive update to an old country tradition. It was an extension of the Mexican cultural called “the paseo”. In 1958, California made it illegal to drive a car with low wheel rims. The following year the Chevy Impala
Community members raise awareness for the City College diversity collaborative program at the Second Annual Lowrider event. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Bac Sierra
was released. Lowriding became one of the elements of the Latino culture. “Take what you Americans have, and turn it around. It’s time to make our own America,” said Bac Sierra, describing the lowriding subculture. Nieto’s parents emigrated from Mexico to the Bay Area in the 1970’s. Nieto lived with his brother Hector and his parents in the Bernal Heights neighborhood. On Mar. 21, 2014 Nieto was sitting in Bernal Heights park before his shift as a security job at a nearby nightclub when he was shot 59 times by police who were called to the scene by recent residents to the neighborhood. Claiming self-defense, the officer that shot Nieto believed he was gang-affiliated as he was wearing a red jacket and carrying a taser. Following the shooting, the heavily Latinx lowrider community took a firm stance on Nieto’s innocence, and cited police relations with their marginalized community as the cause for Nieto’s untimely death. Family, friends and lowriders portrayed Nieto to be a law-abiding citizen, who was family and community oriented, as he had no prior history of arrest and worked as a youth counselor for five years. Alex Nieto will always be the hero for many members of the Latino community. He will always be remembered as “The King of the Streets”.
A lowrider displays his car at the event. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Bac Sierra
CULTURE | 5
Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September 11, 2019
Exploratorium Exhibit Features City College Students By Matheus Maynard & Claudia Drdul mmaynardfrank@aol.com & claudiadrdul@gmail.com
Self, Made, an exhibit exploring individual and group identity featuring the stories of 25 students involved in City College’s English Second Language Non-credit program, opened at the Exploratorium on May 23 and will remain open through September 2. Students of ESL Professor Ann Fontanella worked through the Spring 2019 semester to portray their cultural identity through an object and an analysis of said object in both their native language as well as an English translation. “I wish I knew all my students’ stories. They are so beautiful, poetic and powerful, and they [the students] entrusted me to read their stories and this changed our relationship,” said Fontanella. The exhibit was organized by museum director Melissa Alexander who said, “Identity is a central human experience, and just like our bodies we all exist within them. Our identities are formed and modified and reformed by a multitude of experiences.” Alexander was extremely grateful for the experiences City College students brought to the installation. She was moved by the work of one specific student Imene Boukhalfa Hanafi, whose olive tree figurine was displayed in its own case as a central piece to the installation.
City College student, Imene Boukhalfa Hanafi, displays her object, a Tunisian olive tree figurine alongside a description in her native Arabic script. Photo by Claudia Drdul / The Guardsman
The figurine represented the struggles of Hanafi’s Tunisian family for over two centuries: “My illiterate grandfather not only educated all his children but also taught them love for the land. My father did the same, insisting that my brothers and I join the annual ritual of collecting olives to make us feel a deep connection with our homeland,” said Hanafi. As explained in an Exploratorium press release, the purpose of this Summer installation “invites visitors to explore how we form and perform City College ESL students visit their own work at the Exploratorium on opening night identity through dozens of new to view their additions to the museum’s “Self, Made” exhibit. Photo by Claudia Drdul / interactive exhibit experiences, The Guardsman works of art, and curated collections of cultural objects.” Hundreds of museum-goers visited the exhibit on a job without speaking English, however, after beginning opening night and some visitors were in tears after form- a series of ESL classes, she was able to secure a job at a ing personal connections to the stories behind each display. Marriott hotel. Visitor and classmate Maviane Ribeiro said “When City College’s non-credit provides opportunities and we arrived here in the United States, we kind of lost a helps to connect foreigners with our culture. This partnerlittle bit of our identity. And when we had the opportu- ship between City College and the Exploratorium is raising nity to write about who we are, it makes a difference” after the awareness of the cultural identity of those students and viewing the display. how hard can it be to move away from their home countries One of the most eye-catching items present was a and diving into a new and unknown culture. peasant-style blouse, embroidered with violet and dark ESL Department Chair, Greg Keech, was contacted green flowers along the neckline. Student Wendy Moreno by the museum for this exhibit because of the positive past explained “It’s not just a blouse. It is a life. [Salvadorian experience the museum has had with building community workers] eat because of the blouses. I chose the blouse alongside City College students. because I’ve always admired my mom, she’s a hard-workWith City College’s pending class cuts, partnerships ing Salvadorean single-mother. I want people to believe in like this may be negatively affected. The ESL department opportunities. One woman can make a difference.” has already experienced large reductions in class offerings Moreno was introduced to City College’s ESL program from Fall of 2018 to Fall of 2019, which puts experiences through her husband who took a class with Professor like this at risk of elimination. Fontanella over a decade ago. “It’s so powerful how you Being featured in Self, Made is just one of the varican teach one student and then they remember you ten ous opportunities City College has brought to immigrant years later,” said Fontanella. students. All community members are invited to check Another student, Xiaoling (Elaine) Dai, also praised out the exhibit through September 2, at Pier 15. Students the importance of City College’s ESL classes in her life. and teachers receive a 16 percent discount on the Upon moving to San Francisco, Dai was unable to find regular ticket price.
