C I T Y C O L L E G E O F S A N F R A N C I S C O ’ S N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1 9 3 5
Volume 152, Issue 3
TheGuardsman.com
September 21 - October 5, 2011
ON THE INSIDE Mayoral Candidate Page 5 interviews
Chinatown’s Annual Moon Festival Page 7
Gang related killings escalate near Mission campus City College students fear for their safety BETH LABERGE / THE GUARDSMAN
Sports - Football and more Pages 11-12
A memorial on a post at Camp Street, a quiet spot near Guerrero in the Mission District of San Francisco, where the fatal shooting of Dwayne Spruell, also known as ‘Double O,’ took place on Sept. 5, 2011.
By Brian Rinker THE GUARDSMAN
The Mission District is known for hip bars, cafes and boutiques, but in recent weeks the sunny community has been clouded by three fatal shootings serving a bloody reminder that gangs, drugs and violence are a continuing problem, and some City College students are getting caught in the middle.
The end of August and the beginning of September were the two bloodiest weeks of the year for the Mission District with four shootings killing, which left three men dead. The escalation in violence began when Gaspar Puch-Tzek, 29, was on break smoking a cigarette near the intersection of 19th and San Carlos streets by the restaurant Hogs and Rocks where he worked as a cook. Two Latino
men approached and shot PuchTzek, a father of two, in the head. He died later at San Francisco General Hospital. Police said the shooting could be gang related and Puch-Tzek may have been mistaken as a Sureño and targeted by rival gang, Norteño. Mistaken identity and gang violence is a real fear threatening the safety of the whole community.
SF State assigning classes using lottery system By Darren Girard THE GUARDSMAN
Instructors at SF State have resorted to “class lotteries” in response to the newest wave of
fiscal cuts, which have led to fewer classes for even more students in the ever-crowded college. SF State is one of the most popular and crowded of the 23 California State University
campuses, and in recent years 16 percent of faculty have been cut, along with 300 courses, leaving 30,000 students to contend for coveted seats. Cut-throat competition makes for disgruntled
BONNIE EVA CHAN / THE GUARDSMAN
Students cross Malcolm X Plaza on the SFSU campus on Sept. 13, 2011 in San Francisco. Budget cuts and employee layoffs have made it difficult for SFSU students to enroll in many required classes.
students, many of whom may not graduate on time. “I am supposed to graduate at the end of next semester and now I can’t get into the main classes I need for this semester,” said a SF State student who requested anonymity. “I lost the lottery in a much needed class.” He worried about the future of education. “The law makers in Sacramento need to really look at what’s going on here and make cuts elsewhere,” he added. “Our education system is really suffering.” The overwhelming sentiment among SF State students is plain, “It sucks!” Community colleges are pipelines for the educational system ushering the majority of transfer students to 4-year universities like SF State. City College students wanting to transfer to a CSU will now have a harder time getting necessary classes. The lack of available classes and the bad luck of a lottery has many students reconsidering their options. In a recent reader’s survey LOTTERY: Page 2
“It’s a security issue for the whole neighborhood,” said Ismael Chel, 37, who lives, works and attends school in the Mission. “We people who live here all have a tiny fear. It could happen to anyone.” Originally from Yucatan, Mexico, Chel is a City College student and president of the Mayan club on the Mission campus. He is also a cook at a restaurant on 25th and Mission GANGS: Page 4
Tattoos may pose new health risk By Anna Shoriak THE GUARDSMAN
Tattoos have been around for over 5,000 years as a popular, expressive form of art however, according to recent reports, they could come hand in hand with risks we are just becoming aware of. In July of 2011, German scientists from the Department of Dermatology, at the University of Regensburg released the results of lab tests on black tattoo ink, which were rather unsettling. Of the 14 commercially available inks tested, all were found to contain trace amounts of the chemical dubutyl phthalate, an industrial plasticizer added to increase fluidity in printing inks and adhesives. Dubutyl Phthalate is also under suspicion of being an endocrine disruptor, which is known to mimic estrogen, disrupt testosterone, cause severe ADD and other learning disabilities. TATTOOS: Page 3
2 | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
NEWS
City Watch By Darren Girard
A MAYORAL CAR WASH: Watch SF mayoral candidates get down and dirty washing cars to benefit McKinley Elementary. youtube.com/user/TheGuardsmanOnline
International News Digest
The Guardsman
Mayor Ed Lee was grilled by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors during the mayor’s “question time” on Sep. 13, under the looming shadow of the November mayoral race. Held during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting, each supervisor had five minutes to address concerns and previously submitted questions. The pressing issues of the day included the new central subway project, various building projects, and public concerns about the status and stability of Pier 38. No one was spared during the meeting’s war of words: Supervisor Sean Elsbernd asked everyone to “move away from cliches and one-liners of campaigns.” Supervisor John Avalos requested a more “interactive, substantive, and dynamic exchange,” inffering that Mayor Ed Lee was offering campaign phrases for news outlets. Mayor Lee responded “My answers may not make great blogs...but I’m not here to make headlines.” Lee followed up with a cheerful invitation to a game of pingpong at Chinatown’s Sunday Streets Ping-Pong Diplomacy Tournament, where intends to engage in a more “dynamic discussion” with Avalos. * * * During public comment many Bay View/ Hunter’s Point residents lined up to have their voices heard. The growing sentiment: residents frustrations are mounting over the lack of jobs and overall declining condition of the neighborhood. The two minutes allotted per public member was not sufficient for some to truly express their opinions. One woman even demanded, “give me my three minutes back”! * * * Pier 38 business tenants facing eviction within the month asked the board to pressure the San Francisco Port Authority and Fire Marshals into letting them stay.
Earlier this month, the Port issued eviction notices to the roughly 50 businesses over a list of significant safety violations, including electrical, plumbing and fire code violations. The Port deemed the pier “hazardous and unsafe”, placing red tags on the doors of businesses. Tenants contend otherwise, saying that quick and simple repairs could be made to bring the building up to code. Pier 38 has become a hub for small technology start ups in the last five years. One stakeholder characterized Pier 38 “as a nexus for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs”. Shutting down Pier 38 will result in job displacement of roughly 200 workers and will constitute a loss of revenue for the city. If Pier 38 is vacated many say that it will sit and continue falling into disrepair like other neighboring piers. Echoing loud in City Hall’s high ceilings, the last words from tenants were, “The city should be working harder to preserve this place”. * * * A group of Veterans concerned over the violence plaguing San Francisco requested the Board’s support of a dance off! Hoping to re-introduce people to California’s official boogie the “West Coast Swing” and simultaneously curb the rate of violence within the city, the Veterans proposed a year long dance competition to “promote peace, create jobs, and happiness!” So why dancing to end violence? The veterans answered, “when you are dancing how can you be shooting?” No word yet from the Board about an endorsement but did offer a smiling “Thank you and happy dancing”! email: dgirard@theguardsman.com
3 1
2 4
MCT CAMPUS
1 Court ruling returns land to Keköldi indigenous group By Dominique Farrell The Tico Times, San Jose, Costa Rica (MCT) GOICECOECHEA, Costa Rica --An administrative court in Goicecoechea last week ordered the government to seize thousands of hectares of land occupied by non-indigenous people in the Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve in Talamanca, near the popular Caribbean beach destination of Puerto Viejo, and return it to the indigenous Bribris. Judges ruled that the Agricultural Development Institute and the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs must expropriate or relocate non-indigenous people.
2 Parliamentary elections slated for Nov. 21 in Egypt Ramadan Al-Fatash contributed to this report Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (MCT) CAIRO, Egypt -- Egyptian parliamentary elections first planned for September are now slated for Nov. 21, broadcaster Al Arabiya reported Saturday, citing the election commission chief. The voting would occur in three stages, concluding Jan. 3. Elections for the second chamber of Parliament, the Shura Council, would begin on Jan. 22 and conclude on March 4. No dates were set for presidential elections, which the military council has promised will follow the parliamentary votes. 3 Regaining confiscated property next fight for many in Libya By David Enders McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) TRIPOLI, Libya -- Under former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s Sultat al-Shaab (“Power of the People”) program in the 1970s and ‘80s, the government confiscated thousands of businesses and properties. Many of the confiscated houses then were sold to new owners or rented out by the government itself. Now, with a new government in the offing, those old disputes are likely to come to the fore as former owners try to regain properties and current occupants battle to retain them. 4 Death toll tops 50 as clashes continue in Yemen By Adam Baron McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) SANAA, Yemen -- The Yemeni capital was rocked by violence Monday for a second straight day as government forces clashed with demonstrators and defected soldiers, leaving at least 25 people dead. That raised the death toll to more than 50 since demonstrations against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule began nearly eight months ago.
