The Guardsman, Vol. 151, Issue 5. City College of San Francisco by The Guardsman

THE GUARDSMAN City College of San Francisco’s Newspaper Since 1935

Volume 151, Issue 5

TheGuardsman.com

april 6, 2011

THe sTAKes HAVe RIseN When hopes for tax extensions in a June special election died, the projected deficit for California community colleges doubled

By Brant Ozanich The Guardsman

Students at City College and community colleges across California fear increased financial pressure after attempts by Gov. Jerry Brown to implement tax extensions in a special election were blocked by Republican members of the state legislature. Under Brown’s new “all-cuts” budget proposal, California’s 112 community colleges could be facing additional cuts of $800 million or more – roughly 10 percent of their overall budget – which could lead to an additional 400,000 students being turned down in the future. “Today, I have broken off discussions with members of the Republican party ... I proposed a plan that is basically half drastic cuts and half temporary tax extensions,” Brown said in a YouTube address March 29. “I’m gonna find a way to get out budget balanced ... We have to protect our schools, our public safety, our public universities, our environment.” Facing a $26.6 billion budget deficit, Brown proposed to balance the budget by cutting roughly $11.2 billion in spending and attempting to implement a voter-approved, 5 year continuation of BUDGeT: Page 5

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Fatai Shittu marches with others protesting cuts to education and waves a San Jose Community College ﬂag in front of the Capitol Building in Sacramento on March 14. Jessica noRTh / The GuaRdsman

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News

San Francisco’s Next Mayor: Elliot Owen’s report on a recent mayoral hopefuls meet-and-greet and the status of public education in the city. TheGuardsman.com/Mayor

Metro Academies works to streamline transfers By Brant Ozanich The Guardsman

Students looking to stay on track during their first two years of college can apply to the Metro Academies, a program at both City College and SF State that provides advising, peer support and specially tailored classes for students. By close collaboration between the two schools, students from both colleges start their junior year at SF State on the same level of learning proficiency, regardless if they transferred from City College or began their education at SF State. “Students have been let down by the disinvestment in public education and need a boost to help start their college career,” said Viki Legion, a co-founder of Metro Academies. “Transfer is a long and leaky pipeline and we’re trying to make it a high speed train.” The program, formerly called Metro Health Academies, infuses community health and social justice into the general education classes students are already required to take. Only one health and one early childhood development class are currently offered directly through Metro Academies, but program administrators are trying to create more Metro pathways that will be viable with all majors in the California State University system. “English, math, critical thinking and communication are all infused with community health,” Program Coordinator Rama Ali Kased said about Metro Academy classes. For example, instead of writing a speech on a topic of their choice, students enrolled in the program must research and speak about a community health topic for their basic speech class at SF State. Current Metro students said the program creates a strong sense of camaraderie and allows them to collaborate and study together throughout their college careers. Many perceive this as one of the most beneficial aspects of the program. “It gave me a community and an extra family to come home to or go to see,” said Marisol Melara, a freshman sociology

Ramsey El-Qare / The Guardsman file photo

Rama Ali Kased leads a workshop at SF State, explaining the benefits of joining Metro Academies to prospective college students.

major at SF State. “We are all in the same program and same classes and we will stick together for the next two years. They offer me a lot of support and guidance into how to do things.” Metro Academies are tailored specifically for freshmen and sophomores and are not designed to provide guidance once the students start their majors. The program’s advisers and counselors provide support for students beyond their second year on a personal and more informal level. “The professors are great when talking to us and are really willing to help us out. They help us come up with an ‘EdPlan’

that helps us set up our first two years, our general education,” Ingrid Pedroza, a freshman at SF State said. “Definitely try to get in the program because it helps you stay on track and build a community of support.” Students interested in the program can be enrolled at either City College or SF State. After taking the required proficiency tests they are encouraged to apply to the Metro office located at their campus before the start of their college career. Students may also apply during their freshman year. “I was taking classes that I found were interesting, but I still didn’t know what I

wanted to do,” Leyva said while speaking at a student orientation. “As I was sitting in my English class, Rama came inside and started talking about the Metro Academies and what they were all about. So I said ‘Why not? I’ll sign up.’” The Metro Academy program was founded at both schools in 2008, according to communityhealthworks.org. The program has maintained a retention rate of more than 75 percent after the first year at City College and more than 90 percent at SF State. Email: bozanich@theguardsman.com