Art Conservators Begin Preservation Work on Diego Rivera Mural By Lisa Martin
Treasure island, as part of the “Art in Action” exhibit in which artist’s from around the lisamartin.562@gmail.com world, including Rivera himself, created A plywood partition divides the lobby their works of art in full view of the public. of the Diego Rivera Theatre as art experts The mural was designed to be taken apart and conservators continue the work they and transported because Timothy Pflueger, began over the summer preserving the a San Francisco architect with ties to “Pan American Unity” mural painted by both the GGIE and to what was then still artist Diego Rivera and preparing it for known as San Francisco Junior College, a loan to the San Francisco Museum of had arranged for ownership of the mural to Modern Art (SFMOMA). be transferred to the school. City College and SFMOMA first The agreement between City College announced plans for the two-year loan and SFMOMA includes museum in December 2017. The museum first internships for students and curriculum approached the school about borrowing development, according to Chief of Staff the mural while organizing an exhibition to the Chancellor’s Office Leslie Milloy planned for October 2020 on Rivera’s work. who has been involved in coordinating “Pan American Unity” mural — a with SFMOMA. massive fresco that combines indigenous SFMOMA has also agreed to pay all mesoamerican symbols, views of San costs associated with restoring, moving, storFrancisco bay, notable figures from the era ing the mural, and moving it back. and throughout history and presided over by Experts in fields that range from art a towering statue that is part Aztec goddess, conservation to physics to transportation part industrial machinery — is Rivera’s larg- have been strategizing how exactly to move est mural and the last that he painted in the the artwork, which is just over 22 feet high United States, completed in 1940. “For years and 73 feet long, made up of 10 panels made I have felt that the real art of the Americas of steel and plaster and bolted together. It must come as a result of the fusion of the weighs 23 tons in total, and each panel will mechanism and new creative power of the have to be transported in separate vehicles. north with the tradition rooted in the soil The mural will remain at the Diego of the south, the Toltecs, Tarascans, Mayas, Rivera Theatre until April 2020. According Incas, etc,” said Rivera. to Milloy, students and visitors will still be It was painted as part of the second able to view the mural and the work that’s session of the Golden Gate International being done on it from the mezzanine level Exposition (GGIE), a world fair held on of the theater during docent-led hours.
However, signage at the theatre says entry is limited to City College and SFMOMA project staff and “Please Do Not Enter.” The work being done now is to clean and stabilize the mural. Using special sponges, conservators are removing years of dust. According to Milloy, the mural is now markedly cleaner and some have said that it looks brighter and the contrast in the colors is better now that the grime has been removed. A stabilization compound is also being added that appears white on the mural but will protect fragile areas during the move and can be easily removed by conservators. The timing of this is opportune for the school as they are planning on moving the mural to the Performing Arts Education Center. “The hope is the timing works so [the mural] goes right to the Performing Arts Education Center [after the SFMOMA] and the college will not have had to pay for that very complicated move,” said Milloy. There is currently no date set to “break ground” on the construction of the Performing Arts Education Center. Over the years, many buildings projects have been proposed to display the mural. Originally, the plan was to feature the mural in the reading room of the Pflueger Library — which was never built. Instead, the mural was put in storage for two decades before it came to its current home in what is now known as the Diego Rivera Theatre. In the 90s, there was a discussion about putting the mural in the atrium of the
Rosenberg Library and, when that didn’t pan out, creating a dedicated building for it called the “Pan American Center”. Although the Memorandum of Understanding between City College and SFMOMA is still being finalized, Milloy said that there was “absolutely no risk that we wouldn’t be getting the mural back.”