The Guardsman Asks City College Students: How will the CSU fiscal crisis affect you?
SFSU students shut out LOTTERY: Continued from front page
done by The Guardsman, over 35 percent of polled students indicated they were considering either transferring to a University of California or to an out-of-state university. Some students even said private colleges would be preferable to a state university. The shrinking budget has led to staff reductions, course cuts and tuition hikes, all of which have deeply affected City College students. This semester some students found themselves left out of core classes, and some were unable to receive financial aid due to lack of credits.
Students like Stephanie Pagel had to “take weird classes [such as] Beginners Piano, just to make minimum credit requirements.” If the budget crisis continues, Pagel added, “I think it will be harder in the future to get financial aid.” If the budget crisis continues to cut classes, not only will the process be more difficult for students like Pagel to get financial aid, but the education process will be increasingly difficult for most college students to receive the quality education they deserve. email: dgirard@theguardsman.com
News
The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | 3
Tattoo health risks denied by artists TATTOOS:
Continued from front
Benzo(a)pyrene, a well-documented skin carcinogen routinely used in animal tests to grow tumors, was also found present in black inks. The scientists identified traces of lead in 17 different black inks, as well as nickel, chromium, titanium, cadmium, and many other heavy metals. Talor Nicols, licensed tattoo artist at Let It Bleed Tattoo on Polk Street in San Francisco had this to say about ink concerns: “It’s all bullshit.” Nicols, who is colorfully tattooed from her neck down has always been an artist. She has been working in various shops since 2000, and has been tattooing for 5 years. Her employment with Let It Bleed Tattoo started when the shop opened up 2 ½ years ago. “Most of the inks that were causing allergic reactions in clients have since been taken off the U.S. market”, she explained. She showed concern that this study was conducted in Germany, and questioned the fact that not all ink is available in all countries. “I have fellow artists request that I bring particular inks over for them, because they are unable to find them in their country. I know the ink companies and distributors I work with, and usually the inks we use in our shop are organic or vegan inks.” To purchase the inks, she is required to prove she is a licensed tattoo artist who works in a legitimate tattoo shop. “There is a definite level of accountability between this shop, our ink suppliers and myself. I know that if I have an issue, I can directly call the person who mixed my ink for me. I speak for everyone in this shop when I say that we go above and beyond to uphold the highest standards. I welcome any questions a current or future client may have.”
KALW Day celebrated By Esther Harris THE GUARDSMAN
ANNA SHORIAK / THE GUARDSMAN
Danny Boy Smith of ‘Let It Bleed Tattoo’ adds color pigment to a work in progress on Sept. 15, 2011 in San Francisco. Danny has worked on this piece for more than 10 hours.
Bryan “Ransom” White, a freelance tattoo artist of 15 years, said he had heard about the recent studies, “I’m unable to find concrete proof that tattoos cause cancer. The idea of it is scary, and it is something that should definitely be looked into. It makes you question why the government hasn’t taken action already. Most people know the potential risks associated with tattoos. The only safe tattoo is henna, and that has yet to be FDA approved.” Sasha Merritt is an author, licensed tattoo artist and the owner of Dragonfly Ink located in San Francisco’s Union Square. Merritt welcomes these studies, saying “I think it is always good to take a look at what we put into and onto our bodies. Taking a look at pigments for tattooing is a good thing. Millions of people have been tattooed and the amount of negative reactions is very low. In the 14 years I’ve been tattooing, I’ve only had two people have any kind of reaction.” The FDA has no current regulations on tattoo inks, which are considered cosmetic, unlike drugs which are subject to approval before they hit the market. Tattoo
ink and make-up companies are only required to list their ingredients, leaving safety responsibilities to the manufacturer. Drug companies have the luxury of the FDA taking full responsibility. Tattoo pigment, on the other hand are supposed to be approved before becoming available on the market. However, the FDA, “traditionally has not exercised it’s regulatory authority over tattoo inks or the pigments used in them.” California has the strictest regulations regarding exposure to carcinogenic chemicals. Proposition 65 requires all tattoo shops to warn customers of the potential risk of carcinogenic exposure, by signing a release. Sarah Blevins is the proud owner of many tattoos: a black cat wearing a fez hat on her calf, a moth on her upper shoulder, and a humming bird on her bicep. She said she “plans on getting more tattoos. I actually read the study online and it did made me think, but I still plan on getting one done, maybe even next week.” email: ashoriak@theguardsman.com
The first FM radio station on the West Coast, 91.7 KALW, celebrated its 70th Anniversary September 8 on the Mission campus, which is a date recognized by the city as “KALW Day.” “Your Call,” a call-in radio show, used the on campus opportunity to discuss the importance of community colleges with a variety of student guests. It was the first live broadcast from the Mission campus radio facility. San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar announced at the event the new partnership between Youth Radio and KALW. Students, volunteers and KALW employees are excited about the partnership opportunities. “The partnership with Youth Radio is going to be amazing,” said Audrey Diling, volunteer reporter for KALW. “Our main mission is to reach out to young minds, so it is very appropriate to be based on a high school campus.” In the 70 years of operation, KALW has made ground breaking changes to radio broadcasting.
In 1942, KALW took the lead in female employment. Over ninety women were trained in code work, radio operation and broadcasting. KALW was the first radio station to introduce NPR In 1972, and shortly thereafter broadcasts from BBC World Service. Today the radio station is adapting to modern forms of communication. “I have been involved with KALW since 2003,” said David Tulippe, part time announcer for KALW. “During this time we have expanded onto the web through pod casting, and we maintained the same quality programming,” While the station is transitioning onto the Internet, Tulippe said there is always a place for FM radio, regardless of the everprogressing technology. “For a lot of people who cant afford new technology it has become the main source of information,” Tulippe said. “It is a huge responsibility for the station to be that source and provide accurate and relevant news.” email: eharris@theguardsman.com
MATT LAMBERT / THE GUARDSMAN
Student Dora Palacios, center, speaks with host Rose Aguilar on “Your Call” on Sept. 8, 2011 San Francisco. “Your Call” broadcasted live from the KCSF radio studio on the Mission Campus.
REALIZE YOUR DREAM AT MILLS COLLEGE.
VIDEOGAME ARTIST VIDEO INVERVIEW: Guardsman Online reporter Gary Jay interviews Jason Felix, a freelance concept artist who has had a hand in developing the style of such popular videogame franchises as Star Craft, Dead Space, Prince of Persia, Dante’s Inferno, as well as many Magic: The Gathering playing cards. Mills offers talented women who want an exceptional and personal education the opportunity to: • Get the classes you need to graduate on time. • Earn merit scholarships totaling up to $19,000. • Transfer with no minimum number of credits.
Watch the video exclusively online at youtube.com/user/TheGuardsmanOnline MAKING THE WORLD MORE . . .
Apply by October 15 for spring to receive special expedited admission benefits.
Oakland, CA admission@mills.edu www.mills.edu/transfer
INFORMATION SESSION Monday, October 10 9:00 am–1:00 pm
RESERVE YOUR SPACE AT WWW.MILLS.EDU/VISITFORM.