HARTS program extends help to homeless students By Brian Rinker The Guardsman

At the beginning of every month Chris Shaeffer, director of the Homeless At Risk Transitional Students Program, and lab aid Tina Esquer hand out Muni fast passes at a reduced cost of $20 to students who are homeless, living in transitional homes and on parole. The HARTS program also provides book vouchers, as well as vouchers for the cafeteria, to at-risk City College students . “It’s a fabulous program,” said LaJon Janvier, a 50-yearold homeless student. “It has helped in a way that has made me a successful student. I couldn’t have succeeded in school without the HARTS Program.” The students who participate in the program have special needs because of their homelessness. They often live in shelters and in cars. Transitional students live in rehab facilities and various

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programs, community housing clinics and single resident occupancy hotels, Shaeffer said. The program had 167 students, ages 18 to 60, enrolled at the beginning of the spring semester. A quarter of the students are disabled, and the ethnic population continues to grow, especially among Latinos. The growing number of students wanting to participate in the HARTS Program has forced Shaeffer to prioritize his clients. This can be a difficult process. “Trying to prioritize people’s needs is hard,” said Shaeffer. “When a student walks through my doors their need is pretty important or they wouldn’t be here.” A student who is at risk of being homeless no longer meets the requirements. To receive services a student has to be homeless or staying in a transitional home. Students must have a referral from a shelter or proof that they receive homeless services

from any agency and then interview with Shaeffer. Shaeffer has noticed an increase in students who have referrals from homeless service providers. He said this may be because case workers are realizing educational plans for their clients can be very beneficial for them. Academic and vocational skills increase a client’s employability potential greatly, and the services students receive for attending college – like the HARTS program, financial aid and federal subsidized loans – are crucial in developing them. “Over the last 10 years there has been an amazing growth in the diversity of our program,” said Shaeffer. Going to City College has really helped Rodney Austin, 47. He heard about HARTS while living in a transitional home for parolees. “The case manager came into my room and said ‘Rodney, you want to get $5,000 for going to

school?’” Austin said. “Can I get $10,000,” he added and laughed. Austin spent 14 years in prison and has been on parole for 11 months. The economic troubles of the last few years have been a contributing factor to the increase in homeless students attending City College, Shaeffer said. The Extended Opportunity Services and Programs and the Second Chance program for paroled felons have recently had some funding difficulties, and students are turning to HARTS. “The EOPS and Second Chance lost a lot of money and we’re helping them out,” said Shaeffer. The HARTS Program also includes a comprehensive directory of homeless service providers in the community to help students find housing. “We have some referrals from City College,” said Susanna Anderson, program director for Compass Connecting Point, a

family service agency that helps find housing for homeless families and families in crisis. “Many of our clients have attended City College,” she added. Compass Connecting Points works with families to obtain housing subsidies that may include an educational or vocational rehabilitation plan. Anderson said their main concerns are immediate housing needs or the removal of a family from crisis situation, but she agrees that an education can be an essential part of the rehabilitative process. The number of students in the HARTS Program dropped to 141 after midterms. Reasons for students dropping vary: some can’t keep their grades up; others struggle with drug addiction, HIV and hepatitis C; one student was sent back to prison on a parole violation.