A corner of the “Pan American Unity” mural can just be seen past the sign saying “Please Do Not Enter” at the Diego Rivera Theater on Aug. 22, 2019. Photo by Lisa Martin / The Guardsman
6 | OPINION
HAVE YOUR SAY BY ANDY DAMIÁN-CORREA
“WHAT ARE YOUR SAFETY CONCERNS ON CAMPUS?”
“Don’t think people will really mess with me that much. But if there’s a reason, I would throw my life aside to save someone who’s around me.” Ph
— Wilson Paun, Industrial Design Transfer
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“I think that people are on high alert, but I’m not too worried about it. I don’t think we’ve had the training on where to go, or what to do so we’ll just run.” — Vail Szendrei, Physics
“There isn’t a program telling us what to do, but with a little common sense and maturity we know what to do in that situation.” — Amia Luis, Construction Management Electrical Engineering
“When walking to cloud hall from creative arts building some of the stair are slanted and I almost fell, and I feel there’s always people crossing roads at whatever time.” — Kharisma de la Cruz, Medical Assisting
“I’ve been here for a year and I feel like I don’t have any concerns about that.” — Claire Chang
Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September 11, 2019
The Violence We Were Afraid Was Coming Is Here By Andy Damián-Correa
issues affecting the American population, such as climate change, he has refined his attacks on Latinos acorrea@theguardsman.com and immigrants, in general, and wielded his executive I can’t stop thinking about this. What drives a power to fulfill his deeply bigoted agenda. person to commit violence against someone of a Leaders and politicians, such as Congresswoman different skin color or language, or because they Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, have also lost patience were born elsewhere? This is what happened in the with the Trump administration. recent massacre in El Paso, Texas on Sat, Aug 3, “I don’t want to hear the question of whether the when a gunman opened fire in a Wal-Mart targeting president is a racist again. Yes, he is,” Ocasio-Cortez Mexicans, but ultimately all Latinos. This is the most said in a speech given in New York. violent expression of rejection against an American Trump’s strategy has been made pretty clear: future dominated by minorities. We are in an era of dehumanizing Latinos by stripping away federal hate, in which words matter immensely, and when protections that safeguard their rights, promote they’re loaded with said hatred, they can cause a lot policies that marginalize families, encourage diviof sociopolitical damage. sion, fear, violence, and a hateful rhetoric. We should The violence in El Paso is not about immigration have spent the last two and a half years working to policy. It is about promoting hate, fear and division advance our country further, but instead, we had among Americans, which has been sown politically to focus on protecting the progress we have already by President Donald Trump. Trump has systemati- made thus far. cally sought to paint an ugly portrait of Hispanics. Presidential candidates for the 2020 elections “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not should make their position on immigration policy sending their best. They’re bringing drugs. They’re abundantly clear to the Latino community as their bringing crime. They’re rapists,” Trump said while vote will make an impact like never before in history. announcing his presidency in 2015. A quarter of Trump’s presidential term has passed, In 2016, he accused a federal judge born in and it’s been long enough to judge his performance Indiana, Gonzalo Curiel, who presided over cases as president of the United States. The president against Trump University, of being biased because reached his first year with a 39 percent approval of his Mexican heritage. rating in the polls, the lowest of all US presidents. He has tried to limit our right to vote, restricted It remains to be seen if Trump is definitely changour access to housing and healthcare, prevented us ing the way we do politics in the US, but having from being counted in the US census and he has fulfilled half of his mandate already, what is clear turned his back on our fellow Americans in Puerto is that politics is not changing Donald Trump. We Rico. Instead of focusing his time on the many critical have the future of America in our hands.