City College — The Guardsman Size: 6” x 6” • Insertion date: TO COME Ad #11DREAM02
News
4 | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
Latino students risk lives to attend City College Mission campus GANGS: Continued from front page
streets and some evenings doesn’t finish work until after 1am. “It’s a crucial and scary time,� Chel said. He agreed the fatal shooting and mistaken identity of Puch-Tzek could happen to him. “People in the community question the violence and the whole neighborhood is concerned.� Chel worried the Latino gangs give the entire Latino community bad representation and said the best way to end gang violence is through education. The gangs use fear as a tool to keep most community members from taking action. “The community is afraid of the consequences from the gangs,� Chel said. “They’re afraid to get involved.� Jesus Davila, 39, vice president of the associated students at Mission campus, agrees that education will empower Latinos to make wise choices and help end discrimination toward Latinos. “We want all the Latin community to have a choice, so it’s not just the streets,� Davila said, who was born and raised in Mexico. “The violence is because they don’t have an education.� The Mission campus is a safe haven, a place to get away from the gangs, said Davila, a Bay Area resident of 19 years. A few months after immigrating to the US, Davila was hit by a freight train in Oakland and broke his spine. He spent the following years living on the streets surrounded by gang violence. It was heartbreaking to see children get sucked into the gang life. Now, Davila, confined to a wheel chair, goes to City College
and encourages Latino youth to get an education. City College’s Mission campus, 22nd Street between Mission and Valencia streets, is in the heart of Latino gangland. Two rival gangs, NorteĂąos and SureĂąos, claim territory beginning a few blocks on either side of the campus; for the second time this year a wave of violence has crashed on the surrounding periphery of the campus spreading ripples of fear and concern throughout the community. “They [gang members] are not around the City College,â€? said Davila. “It’s pretty safe for students and we have a friendly community.â€? Davila said many Latino students who take night classes leave in groups and never alone. On September 7 a man was shot in the hip at the 24th and Mission streets, just two blocks from campus. The injury wasn’t life threatening and the incident is thought to be drug related. Not all students are worried about the escalating violence. “As a white female I really don’t think I have anything to be worried about,â€? said Jen Clark, 23. “I take night classes at Mission campus and I don’t get out till 10pm sometimes. I’ve never felt threatened by anyone in that area.â€? After Puch-Tzek was killed in the early morning, another fatal shooting occurred later on that same day around 11:30pm. Edson Lacayo, 29, alleged SureĂąo was shot three times on the 800 block of Hampshire, near 20th Street, and died on the scene.
N A T I O N A L
IMAGE COURTESY OF CRIMEMAPPING.COM
127 violent crimes shown in radius of .5 miles of City College Mission campus. Fist icons represent assaults, some of which are untried homicides. The dates displayed are from Aug. 1 to Sept. 18, 2011.
Walking home late that night Allan Hough, 30, was returning home from a bar. He lives on Hampshire a half of block from the fatal shooting. He came up to the police tape and knew something bad had happened even though police wouldn’t disclose any information Hough, a former City College student who transferred to SF State, has lived in the Hampshire home since January. He has never known a fatal shooting to happen so close to home. Hough didn’t personally know Lacayo, but after seeing his picture at the memorial he realized he recognized him. “I’d seen him at Dolores Park, chilling and having a good time,� Hough said. “He was holding court with a group of people around him cracking jokes.� The police think Lacayo’s
U N I V E R S I T YÂŽ
Transferring?
THE GUARDSMAN
National University,
we know you can’t sit in class all day or lock yourself in a library – you’ve got work, family, and friends. You’re transferring because you want to finish your degree and move on into a new career. National University makes that
>> Streamlined admissions No enrollment fee >> Flexible scheduling >> Unique one-course-per-month >> format >> Scholarship programs
possible with. . .
8 0 0 . N AT. U N I V g e t i n f o . n u . e d u / t r a n s f e r
Spruel’s body with a sheet, he said. “It was pretty intense,� said the student who requested anonymity. He feared his name connected with a murder would incur some unwarranted consequences. “My roommate got home ten minutes prior to the shooting.� Although shaken by the murder and fearing for his own safety, he said he hasn’t taken any precautions. “I feel a little less safe,� the anonymous student said, “but I haven’t changed my daily routine.� The death of Spruel is said by police and neighbors to be drug related and is thought to be a spillover incident from the increasing drug-related problems occurring on 16th and Mission streets. Additional reporting by Esther Harris email: brinker@theguardsman.com
SF Supervisor Scott Weiner legislates against nude sitting By Peter Hernandez
Finish School YOUR Way!
At
death was gang related stemming from a gang war sparked in February, which killed City College student and alleged SureĂąo Aldo Troncoso, 24. The war seemed to fizzle out, but the recent escalating violence could be a resurgence in the gangs rivalry. On Labor Day morning around 2am Dwayne Spruell, 45, was shot to death on the first block of Camp Street, near Guerrero Street. Dwayne received gunshots to the head and chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. A 26-year-old City College architecture student heard the gunshots from his Camp Street home a few houses away. Looking out the window he saw Spruell lying in the street. Paramedics were giving him CPR for a while before giving up and covering
An ordinance legislated by Supervisor Scott Wiener earlier this month at the Septtember 6 Board of Supervisors meeting introduced a measure that may open challenges to the nudist community of San Francisco. Doused in suntan oil with pecs nearly reflective, Eric Anderson, 44, laments his unemployment and tans while eating a sandwich with a shirtless friend at Jane Warren Plaza in San Francisco. On the corner of 17th Street and Castro Street, many nudists gather to converse and relax. “We aren’t causing harm. We aren’t flaunting our nakedness. We’re just sitting and talking, or eating lunch,� said Anderson, noting the ever-familiar and understated presence of nudists in San Francisco’s Castro District. The measure would require urban nudists to cover their “genitals, buttocks and anal region� in order to provide a barrier between themselves and chairs in public settings. “If you’re going to be naked in public, and you’re going to sit down on public seating, you should cover the seating up. We shouldn’t have to legislate about
that, but we do,� said Wiener, who considers his ordinance a public health measure. Perhaps less colorful than usual, Anderson concealed his mohawk with a black hat. He sat on a long dark blue scarf and expressed disdain over the sensationalism of the proposed measure. “It’s getting anti-nudists all riled up, Anderson added. “There are so many stories going beyond the issue.� Angelica March, 54, recounts past incidents that have occurred at the plaza when pedestrians consider the famed “Naked Guys� to be lewd. “Just the other day a woman called the police on that guy over there. He was just sitting there minding his own business,� she said. Only restaurant staff or entertainers on duty in a place that sells food or beverages can’t be nude and the proposed measure won’t ban or zone public nudity. “That is a different debate for a different day,� Wiener ominously said at the meeting. “I believe in freedom of expression,� said March. “We’re all born in our birthday suits.�
email:phernandez@theguardsman.com
News
The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | 5
Mayoral candidates on City College
Editor-in-Chief Joe Fitzgerald
San Francisco’s 2011 Mayoral race is a crowded one this year, with many major candidates on the ballot. The Guardsman will be interviewing new candidates each issue in order to get to the heart of issues concerning you, our City College readers. By Valerie Demicheva THE GUARDSMAN
Managing Editors Anna Shoriak
Board of Supervisors President David Chiu
News Editor Saidy Lauer
CLARIVEL FONG / THE GUARDSMAN
President of the Board of Supervisors and Mayoral hopeful, David Chiu, speaks about the changes that need to be made to help the economy of San Francisco at the Potrero Hill Mayoral Debate on Aug. 30, 2011 in San Francisco.
President of the Board of Supervisors, David Chiu has a diverse resume: he received his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, was a criminal prosecutor for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, and founded Grassroots Enterprise, a technology company for political campaigns. On Jan. 10, 2011, as Gavin Newsom was sworn in as Lt. Governor of California, Chiu became mayor of San Francisco for one day, his duty as President of the Board. Today he aims for a full term in order to implement
his blueprint for the city. In the recent budget passed by Mayor Lee, only $250,000 of the $2.1 million requested by City College was approved. Is it the City’s responsibility to take care of City College, and what kind of monetary commitment will you make if elected mayor? As I’ve discussed with the chancellor of City College, I absolutely think there’s a role for the City to assist City College with the dire financial situation, and I supported that this year during the budget process. Our local City government, as well as the City
College system have been significantly challenged by the bad fiscal decisions made by Sacramento leaders over decades. We at the City and County level are struggling just as City College is. Over the past four years we’ve had to balance budget deficits totaling over $ 1.4 billion. And these are very challenging times. In the scheme of things, it’s important for the City government to assist our college system at the same time that we are balancing our budget. Has Mayor Lee been collaborative with the Board of Supervisors? I’m proud of the work we’ve done this year at City Hall. We carried out policies that were proposed and championed by the Board of Supervisors such as: moving forward the Americus Cup, keeping . companies like Twitter, Zenga, and Yelp in San Francisco, promoting local hiring and balancing the budget. Has your age hindered you in your campaign for mayor? I’m five years older than Gavin was when he became mayor. I hope folks understand that where I may look younger than other candidates, my record as a civil rights attorney, a criminal prosecutor, a founder of a small business and as President of the Board of Supervisors, shows I have the skills of bringing people together to make the City work.