Email: brinker@theguardsman.com

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News News Feature

California’s broken juvenile justice system Proposal to cut state’s system brings up ghosts of youth torture By Tony LeTigre The Guardsman

Gov. Jerry Brown’s January proposal to eliminate the Division of Juvenile Justice was one way of grappling with the state’s more than $25 billion budget shortfall, hoping counties could gradually absorb all youth prisoners leaving the state’s system. But many juvenile justice experts see deeper moral issues than decaying property or saving money. “I testified to the state legislature on closing the CYA in 1988,” said Daniel Macallair, executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a nonprofit based in San Fran-

“The guards dehumanized you by making you feel you were a monster and deserved inhuman torture.” — Joaquin DiazDeLeon City College Student Former CA juvenile justice system inmate

cisco. “They’re a system that’s been under fire for more than the 25 years I’ve been around, with steady reports of abuse and scandal.” Macallair described the juvenile prison system as an institutional failure, based on the Victorian era reform school model of isolating “bad seeds” from their homes and families and from the corrupting influence of urban vice. “I agree with the direction the governor is taking, as long as the state will provide us the resources,” said William Siffermann, San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department’s chief probation officer. “While I recognize the state will still need a secure placement for juveniles convicted of serious felonies, I believe it could be administered locally with evidence-based practices that are more therapeutic.” Brown’s initial proposal to cut the DJJ became embroiled in controversy, and by the end of February he backtracked, stopping short of completely dissolving the DJJ in a revised budget that allows counties the option to continue sending their juvenile offenders to state correctional institutions. Bill Sessa, a spokesman for the DJJ, said the division doesn’t accept most juvenile offenders anyway. “The youth we have are those who commit the most serious violent felonies and the sex offenders, and they have already exhausted the treatment available at the county level,” Sessa

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Gracie Malley / The Guardsman

Former Fresno gang member Joaquin DiazDeLeon recounts his two years spent in the state and federal juvenile prison systems in front of the City College Ocean campus Science Hall.

said.

Less than human Joaquin DiazDeLeon, now 21 and a City College student, spent two years in the California Youth Authority, which is now the DJJ. He said he experienced corruption, violence and gross maltreatment there that left him both figuratively and literally scarred. DiazDeLeon arrived at the Preston Youth Facility in Ione, Calif. in 2006, after a stint in a juvenile hall in Fresno. “It’s a demonic place,” DiazDeLeon said of Preston. “All the youth were traumatized, brainwashed, cursing at each other. The guards dehumanized you by making you feel you were a monster and deserved inhuman torture.” Sessa played down the more disturbing details of accounts by DiazDeLeon and other former DJJ wards. “While I have no first-hand

knowledge of this young man’s time in DJJ, I would be somewhat skeptical of the allegations,” Sessa said. “What I do know for sure is there is no way the sort of behavior he describes could be going on now.” The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed that Preston will close permanently this June, leaving just four DJJ prisons and two firecamps in the state. The current total DJJ inmate population is about 1,200, having dropped steeply from 10,000 in 1995. Official reasons for closing Preston were the property’s dilapidated condition, as well as the steady decline in the state’s youth prison population over the last 15 years. The CDCR neglected to mention that facility’s disturbing history of reported abuse. Prep school for prison The state juvenile prison

facilities made no serious effort at rehabilitation, but instead promoted an ongoing culture of incarceration, former DJJ inmate Carlos Esqueda said. He spent from 2004 to 2007 in California’s

“They told us ‘You can go ahead and snitch, but you’re not gonna win ... There’s a lesson to be learned here, and you better suck it up.’” — Carlos Esqueda Former CA juvenile justice system inmate

juvenile justice system, serving some time at Preston — which he described as “a little gladiator school” — and some time at the O.H. Close Youth Correctional Facility in Stockton. “I saw one-on-one fights, people trying to stab somebody,”