Become a Part of a Movement at School By Bryan Daley studenttrustee@mail.ccsf.edu
Education has long been a catalyst for social awakening and the student voice is a hardened tool with which students can put folks on notice and enact positive change. We witnessed the strength of Latin-American students in the East LA walk-outs surrounding immigration reform in the late 60’s. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) members, like the amazing Ella Baker, organized students to challenge segregationist oppression nationwide. Ethnic studies programs only exist throughout our countries higher education system, because black and brown students of San Francisco State University stood up and demanded to see themselves represented within course materials. Chinese students took a stand for the sake of democracy and free expression in Tiananmen Square circa late 80’s, and some would say that this battle is still being waged today by Hong Kong’s students. These radical grassroots movements typically came from a place of extreme need and a lack of effective channels that they could engage with and effect change; there was a need for radical mobilization toward immense structural change. A passionate will to act combine with a lack of access to the halls of power, left the students with little choice but to protest and advocate for their needs to be met. By now you may be asking: what do these amazing folks have to do with City College? If you picked up a copy of the Guardsman at any point last semester, you probably know that the main narrative on campus is one of financial crisis. Although class cuts, layoffs, and overall downsizing may not seem as dire as the conditions of social injustice that SNCC, the Black Panthers, and so many others rose up and lost their lives to combat,
the long term effects on student success and enrollment can be devastating. In an overdue, yet somewhat ill-timed, attempt to balance our budget, we begin disenfranchising more students by turning them away from classes that they need to graduate, failing to replace key staff classified staff that offer support to students (thus offering less overall out-of-class support), or discontinuing equity funded programs that students heavily depend upon like the clipper card scholarship. While students grow more and more frustrated with the current condition, many leave school without ever truly starting their educational career, which will only serve to hurt our funding and, in turn, hurt the colleges funding. As students, what options do we have? You can reach out to your friendly neighborhood Student Trustee, via email or instagram (studenttrustee@mail. ccsf.ed and @daley_decree) and empower them to take on the issues that are facing you. As your representative to the board I am here to serve you and advocate for your best interest, but my institutional power ends there. With that said there is only so much that I can do as one student. As a student body, our collective voices have so much more power than any position that any one person can hold. If you’ve got the time, get involved! Run in our upcoming Associate Student Council special election, join SMAC (Students Making A Change), join RiSE (Reimagine the Student Experience), serve on a Participatory Governance Committee. A few of these organizations have paid position, that will value the time that you put into advocating for your needs and the needs of your community. In the words of Coretta Scott king, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
OPINION | 7
Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September 11, 2019
We Have to Care About the Environment By Amelia Hobbs
Most of us are so busy working and trying to survive that we do not ahobbs1@mail.ccsf.edu stop to question how and why everyMy whole existence, I have been thing just keeps plugging along. told a story. A story that I am my The reality we are currently in thoughts, emotions, physical body, is just a result of the story we have gender and actions. I was told that told ourselves. A story that you and humans are more important and I can change together because this more special than any other species. I is just a system we are buying into. was fed propaganda instead of given If you are questioning your reality the true history of my country. I was then examine your value judgments. told humanity's history of pollution WE can unlearn anything and look and genocide was necessary for at facts presented to us with science. our development. I am student, a Question everything you have ever worker, and more than ready for a been told. Especially start with your new narrative concerning this world. attitude/outlook, news source, the Through our collective energy use, food you consume and your physical pollution and overpopulation of the activity level. These may be some our planet, we have brought the sixth of the last free choices that you can mass extinction into progress. make for this planet, ourselves and “We are in trouble if we don’t future generations. Have empathy act, but there are a range of actions for others' situations because it could that can be taken to protect nature always be you. We need to know and and meet human goals for health feel that we are enough because we and development. It is not too are more than our physical bodies. late to make a difference, but only The constant voice in your head that if we start now at every level compares everything and is never from local to global,” Professor okay, that is your ego. You are the Sir Robert Watson, chair of the watcher behind that voice that is UN’s Intergovernmental Science- conscious of the fleeting thoughts Policy Platform on Biodiversity and and emotions, nothing is forever. Ecosystem Services, said. We are dealing with the past I am having trouble getting generations' energy decisions. We through the day hearing adults need to understand how our world argue about race, class, gender, the works in order to be the stewards we GDP, etc, when we will not be able are meant to be. The classes at City to reproduce without a planet to College have helped me develop new sustains us. Let’s, at least, be honest skills that help me look at the world about how and why we are polluting from an ecological and environmenand consuming so much. I, like many tal lens. We can create a world to be others, have turned to things that proud of and one in which we would make me comfortably numb. actually want to live in. There is a
collective consciousness that is sick right now. We need to feel community and connection to the natural world and to all living beings. “If we lose our connection with nature, what might it mean for our planet? Today many children and adults suffer from what Richard Louv [American author and journalist] calls “nature-deficit disorder” — reduced awareness and a diminished ability to find meaning in the life around us,” Renee Cho, staff blogger of Columbia University’s environmental paper, The Earth Institute, said. I have been called radical because I believe, in my heart, that everything can and should be different. Start with you. I was naive and thought someone was taking care of the issues or recycling my products, but it is not true. It takes courage to change people's hearts and evil will continue to prevail if good people do nothing. Social movements of the working class, students and everyday people are the ones that will change the world. We have the power, we just need to know we are enough and this is worth fighting for. In America, I am surrounded by an illusion of reality and level of comfort that results in a lack of action. Give back to others and society in some way. City College needs to be a leader in connecting our communities and taking inclusive steps toward sustainability and combating climate change, not find new ways to cut classes before the semester begins.