What kinds of challenges will Ed Lee face if elected Mayor? He’s going to need to do significant work to rebuild trust. Based on your experience as COO of Grassroots Enterprise, what advice can you give to young entrepreneurs and new college graduates coming into the workforce? We’re in the most challenging economy since the Great Depression, and it’s critical that students get as much education as they can before coming into the workforce because San Francisco has lost 30,000 jobs in the last two years. How will you grow San Francisco’s economy if elected mayor? I think I’ve got the most robust set of policy papers. We need to do a better job of nurturing the 80,000 small businesses here. We need to do a better job of growing and cultivating new companies in green tech, bio-technology, and digital technology. We need to use the City’s purchasing power of hundreds of millions of dollars a year that often go to non-San Francisco businesses. We need to keep that money here in the city. We need to improve on our workforce programs, to bring young people into job training programs here so they aren’t forced to go elsewhere to find employment.
Mayoral Candidate Joanna Rees Joanna Rees is a business oriented candidate. She’s currently on the Global Board at Endeavor (a global nonprofit that pioneered the concept of High-Impact Entrepreneurship in emerging markets), an Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara University, a Board Member at New Schools Venture Fund, Board Member at National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Throughout her career as a venture capitalist, she’s funded hundreds of millions of dollars for over 60 Bay Area companies. The Guardsman caught up with her at Bark in the Park, a neighborhood meet and greet in Lafayette Park. Rees and her dogs, Jack and Jill, mingle with local humans and canines. Why did you decide to run for Mayor? I had a great mentor, Ann Richards, who was the first elected female governor of Texas. She’s instilled an obligation in my life that one day I have to go into public service. She always said when you serve, not if you serve. I turn 50 the week of the election. This is the phase of my life where I have an opportunity to give back to a city that’s just a great place, but we’re not living our greatness.
Where do you see San Francisco job growth going in the next 5 to 10 years? The innovation economy, that’s where the job growth is going to be. I’d say for people going back to school, the most important thing is to learn how to problem solve. I think getting a great City College education in something that inspires the love of learning, that’s the most important thing. In the recent budget passed by Mayor Lee, only $250,000 of the $2.1 million requested by City College was approved. What kind of monetary commitment will you make if elected mayor? One of the things I’d look to expand is the bridge between City College and the local business community to make sure that there’s more direct hiring. I just think that the way we budget in San Francisco is absurd. When we have a budget deficit, we cut every department starting at the top, rather than doing what I call zero-based or bottom up budgeting where you go department by department and figure out what are the investments that absolutely have to stay to serve the community and what are some things that are no longer meeting their intended purpose and we
shouldn’t continue to fund. Out of a $6.8 billion budget, and granted we’re a city and a county, but we’re a city of 800,000 people. When I tell other mayors how much money we have, I learn our budget is double or triple per capita what other cities have. We have a lot of money, and yet people don’t feel the impact of that money. The fact that we have to put a bond on the ballot in November to repair the streets that’s going to cost the city over $400 million to pay that back after interest payments because we weren’t spending the $20 or $25 million a year on basic maintenance. We constantly rob Peter to pay Paul. And this is where I’ve lead with education as my number one issue. People have said, “You can’t, that’s not the job of the mayor.” But this is about the future of our community. The mayor is in a unique position to bring together citywide resources that need to come together to impact education. So for me it’s a critical issue, and it’s going consistently to be the number one issue in my administration.
email: vdemicheva@theguardsman.com
Culture Editor Catherine Lee Opinion Editor Gary Jay Sports Editor Ryan Kuhn Online Editor Jessica Luthi Multimedia Editor Brian Rinker Photo Editor Clairvel Fong Production Editor Becca Hoekstra Copy Chief Brian Rinker Social Media Editor Peter Hernandez Staff Writers Brian Rinker Esther Harris Anna Shoriak Ryan Kuhn Saidy Lauer Catherine Lee Gary Jay Josh de la Cruz Rachael Garcia Lulu Orozco Lucas Pontes de Almeida Peter Hernandez Becca Hoekstra Darren Girard Gianne Nalangan Staff Photographers Beth Laberge Valerie Ayala Matthew Lambert Ezra Ekman Illustrator/Design Matthew Fung Multimedia Gary Jay Brian Rinker Joe Fitzgerald Saidy Lauer Faculty Adviser Juan Gonzales Mail: 50 Phelan Ave Box V-67 San Francisco, CA 94112 Phone: (415) 239-3446 Email: email@theguardsman.com
Advertising:
advertising@theguardsman.com
Online:
TheGuardsman.com
California Newspaper Publisher’s Association VALERIE DEMICHEVA / THE GUARDSMAN
At Bark in the Park in Lafayette Park, Rees and her dogs mingle with citizens and dogs on Sept. 10, 2011 in San Francisco.
Journalism Association of Community Colleges
6 | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
Culture
Art galleries “Public Works” and “Dream” display at City College By Kevin Brown and Lulu Orozco THE GUARDSMAN
The City College Art Galleries are showcasing artwork done by student, faculty and Bay Area artists. The galleries are located at the Ocean campus and the Gough administrative offices, all exhibits are free to the public and feature different artist every few months. Former student Robert Saybolt’s works are on display at the 33 Gough Street gallery until December 2. His collection of four sculptures described as “magical realism” uses traditional woodwork and stone techniques. “Stone is new to me and
represents a new realm of meaning and new range of sensation,” Saybolt said. His designs explore the unconscious and make the collection come to life as an autobiographical statement. “It’s about searching and at times being unclear of your direction,” said Saybolt. His stone sculpture “Weather God” took him five weeks to complete. “I really respect people who can make a living out of art; it takes about half of your daily life to really dedicate yourself into a project,” Saybolt said. In contrast with the natural
EZRA EKMAN / THE GUARDSMAN
Artist John Wehrle hosts a gallery opening reception on Aug. 30, 2011 at the City College Ocean Campus Art Gallery in San Francisco.
elements of stone and wood, former student Kathy Kleinhans artwork is made with fabric, coated with plaster, and then painted with watercolor. The plaster is then manipulated to resemble mountains and rivers. It is a process in which timing is everything, an entire sculpture can get lost in the making. Kleinhans’ ten-piece “Dream” series is on display through October 7. Her “Dream” series actually came to life through a dream EZRA EKMAN / THE GUARDSMAN she vividly remembered. “Human Nature Raven” by artist John Wehrle, presented during Weh“I knew instinctively what rle’s gallery opening reception on Aug 30, 2011 at the City College to do as soon as I started Ocean Campus Art Gallery in San Francisco. playing with the plaster,” said Wherle gave advice to aspiring time when the City of Los AngeKleinhans. muralists. les commissioned him to paint a Most of Kleinhans work has “Find a kind business-owner huge mural in support of the 1984 been seen at the City College and pitch a mural for a wall for Summer Olympics on a retaining galleries and the UC Berkeley only the cost of paint, “ he said. wall alongside U.S. Highway 101. Extension. After college Wherle strugWherle has painted numerous “I work full time during the gled to find work as an artist and murals for his hometown of Richday, but give the left side of my tried the route often traveled by mond, and has painted installbrain a chance to relax in my MFA graduates – teaching. He ments at the San Francisco Public artwork,” she added. hated it and after teaching a few Library Ocean View branch, the Ocean campus gallery semesters he left to pursue other Berkeley Transit Plaza and many In September the Ocean artistic interests. other Bay Area locations. campus gallery featured work by Eventually he landed a gig For upcoming artists check John Wehrle, a local Bay Area painting a public mural for the de out the City College Art Gallery artist. He’s had a successful art Young Fine Arts Museum of San website at http://www.ccsf.edu/ career for nearly half a century Francisco and found the process Departments/Art/private/gallery/ painting giant public murals, appealing. gallery_introduction.shtml. many of which are right here in He continued to pursue other email: kbrown@theguardsman.com the Bay Area. opportunities and scored big email: gorozco@theguardsman.com During a gallery lecture
City College Teacher Profile: Nancy Elliot, Art Professor By Lulu Orozco THE GUARDSMAN
VALERIE AYALA / THE GUARDSMAN
Basic Design art professor, Nancy Elliot, works on her most recent project from her art studio in Oakland, CA. The project is based from the idea of a woman visiting a foreign country and discovering she can sell her body for money, but misinterprets what was said and dismembers her arms.