Esqueda said. “I was involved in three riots and 10 fights during a single month in Preston. Every morning I was waking up ready to fight, ready for action.” Esqueda and DiazDeLeon both formed or joined gangs in DJJ as a matter of survival. “I saw staff allowing and coordinating violence, drug trafficking and drug use, staff sexually involved with youth, cruel and unusual punishment,” DiazDeLeon said. “Punishment was to be put in lockup for close to 24 hours. They would put you in cages like a rooster, a humansized box, and the guards left the doors open so people could run in and attack you in this cage.” Esqueda said the corruption of correctional officers in the DJJ was just as it is known to be in an adult prison. Claims against guards for abuse and neglect were not taken seriously and could lead to violent retaliation. He described a time when guards were called to restrain him after a fight. He was dragged off his bed, punched and kicked, slammed into the bed’s metal frame and put in handcuffs. DiazDeLeon, who was at Preston at the same time, witnessed the melee. When DiazDeLeon, Esqueda and two others threatened to report the abuse, the guards locked them all together in a room with a tear gas bomb, in front of a fan that circulated the tear gas directly into their faces, DiazDeLeon said. “They told us ‘You can go ahead and snitch, but you’re not gonna win,’” Esqueda said. “They said, ‘There’s a lesson to be learned here, and you better suck it up.’” The Farrell v. Cate lawsuit, initiated in 2003 and settled in 2005, generated a great deal of documentation of the abuses faced by wards of the CYA, with national experts using California’s juvenile justice program as an example of a broken system. This led to court intervention, a major overhaul of the CYA and its conversion to DJJ. “Since 2004, DJJ has been under court order with six remedial plans overseen by the Superior Court of Alameda, one of which is specific to the safety and welfare of youth,” Sessa said. “Auditors are allowed inside our facilities constantly, and the courts are looking over our shoulder at least four times a year to make sure we are in compliance with every part of the plan.” But he acknowledged that DJJ didn’t even receive its first funding until 2007 – when Esqueda was already out and DiazDeLeon had one year remaining. Read the conclusion to Tony LeTigre’s juvenile justice feature in the next issue of The Guardsman, available April 20.

Email: aletigre@theguardsman.com

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News

Japan crisis shows sF must prepare for future quakes

1992: Cape Mendocino

By Tony LeTigre The Guardsman

There is a greater than 95 percent probability that an earthquake similar in size to the Loma Prieta temblor of 1989 will strike California within the next 30 years, according to the United States Geological Survey. Such an event, however, would still pale in comparison to the 9.0 earthquake that struck Tohoku, Japan on March 11, and in the estimation of the USGS, it is unlikely that San Francisco will ever experience a quake of that magnitude. A long stretch of the San Andreas fault in central California uses slow, gradual movement rather than building up energy to a large quake, according to Andrew Michael, a geophysicist who has been with the USGS since 1986. “This suggests that an earthquake would not be able to rupture the full length of the fault,” Michael said. “Quakes are confined to either northern or southern California. And because magnitude is related to the length of the fault, it is not possible to have an earthquake above about 7.8 to 8.2 on the San Andreas fault.” The infamous 1906 earthquake measured 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale, which replaced the less-accurate Richter scale. It was also centered just off the coast of San Francisco, rather than 50 miles away as with Loma Prieta. But both of these events remind us that a quake well below 9.0 can be dangerous and destructive. Seismology is a relatively young science, and most scientists are wary of earthquake predic-

California’s Historic Earthquakes Since the year 1769 Earthquakes listed caused significant damage, injuries or fatalities. 1975: Oroville

1923, 1980: Humbolbt County

Only the most significant earthquakes are included.