Illustration by Lisa Martin
recycling tips Did you know? • Every part of your coffee cup can now be recycled: lid, sleeve, and cup. • But remember: empty liquid before recycling For more information, contact Recycling Coordinator Carlita Martinez at cmartine@ccsf.edu
Portfolio Club Presents: Dimas Jose Arellano
ccsfportfolio.com @dimasaurusrex
8 | SPORTS
Vol. 168, Issue 1 | August 28 – September 11, 2019
COACH CALLS THIS YEAR’S FOOTBALL TEAM “SECOND TO NONE” By Alec White
One thing Coach Collins emphasized about this year’s team is how great the leadership is. “We have two sophomore quarterbacks that have great experience, that have really embraced When you think of City College of San Francisco, it’s hard the idea that they’re not competing to be starting quarterback, not to think of the rich and winning history of the football they’re competing to help us win games and that both of them program. The 10-Time National Champions will be looking will play big parts in us achieving our goals this year.” to get back on track this year. Winning conference championCoach Collins said that freshmen players “have stepped in with ships used to be the norm, but the Rams haven’t won one since a work ethic that has been second to none to any group I have ever the 2015 season. been around.” Last year the Rams went 7-4, a decent year, but will be Make sure to come and show your support for the looking to improve on that. “Expectations are high this year,” City College Rams as they look to take home their 11th said Coach Jimmy Collins. “We’re very excited for two reasons: National Title. the talent we have, but also the character of this year’s players.”
alecw24@verizon.net
Player Spotlight
Freshmen Spotlight
Wide receiver Christian Willis will be entering his sophoEddie Byrdsong, the 5-foot 11-inch, 210 pound running more season at City College and is coming off a very good back, is entering his freshmen season at City College and lookfreshmen campaign last season where he pulled in 45 catches ing to do some big things for the Rams this year. Byrdsong for 769 yards and reached the endzone four times. The return- is a native of American Canyon, California where he went ing sophomore, who turned down a full ride offer to UTEP, a to American Canyon High School and played running back division one school in Texas, will be a big part of the Rams his junior and senior season. Over his two-year varsity career passing game this season. at American Canyon he accumulated 1722 yards,14 rushing Quarterback Jack Newman will be entering his sophomore touchdowns and averaged about 7 yards per carry. Byrdsong, season at City College and is coming back to school this fall off a who turned down an offer to play at Southern Oregon, will look very impressive freshman season where Jack threw for 3,468 yards, to build off of a 1043-yard season in his last year at American Former and potential members of the CCSF Rams 31 touchdowns, and completed 61 percent of his passes. It won’t Canyon this year with the Rams. football team practice drils during the early summer be hard for Newman to find the endzone this year with the weapseason in June and July 2019 at George Rush Stadium at Ocean Campus. Photos by Franchon Smith / ons he has returning in his receiving core and the all-state tight end he has. The Guardsman
FOOTBALL CALENDAR September Saturday 7, 1.00 PM @ Sierra Saturday 14, 1.00 PM Rams vs Sacramento City Saturday 21, 6.00 PM @ Modesto Saturday 28, 1.00 PM Rams vs Butte
October Saturday 5, 1.00 PM Rams vs Siskiyous Friday 18, 7.00 PM @ Laney Saturday 26, 1.00 PM Rams vs Diablo Valley
November Saturday 2, 6.00 PM @ Chabot Saturday 9, 5.00 PM @ Santa Rosa Saturday 16, 1.00 PM Rams vs San Mateo
For live game updates find CCSF Athletics on Facebook and @CCSFathletic on Twitter