Nancy Elliot is an Art Professor and Curator for the City College Art Galleries. She considers herself a mixed bag when it comes to education, class, gender and ethnicity. “Embracing uncertainties is part of being an artist,” said Elliot.She describes her work as a visual diary. Growing up an only child in a non-traditional Japanese family, her father was an airplane mechanic, which required the family to move every couple years. After a childhood on the move, Elliot eventually settled down with her new art family. “With my college freshman year over, I found my bearing and began to assemble my tribe, my chosen family,” said Elliot. “I had a group of loud, expressive, creative unconventional friends. I felt old and young at the same time-- I was beginning to own my life”. As Elliot grew as an artist, she soon began teaching basic design at City College. Self described as a hybrid artist she teaches her students there is more to art than just conventional beauty.
“Advising young people to be ‘happy’ or ‘do what they love’ is a bit reckless. What I suggest is for people to seek meaning and connection,” she said. “Tweak your perspective, adjust your attitude, be vulnerable.” She has been teaching at City College for the past ten years and has since curated more than twenty exhibitions per year for the Richmond Art Center. Her art experience has lead to her involvement with the San Francisco Correctional Facilities, along with the Market Street Art Transit Program. Last year she gave away over 1000 hand-made butterflies to visitor of the Fruitvale’s recreational center. Elliot will be participating in “Beyond Tradition: Art Legacies” at the Richmond Art Center, Part II, September 17 to November 12. Don’t miss your chance to see her work up close and personal, Elliot also teaches Basic Art Design at the Ocean Campus two nights a week. email: gorozco@theguardsman.com
Culture
The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | 7
Moon festival celebrates Ancient fable in Chinatown
TOP: In full lion costume, the Yao Gum Moon Lion dance troupe performs a traditional Lion Dance on Grant street’s main stage, Sept. 10, 2011 in San Francisco.
LEFT: The Yao Gum Moon Lion dance troupe performs various martial arts and lion dances for an exhilarated audience on Grant Street’s main stage.
By Rachael Garcia and Gianne Nalangan THE GUARDSMAN
The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is a weekend long event held in San Francisco’s Chinatown, celebrating the 3,000 year old Chinese holiday of the lunar harvest. “Its called the moon festival to celebrate the Moon Goddess Chang’e,” said Lorraine Yee, Director of Public Relations for Jing Mo. Jing Mo is a martial arts and lion dance company that has performed at this festival for the past seven years. The legend occured “on month eight and day fifteen of the Chinese calender, when it’s a clear night and you can look up to the full moon see her dancing.” Jing Mo’s Master Instructor, Rick Wing, explained how this ancient fable transformed into a festival in San Francisco. After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, the city tore down an on-ramp of the Embarcadero Freeway which was located in Chinatown. This in turn decreased business and tourists stopped visiting because due to inconvenience.“The festival was created to bring people back,” Wing said. Colorful dragons, paper Chinese lanterns, and
CENTER: 100,000 people were expected to gather in the narrow streets San Francisco’s Chinatown in celebration of the annual Autumn Moon Festival, Sept. 10, 2011 in San Francisco.
RIGHT: Hundreds of people gather around to watch in awe as a Red Panda acrobat folds his body into a small red barrel, and squeezes out the other end.
BELOW: Moon Goddesses Maggie Wong & Jasmine Lee lead the Autumn Moon Festival parade in downtown San Francisco, Sept. 10, 2011.
sparkly pinwheels were seen in every corner. Food vendors, shopping vendors, and street performers packed the streets. Lisa Ta, an Australian tourist of Chinese heritage, described the event as very family-oriented. “There are so many children sitting on top of their father’s shoulders,” said Ta. “It is exactly how I would imagine the streets of China to be.” Lion dancers are essential to folk activities and celebrations. “The lion is said to scare off evil spirits, even though lions never existed in China.” Yee said. But as the story goes, 1,000 years ago the emperor had a visitor who brought a lion to kill the “evil beast that would come down and destroy the Chinese livestock.” The Chinese lion dance was created to ward off evil spirits from big celebrations such as weddings and festivals. Performers of the lion dance company wear the huge lion head, swiftly and vivaciously dance around, and are followed by drummers, cymbalists and gong players. email: rgarcia@theguardsman.com email: gnalangan@theguardsman.com
PHOTOS BY SAIDY LAUER / THE GUARDSMAN
8 | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
CULTURE
For full hi-res news photos, videos and more, visit The Guardsman Online at www.theguardsman.com
New campus eatery, Latin Quarter, keeps up with SF food trends Rachel Garcia THE GUARDSMAN
A few years ago City College didn’t have the diverse eateries it has today. The students had two choices-- hot dogs or hamburgers. Although good choices, it wasn’t very representative of the many ethnicities attending City College. Culinary Arts Management Instructor and Latin Quarter Supervisor Vincent Paratore converted the cafeteria’s snack bar into an Asian/Pacific noodle bar when he started working for City College two years ago. This year the Noodle Bar has been replaced by the Latin Quarter in Smith Hall, across from the bookstore and next to the cafeteria. It’s run by students enrolled in a four semester culinary arts and hospitality program that gives them real world experience in the restaurant industry. The food is made to order. The chefs have tickets to cook from, just as they would in real restaurants. The cafeteria conversion to a mock-restaurant was done in only a week and a half, thanks to Paratore, the support of his department chair and the Executive Chef Keith Hammer. Last years cultural theme was Asian/Pacific, and this year Paratore changed it to Latin. He wants his students to be up with the food trends to put them ahead of the competition. Asian and Latin genres are both currently trending foods. Paratore’s bosses were nervous about the change in menu, since the Asian/Pacific noodle bar had been doing so well. “This is a lab, it’s a classroom,” said Paratore. It’s not a restaurant
BETH LABERGE / THE GUARDSMAN
Danielle Ranoa (left) and Natalie Oplanic (center right) are students from the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program at CCSF help run The Latin Quarter Restaurant, a new eatery on the Main Campus, on Sept. 12, 2011 in San Francisco.
interested in profiting,” he added. The dining experience As you walk into the eatery Latin music fills your ears, festive lights and sombreros surround you, and a very friendly staff bustles around in a clean and organized environment. The staff works energetically, working hands-on in a field they’re passionate about and receive school credit for. This isn’t to say that their job is an easy one, however. “My job is to scare them into the idea that they’re in the
most competitive market in this city,” said Paratore, “they’ve got to bring their A game,” He has been in the restaurant industry in San Francisco for the past 20 years before instructing at City College. “Students switch jobs and do everything from front end to managing, cooking and marketing, as well as learning the Point of Sale system & dealing with a changing concept,” he added. It’s a 16 week program split in half between working at the taqueria and the full service dining room
AfroSolo arts festival: United for Peace By Gianne Nalangan THE GUARDSMAN
Going on now throughout the Bay Area, the 18th annual AfroSolo Arts Festival is showcasing African-American artists and by giving a voice to their experience they can explore unity and peace through spoken-word, paintings, theatre, music and health awareness. The 10-week festival is put on by the San Francisco based AfroSolo Theatre Company, which celebrates and encourages African American and diaspora culture through solo performances and the visual arts. “At first, the AfroSolo Festival was mostly geared towards people with African descent,” said Thomas Simpson, organizer and creator of the festival, “but what I found was that our story is widely known.” The AfroSolo Festival uses art as a way to combat negativity and promote peace. He said peace is
what we, as a society, all strive for, despite your culture, background or heritage. Feeling a sense of hostility toward President Barrack Obama from the right-wing community and recognizing the ongoing wars in Iraq, Simpson themed last year’s festival as “United in Peace.” Congruent to last year, the theme continued into this year. Simpson has lined up art events, concerts and theatre art performances advocating peace. “The idea of AfroSolo originated at a birthday party for myself in 1991,” Thomas Simpson said. In 1994 he officially organized the first AfroSolo festival. Nannette Harris, East Bay native, is one of many artists in the festival. Her exhibit is called, “Blue People by a Green Painter.” “I paint to get a message out. To feel the energy and what life is about,” Harris said. Geared to attract all audiences, Harris paints figures like Michael Jackson, Carlos Santana,
President Barrack Obama, Tina Turner, and Billie Holiday. While using recycled oil, a main components in all her pieces, the “green-painter” painted several portraits of iconic figures with a blue flesh skin-tone. In painting their skin blue Harris utilizes the color of blood inside all humans to symbolically convey we are all essentially the same. “The theme of the show is Peace & Unity,” said Harris. “I’ve proven we are all the same, insideout.” Harris’ work can be seen for free inside the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Stewart Shaw, the African American center librarian, said the gamut of art displayed throughout the AfroSolo Art Festival ranges from photography, animation to theatre. The AfroSolo Art Festival runs for 10-weeks, from July 28-October 20, 2011. email: gnalangan@theguardsman.com
next door. “I like the program,” said Mike Dots, culinary arts student, who makes fresh horchata and agua fresca daily. “They give you a lot of room to move. For once you get to catch all the aspects of the restaurant industry.” Over the summer the students also travel for culinary training. Jane Tucker, a student manager for a week, described her trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. The students worked with five local chefs using prepared menus and many of the eatery’s specials are inspired
by what the students learned in Oaxaca. “The students never cease to impress all of us, these guys are in it...by third semester they’re committed and it shows,” Paratore said. The prices are low (sides cost $1 and only a couple items on the menu exceed $5), the food is versatile and fresh and this is all being done by community college students new to the field. Paratore is a huge fan of the program and says he will “defy anyone who says anywhere else does this.”