1966: Truckee

1892: Vacaville

1906,1989: San Francisco 1989: Santa Cruz County

1868: 1979: central Coyote California Lake

1927: Lompoc

Source: U.S. Geological Survey 2011

GRaphic updaTed By Ramsey el-QaRe / The GuaRdsman

tions except over a wide range of time. This uncertainty, along with the fact that California and Japan are both part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, has led to speculation that the Tohoku megaquake could be the catalyst for a similar disaster here. “Big earthquakes do trigger other quakes, but normally only in the same region,” Kate Hutton of the California Institute of Technology said. “The plates move along at their steady rate, and each individual section of the perimeter seems to have its own cycle of strain accumulation and release.” Hutton said some seismologists have noticed that the largest quakes seem to clump in time – for example, Sumatra in 2004, Chile last year and now Japan – while “others attribute this to the

statistics of small numbers, somewhat like the chances of throwing three heads in a row.” She said the main expansion in seismology over the last decade has been the huge increase in computing power. “This applies to data collection, management and analysis as well as numerical modeling of the physical processes, usually on a supercomputer,” Hutton said. Since the ability to predict a tremor well enough to offer immediate advance warning is still distant or doubtful, experts say the best thing to do is prepare for the inevitable. “Most people go through life in denial when there are a number of relatively simple things you should do to prepare yourself and others,” City College earth sciences instructor Darrel Hess

1872: Owens Valley

1857: Fort Tejon 1952: Kern County 1899: Saboba 1994: 1918: Northridge 1925: San Jacinto Santa 1769: Barbara Los Angeles 1933: region Long 1812: Beach San Juan Capistrano 1940: Imperial 1915: Valley southern Imperial Valley

Ramsey el-QaRe / The GuaRdsman

said. “Make sure your water heater and large appliances are strapped down and secured. Have an emergency preparedness kit. Keep a flashlight by your bed, and a supply of food and water on hand. Talk to your neighbors, and prepare as a community.” David Liggett, City College director of facilities planning said the Ocean campus was not heavily impacted by the Loma Prieta quake. “The buildings were fine, and we don’t anticipate great problems in the event of a quake,” Liggett said. “Any time you’re on a higher area like a hill, you’re on bedrock, and that’s going to be safer than a sandy area or one that’s fill.” Kim Aufhauser, director of emergency planning and

preparedness at West ValleyMission Community College District, will take part in a private response training seminar for City College staff this month on the Ocean Campus. He said preparation is a gradual process that starts now, adding that his message is not one of fear, but of risk assessment and management. Aufhauser offered several websites as starting points for earthquake preparedness, including www.ready.gov (FEMA), www.redcrossbayarea.org (click on Get Prepared), and the San Francisco Fire Department at www.sf-fire.org, which offers Neighborhood Emergency Response Team training. Email: aletigre@theguardsman.com

Chinatown campus contractors request more funds By Emily Daly The Guardsman

Construction updates presented at the March 10 Facilities, Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting revealed past delays are affecting the budget of the Chinatown/North Beach campus project and the start of construction on City College’s new performing arts center. Three Chinatown/North Beach contractors are requesting additional funds under resolution B2, also discussed at the meeting. Elmast Construction and Inspection services requested $750,000 more for the additional inspection services needed for the remainder of the project, since their original contract was for only one year. Apex Testing Laboratories, Inc. and ISI, Inc. requested a total of $643,520 for an extension of special inspection services and testing mandated by the DSA. EHDD Construction and Barcelon & Jang requested an additional $384,698 for the five-month extension of their original contract agreement, bringing the new contract amount to $14,745,035. Board president John Rizzo said the delays occurred shortly before construction began, when former Vice Chancellor James Blomquist started the contractor bidding for the project before getting the

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Additional cost of construction to the Chinatown/ North Beach campus

$14,745,035 Potential total cost $384,698 Additional money requested

$1,500,000 Potential total cost $1,043,520 Potential total cost $643,520 Additional money requested

$750,000 Orignal bid

$400,000 Orignal bid Apex Testing Laboratories, Inc. and ISI, Inc.