email: rgarcia@the guardsman.com
TheGuardsman is on Twitter! For live news coverage and breaking news updates, follow @SFBreakingNews twitter.com/sfbreakingnews
Culture
The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | 9
Follow The Guardsman on Facebook for online news updates! facebook.com/pages/The-Guardsman/21243028140 or just search for “The Guardsman�
EZRA EKMAN / THE GUARDSMAN
Adrienne Krug (left) as Sylvie and Diana Brown (right) as Rhonda of Southern Railroad Theatre Company bring the southern experience to the Bay Area during their performance of “4 Mercy: Friendly Fires� on Sept. 16, 2011 at the Royce Gallery in San Francisco.
CAN’T AFFORD
PRIVATE COLLEGE?
Review: Experimental THINK AGAIN. theater shows soft side of Southern culture By Peter Hernandez THE GUARDSMAN
City College instructor Susan Jackson’s newest series of plays about untainted Southern-American compassion titled, “4 Mercy: Friendly Fires,� premiered earlier this month-- complete with raucous patriotism and roadside confessions. The series of plays written by Jackson, performing arts teacher at City College, abandoned the stereotypical homophobic and racist characteristics of Southerners and rather embraced a feminine and generally up-beat relationship between mostly Southern women in various eras in the South. A native of North Carolina Jackson illuminates the common expression, “Lord have mercy,� through what she calls “little acts of mercy� performed as informal vignettes on stage at Royce Gallery, a small fine arts and performance space in the Mission District. The play is a four-person cast including Jackson. Her seasoned writing paired with stage direction involving both members of the cast and former City College instructor Stephen Drewes incorporates the actors’ personalities. The theme of mercy is expressed through coerced confessions and playful engagement between friends on stage. Jackson sat wide-eyed behind heavy make-up on a hot pink sofa in the middle of the gallery’s hallway. She spoke about the themes behind her series, “4GIVENESS: In a Family Way.� “The plays are about the goodness of humanity, in all its awfulness, and in all its stupidity,� Jackson said. “In Situ,� the third vignette shows Beth, played by Jackson, and Henri, played by Diana Brown, bitterly disputing the emotional turmoil that accompanies Beth’s cancerous tumor. Henri drinks a warm beer on stage, vehemently and drunkenly accusing Beth of selfishness while Beth apologizes repeatedly. It is a painful thing to see and yet Beth’s mercy prevails, although she is dying.
In the vignette “Adopt a Highway,� a delightful and sometimes stagnant focus on three confidantes driving --to what they believe to be a funeral-- is a humorous moment in the play, due to Diana Brown’s playful acting, which shows her warm and energetic personality. Adrienne Krug, perhaps the most apprehensive of the four actors, is the first actor to take the stage in the series of vignettes, but also the least memorable. Her roles have the capacity to amuse but seem incomplete, particularly when playing the role of Crazy Lacy, who hugs a stuffed squirrel by a river. The vignette “Rockets’ Red Glare� has Jackson’s playwriting skills at their best. In it, Crazy Lacy is interrupted by the arrival of Nandy Hollister, played by Diana Brown, and the sole male character, Salacious Peter Jr., played by Eric Nelson. With his arrival, the mayoral competition between conservative Salacious and the liberal and jaded Peaches Nasterson, played by Susan Jackson, ensues. A twist, former lovers Nandy and Salacious are on opposing political teams. Nandy manipulates Salacious in a climactic moment when she records him admitting his foul play. Jackson’s humor is palpable with an alarm that warns Nandy not to fall into Salacious’ attempts at seducing her. “If your heart’s good, you’ll come around,� said Jackson, noting the theme of loyalty that prevails in pieces like “Rockets’ Red Glare� and “In Situ.� Jackson’s series, “4GIVENESS: In a Family Way� will continue next year with “Beholden,� in which she promises to further develop the compelling mayoral race between Salacious Peter and Peaches Nasterson.
“I need a degree if I want that promotion, but I just assumed I couldn’t afford it. Then I learned that my company has a reimbursement plan and I qualify for federal aid despite my income.�
Did you know: Â’ 4SRS`OZ abcRS\b OWR US\S`OZZg R]Sa \]b VOdS O\g OUS `Sab`WQbW]\a Â’ G]c O`S []ab ZWYSZg SZWUWPZS `SUO`RZSaa ]T V]e [cQV []\Sg g]c [OYS Â’ G]c Q]cZR `SQSWdS c^ b] aSdS`OZ bV]caO\R R]ZZO`a W\ bOf Q`SRWba O\R RSRcQbW]\a Â’ % ]cb ]T & ZO`US S[^Z]gS`a ^`]dWRS a][S a]`b ]T SRcQObW]\ OaaWabO\QS
Attend a free seminar for adults on FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION to find out more. Wednesday, September 28, 2011 | 6:30 - 7:30 pm Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, CA To RSVP, visit ndnu.edu or call (650) 508-3600.
1500 Ralston Avenue, Belmont CA 94002
DISCOVER A NEW PATH TO A CAREER IN NURSING. GAIN GUARANTEED ADMISSION TO SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY.* • Complete your pre-nursing requirements on the beautiful 135-acre Mills College campus. • Receive a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences. • Prepare for a successful nursing career with unique leadership seminars. • Apply by October 15 for spring to receive special expedited admission beneďŹ ts.
INFORMATION SESSION Monday, October 10 • 9:00 am–1:00 pm
*upon successful completion of all program requirements
MAKING THE WORLD MORE . . .
Oakland, CA admission@mills.edu www.mills.edu
email: phernandez@theguardsman.com
RESERVE YOUR SPACE AT WWW.MILLS.EDU/VISITFORM. City College — The Guardsman Size: 6� x 6� • Insertion date: TO COME Ad #1151FallNursing
10 | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
OPINIONS Editorial
Back Off, Herrera
The Central Subway project has been a hot button issue for mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera, who must be incredibly satisfied at having finally found the perfect divisive issue to make himself less boring. Herrera killed his support for the construction of the Central Subway, a project intended to provide a much needed underground MUNI system to Chinatown. His public disdain for the workingclass people depending on that subway has launched him into the position of a lead contender in the race for mayor. It makes you wonder though: has Herrera ever taken a 30-Stockton or 45-Union in his life?
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When Gianne Nalangan, a current student of mine, and Joe Fitzgerald, a former student and current Guardsman editor-in-chief, asked me to write an inaugural teacher’s column for the paper, I was both honored and slightly addled. With shoe on other foot, I experienced something akin to what City College students might feel every time they receive an essay assignment from me or any other instructor. “What am I going to write about!?” I decided on a smorgasbord – part reality check, unsolicited advice, and pep talk. It should come as no surprise that instructors at City College, as well as students, are experiencing the stressful effects of cutbacks. It is genuinely painful to turn away so many students every semester when the classroom is ready to burst. Our enrollments are going up while the number of sections offered is going down. Students who can’t get into their classes at San Francisco State come to us begging. Big classes make it harder to remember everyone’s
Did Nancy Pelosi sell out Bay Area students to for-profit universities? Check out our video editorial and decide for yourself. youtube.com/user/TheGuardsmanOnline
Those buses ferry thousands of Chinatown residents downtown and to the rest of San Francisco for work every day. They also notoriously run at a virtual crawl. People could jog laps around Chinatown before the buses even get to the Stockton tunnel from California Street. The Central Subway project which was intended to fix that situation has been labeled by opponents as a “train to nowhere,” which is funny, since a real train to nowhere is currently being built just northwest of Chinatown. The big-billionaire’s boat ride, also known as “America’s Cup,” is inspiring the lengthening of the historic F-line streetcar line to Fort Mason, as reported in The Chronicle.
The City College VOICE By Matthew Kennedy
PELOSI TURNS HER BACK ON BAY STUDENTS:
The project would extend the F-line (which runs from Market st. to the Wharf, currently), all the way to The Great Meadow and Marina Green, providing easy access to the wharf from the Marina district. So many people from the Marina district obviously need to get to work everyday in Fisherman’s Wharf. You know how yuppies and young millionaires like to fish for crab and sell fake jewelery to tourists. In fact, even Bush Man is probably a Marina six-figure earner in disguise. The thing about the train’s destination is that no one even lives in Fort Mason proper. The proposed train line would connect a popular tourist destination to a facility that houses the occasional book sale, one or two restaurants, and the Magic Theater.
email: editor@theguardsman.com
The City College Voice is a recurring column featuring contributed editorials from the faculty of City College. This issue’s contributer Matthew Kennedy teaches anthropology at CCSF, recieved his M. A. in Anthropology from UC Davis and is the author of “Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes.”
name, and affect teaching methods. We must lean more toward formal lectures rather than seminar-style discussions. The business of the college, including committee service, evaluations, and curriculum development, continues to be demanding. And, of course, the volume of papers to read and tests to grade is formidable. This is not a pity party, but rather a call to empathy and action. The competition for classes here is analogous to what you will face with employment in “the real world.” To get what you want, you must be outstanding. So with instructors having so many distractions, how can you distinguish yourself from the crowd? First of all, don’t stand out for the wrong reasons. Don’t make excuses for late papers, missed classes, or failed tests. Take responsibility and know your limits. Very often students flounder because of juggling too many classes with intense demands at work and home. Honor your education by giving each class the time and attention it merits. Get to know your instructors, and make sure they know you, by seeing them during office hours. Vow to actively engage in your education, rather than simply wait for
Letters to the Editor
someone to deliver it to you. Ask relevant questions, and listen carefully to what’s being expected of you. Acquaint yourself with City College’s outstanding staff in the Counseling Department, Library, and Learning Services Center. Take advantage of unique opportunities such as international travel and internships. Especially take advantage of the fantastic array of courses here. It may not feel like it, but being a student at City College is a privilege. It will never be easier (or less expensive) to explore a vast array of human knowledge than it is right now. Shop around! Try the History of South Asia, or Automotive Welding, or Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Its Limits, or Contemporary Black Cinema, or Cultural Geography, or Bioethics, or Elementary Russian, or Archery, or … you get the idea. You will discover new fields and surprise yourself with how much you enjoy them. And if it doesn’t suit you, at least you gained a degree of self-awareness while exploring something outside your safe boundaries. Your major is not your destiny. You need never feel restricted in your options
hate.” In “colorblind” America, criminals are the new whipping boys. They are entitled to no respect and little moral concern. Like the “colored” in the years following emancipation, criminals today are deemed a characterless and purposeless people, deserving of our collective scorn and contempt. Hundreds of years ago, our nation put those considered less than human in shackles: less than one hundred years ago, we relegated them to the other side of town, today we put them in cages.” She might have added that we also shoot them dead over 2$ train fares, as in the case of Kenneth Harding Jr. Can a racist system be dismantled without mentioning race? I don’t think so. - Alexander Schmaus, student Letters no more than 500 words may be sent to editor@theguardsman.com They may be edited for content and length.
in higher education, or favor a field of study simply because it is said to be “practical.” I have repeatedly heard that employers requiring a BA are less interested in what the major was than the fact that you had the dedication to finish undergraduate studies. That leaves your options wide open. If you love what you’re studying, you will stay with it, and you will more likely find rewarding work. And – this from one who knows -- career satisfaction is one of the great pleasures of life. If I may end with a sentiment often voiced in my field, which is anthropology. We speak of the difficulty of defining and conceptualizing this human endeavor known as “culture.” A single definition is elusive, but we know that culture is learned, shared, and passed down. That ought to sound a lot like education, and so we are engaged here at City College with exercising the most fundamental of human abilities. We can instantly manipulate a dazzling array of symbols, messages, and meanings. The human brain is a magnificent gift. You’ve got one - use it! email: editor@theguardsman.com
Veterans Corner By Bob Hollingsworth CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Guardsman missed the mark when it failed to examine the role of race in its Issue 1 cover story on the police killing of Muni passenger, Kenneth Harding Jr. His death was not simply the result of a flaw in the SFPD’s “neighborhood relations” program, but was one more tragic loss to a racist criminal injustice system run amok. There are now 2.3 million people behind bars in America, including 1 in 9 African-American men. Although most drug users are white, threequarters of those imprisoned on drug charges are Black or Latino. Michelle Alexander’s book, The new Jim Crow, is a must-read for anyone trying to come to grips with the explosive growth of the American prison population in the past three decades-- and how mass incarceration has functioned as a comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized social control. Alexander writes that “criminals, it turns out, are the one social group in America we have permission to
It is nowhere near the scope, impact and importance of the Central Subway project in Chinatown. So while Dennis Herrera slams a train line that would serve a hundred thousand working-class Chinatown citizens for the sake of his mayoral campaign, the billionaires of the America’s Cup and the richieriches of the Marina are getting their own personal rail road made without so much as a sniffle from the candidates. Dennis Herrera needs to take a hard look at his priorities and find a different way to make himself stand out as the mayoral candidate of choice, because one thing is certain: this isn’t it.
What is a veteran? Well according to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary a Veteran is simply described as “a former member of the armed forces.” According to my personal imaginative dictionary, a veteran is much more. A veteran is someone who committed himself or herself to a service of sacrifice for a limited or extended duration of their life to preserve the freedoms of those that may not be willing or able to preserve those freedoms for themselves. Many people may see benefits to being a veteran, like free school. I am glad to say free school is a benefit that I here at City College appreciate greatly. Others may see the benefit of having a handicap placard and free parking. There are also the other benefits of unemployment insurance for up to two years, disability compensation, and not to mention the experience of a lifetime. All these and many more benefits are great but what about the sacrifices made to earn those benefits? How free really was our school? How do the long hours standing in formation learning discipline, rifle training, overworked hours that drain body, mind, and soul, and not to mention trudging the desert and foreign lands just to meet new, exciting, and exotic people who wanted to hurt us for our beliefs in preserving freedom give us benefits?
The free parking? Most of us would probably trade our free parking for a new pair of legs or hands. Unemployment insurance? With the skills we have we should not have to be unemployed. We could walk into a McDonald’s or a Donald Trump Company and own that business with our knowledge. Yet, here we are. Many veterans suffer from mental and physical conditions beyond the understanding of many. Take the time to learn and read about the symptoms of veterans and understand them. You might discover a quality of humility and servitude you may not have seen before. Veterans also have the “hero complex”. It is not quite a complex but rather a genuine quality. We have been trained to help those in need and we do a great job of helping each other. The problem comes when we attempt to reach out to help a fellow class mate in need and our motivations are questioned. So if a veteran offers his or her help, just take the help and go about your day or kindly decline in a way that is non-judgemental. Sometimes helping someone in need is a way we make sense of our past. Don’t forget the ones who are no longer with us, who sacrificed all for your freedoms. Remember to thank the ones who made it back and are sitting next to you in class. The next time a veteran introduces himself or herself remember to say, “Thank you for your sacrifice.” email: editor@theguardsman.com
SPORTS
The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | 11
Women’s soccer tripped up by Bear Cubs at home City College falls to 2-1 on the season
Thoughts on sports, shenanigans, and ways of life... but mostly just sports. By Ryan Kuhn THE GUARDSMAN
The difference between a team that was defeated and a team defeating itself. No matter how you look at defeat, it is still just another loss. But when a talented team loses a game to their own blunders its not only sad its maddening. Yet it happens all the time. Just look at the many upsets throughout professional sports history. One that comes to mind, since the MLB Playoffs are just around the corner, happened 25 years ago at Shea Stadium in the 1986 World Series. The first basemen of the visiting Boston Red Sox missed a ground ball that hopped between his legs and the Mets went on to win the series. His name of course, was Bill Buckner. I’m not going to rant, “how can he miss that” or “he is an idiot” but what if he did make the play? It could have changed the entire shape of the Red Sox organization? Besides fundamental errors, the players demeanor has a lot to do with the success of the team. Carlos Zambrano is a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Throughout his career he has been pretty successful. Throughout his 10-year career, he has complied 125 wins and a 3.60 ERA. Although his statistics have been impressive, his demeanor has not. Zambrano has a temper. In 2010 after getting ejected for arguing a call with the home plate umpire he threw the ball in the stands, threw his gloves on the ground and started wailing
on the Gatorade coolers iwith a ball bat like he was a member of Capone’s gang. I am not upset with the fact he was angry, we all get angry. But when you make a fool out of yourself on national television for throwing a temper tantrum like a 5-year-old, how do you face your fans or look the organization you work for in the eye? Here at City College, demeanor is important too. While the football team has been extremely successful, the team was fifth last year in penalty yards, 1,082. In their last game against Mendocino College, never mind the fact that they dismantled their opponent, 66-0, they finished with 13 penalties for 169 yards. Granted that some were cheap calls but some were late hits or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties where the players either made comments or gestures toward the other team. Why do that? To show they are tougher? The scoreboard shows that. City College has been an impressive football team, but to be unbeatable you should win with dignity and class. People give me hell for being a Duke basketball fan. I like them because they have class. And to be the best, you have to be an example. To quote John Wooden once more: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” email: rkuhn@theguardsman.com
Rams 1, Santa Rosa 3 By Lucas Almeida THE GUARDSMAN
It only took two minutes for women’s soccer to be tripped up by last year’s No.1 team in California. On Sept 9., the Rams were handed their first loss of the 2011 season, never recovering, as they fell against Santa Rosa Junior College, 3-1. With an early goal, Santa Rosa showed why they were last year’s Northern California Champions when sophomore forward Cara Curtin scored in the first two minutes. Rams head coach Gabe Saucedo knew it would be a tough match-up against the Bear Cubs. “Santa Rosa was a tough team, I thought we came out a little bit shaky and we allowed some soft goals but by the end of the second-half we stepped it up a bit” Saucedo said. Even though it was a road game for Santa Rosa, they played aggressively and players from both teams became irritated with the number of fouls. City College sophomore midfielder Yvette Flores said she thought the referee was very confused and did not take authority of the game. “I think he was very confused and passive in his (officiating). He pulled out the book and couldn’t decide who’d committed the foul.” Flores said. As the game continued in the 22nd minute, the Rams had a chance to tie the game. Freshman forward Stephanie Barragan took a rebound in front of the goal but her shot was too high sailing out of bounds.
In the 32nd minute, Curtin scored her second goal sneaking behind City College’s defense. City College came back to the game with a different attitude in the second-half attacking more precisely and pressuring Santa Rosa’s defenders. Two minutes into the secondhalf, City College had an early chance to score. After a cross in the area, freshman forward Barragan took a powerless shot in front of Santa Rosa’s goalkeeper. Curtin sealed the team’s win with her first hat trick of the season scoring in the 60th minute. She was in the right spot to take the rebound and just put the ball in the back of the net after an incomplete clearance in the box. Minutes before the final whistle, sophomore forward Tera Piserchio scored the Rams’ only goal giving final numbers to the match.
@guardsmansports
on Twitter for live in-game updates!
email: lalmeida@theguardsman.com
BETH LABERGE / THE GUARDSMAN
Leila Torres, 8, of the CCSF Rams kicks the ball away from the hard to beat Santa Rosa Bear Cubs, on Sept. 9, 2011
Saturday, Oct. 15
Follow
Even though they lost, Piserchio said Santa Rosa had a tough defense and it was a big challenge to play against them. “Their defense was pretty good. We had our chances but we just didn’t finish them, we didn’t capitalized on those. “ Piserchio said. “I think this game was a big challenge for us, preparing us to get even better. We put up a good fight but it’s going to teach us, we’re going to watch the film and learn from it and hopefully get better.” Saucedo said he thought his team improved in the second half. “I was proud of the effort, specially in the second-half but now we just got to get better as a team” said Saucedo. The Rams take a road trip to face Mission College in their next match-up on Sept. 20. Kickoff will start at 4 p.m.
12 | September 21 - October 5, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
SPORTS
UPCOMING GAMES:
Sept 24 vs. San Jose City, 1 p.m
Oct 1 vs. DeAnza 1 p.m
Oct 8 at Delta 1 p.m
Jantz, Baty split snaps trouncing Eagles in win Rams 65, Mendocino 0 By Ryan Kuhn THE GUARDSMAN
Sometimes two is better than one. Last Friday, the duo displayed their passing abilities against Mendocino College, who they defeated for the second straight year, 65-0. For the first two games of the 2011 season, the Rams have used the quarterback combination of Broughan Jantz and Turner Baty to outscore their opponents, 113-0. But City College head coach George Rush knows the season has just begun. “We haven’t played anyone that has been any good yet,” Rush said. “We want to get better. The mistakes you make, the things you aren’t good at, we had a lot of penalties today. You can’t play good teams with that.” City College got out to the early 14-0 lead in the first quarter when Jantz hit wide receiver Roman Runner twice for touchdown passes one of which was a 53-yard pass with 1:58 left in the quarter. For the game, Runner led all receivers with 76 yards on only four catches. In the second quarter, Rush made a change and brought in Turner Baty to take over the quarterback position. He said that his offense needed a change of pace.
EZRA EKMAN / THE GUARDSMAN
Andrew Spivey, (9) for the City College Rams, struggles his way to a touchdown during the Rams’ game against Mendocino College on Sept. 17, 2011 at City College of San Francisco’s Ocean campus in San Francisco.
“Broughan (Jantz) just needed to come out and relax,” Rush said. “I think what he did was he was playing faster than he needed to play. He just needed to slow the game down.” Playing the second and third quarters, Baty was almost perfect
as he passed 11-12 for 128 yards and two touchdowns. The freshman says he feels comfortable passing in the pocket. “With our offensive line is it so easy to sit back there because you don’t get touched,” he said.
Not only did the offense provide support but the defense also shined when freshmen defensive back Darvin McCauley intercepted the ball running it back 30 for the touchdown. Linebacker Micah McMurray also had two sacks.
“The defense is good but we have to play tough and we have to play all four quarters,” McMurrary said. In their next game on Sept 24, the Rams will host San Jose City College who is winless on the season. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. email: rkuhn@theguardsman.com
Offense keeps momentum rolling for City College Rams Rams 5, Cosumnes River 0 By Lucas Almeida THE GUARDSMAN
Team chemistry was the focal point for City College as they improved their record to 4-2 on the young season, defeating Cosumnes River College, 5-0, on Sept. 13. The win gives the Rams backto-back victories and a total of 10 goals in their last two games. Head coach Adam Lucarelli is pleased about his team’s play on the field. “I think today we played a little bit better than against College of Marin [in our last game],” Lucarelli said. “Our team’s chemistry is getting better.” In the first half, City College aggressively attacked their opponent, having many opportunities to open the score. The Rams had a clear chance to take the lead on a shot by sophomore forward Jaime Barragan in the 18th minute, but was stopped by Cosumnes River’s goalkeeper, Leo Luna. While pressuring the ball until the 22nd minute, Lucarelli made a sub, putting in freshman Bryant Isaguirre to give the team more speed to explore their counter-attack with faster sprints.
VALERIE AYALA / THE GUARDSMAN
Ram’s, Npondo Macky (26), charges towards Cosumnes River Hawk, Allen Espinoza in effort to steal the ball back for City College during a game on Sept. 13, 2011 in San Francisco.
The second half continued with the same aggression displayed by the Rams using more counter-attack sprints.
In the 52nd minute the offense woke up when freshman midfielder Jesse Cisneros passed the ball to fellow freshman Pedro
Sarabia volleying the ball with one touch hitting the net to score the Rams’ first goal. After a quick goal by Juan
Palacio three minutes later, Sarabia found the net once again scoring his second of the game to put the Rams up, 3-0. Two more goals were scored by Enmanuell Caldera and Cameron Leaver late in the second half and their coach said the adjustments made by putting some of the new freshmen players in was crucial to the victory. “We didn’t play much different from first half to the second half. The only difference is that the goal opportunities we had in the first half didn’t go in and in the second half we had the same chances but the balls were going in,” Lucarelli said. “Some of the freshmen helped us a lot like Sarabia, who made a big difference.” With two assists in the game, freshman midfielder Jesse Cineros was also one of the key players to the Rams’ win. “Every game we’re just building more and more chemistry” Cineros said. “We are just getting better and we’re just going to start beating our opponents more and more as the season goes.” The Rams will face Gavilan College in their next home game Sept. 23. Kickoff will be at 4 p.m. email: lalmeida@theguardsman.com