$14,360,337 Orignal bid

$750,000 Additional money requested

EHDD Construction and Barcelon & Jang

Elmast Construction and Inspection services

Source: resolution B2 of the March 10, 2011 Facilities, Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting

state’s approval. When Blomquist left, all the contracts had to be rebid. A similar situation affected City College’s soccer field, Rizzo said. Andy Sohn, a representative from EHDD construction, said the request for more payment is related to the additional meetings and staffing required because of these delays. Sohn said the contractor feels they are entitled to it contractually, since the schedule change was out of their control. “I’m open to be persuaded, but I haven’t seen the evidence they are entitled to it,” said Rizzo. Rizzo expressed concern that tasks

Ramsey el-QaRe / The GuaRdsman

such as additional meetings would cause a change in the contract. He said if the company asks for additional money a third time, the board would inquire if delaying work on the project would equal a breach of contract. “What we did not do in this case was simple math,” Sohn said. The contractors came up with the new payment by identifying extra tasks they had to complete, instead of multiplying the current payment by the additional length of time the work is expected to take. Rizzo said any future budget cuts would not affect the North Beach campus, but could affect construction on the Perform-

ing Arts Center, which is partially funded by bonds from 2001 and 2005. The state of California doesn’t have the bond money, which is why construction on the project hasn’t begun. Also stalling the project is the incomplete land-swap deal between City College and San Francisco, Rizzo said. City College owns the south half of the campus, while San Francisco owns the north half. Once City College owns the section of land the performing arts center will be built on, construction can begin. Rizzo said the deal was agreed to years ago, and there are no disagreements, controversies or problems in the way of the deal, which would include signing paperwork and getting approval from the Board of Supervisors. “It’s pure dithering,” Rizzo said. “The city is at risk of losing a $75 million construction project.” This loss would also eliminate potential construction jobs, he said. Other construction updates included news that the soccer field is expected to be completed by the end of July. All practical issues regarding its construction have been resolved, said Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of Finance and Administration. Email: edaly@theguardsman.com

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News

Difﬁcult hurdles ahead for Nov. initiative BUDGeT: From the front page

selected sales, income and corporate taxes that could help close the remaining $15.4 billion gap. When Brown released his first budget plan in January, he proposed a $400 million cut to the California Community College system, but after continued resistance from Cut Effects: GOP legislators he has been forced to •$520 million cut from Calicome up with a plan fornia Community Colleges in that places more 2009-10 emphasis on cuts −140,000 students turned away rather than extending −38,000 fewer course existing taxes. selections The tax proposal has full support from •At Least $800 million projected cut from California democrats, but failed Community Colleges this year to receive four repub− Up to 400,000 students lican votes to meet the turned away two-thirds approval it needs in order to be •Fees raised from $26 to $36 −Generates $110 million placed on a special for California Community ballot in June. Colleges “We’ll keep doing our job, we’ll keep •Legislative Analyst’s Office recommends $66 fees speaking up, we’ll keep giving them our suggestions, our thoughts and our ideas. Do we have the ability to force them to accept them or deal with them if they don’t want to? No, we don’t,” Senate Republican Leader Robert Dutton said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re irrelevant. We’re only irrelevant if we fail to bring up thoughts and ideas.” Brown is encouraging a voter initiative as an alternative, which would require roughly 500,000 signatures and not warrant a special election this summer, like he had hoped to gain through legislative bargaining. Brown would only have about one month to collect the signatures in order to get the initiative on the November ballot, and the tax extensions wouldn’t take effect until four months into next fiscal year. “Without a June special election on Gov. Brown’s tax extension proposal, the chance of an all-

cuts budget is highly likely,” California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott said in a media briefing. “An $800 million reduction would be unprecedented and an absolute tragedy for our students, faculty and staff as well as a deep blow for our economy.” In addition to the proposed cuts in funding, the state is increasing per unit fees to $36 for community college students. The bill, passed on March 24 increases fees $10 per unit, from $26, and will go into effect Fall 2011, raising $110 million for the community college system, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office speculates. They have also recommended raising fees to $66, more than double what they already are, if the “allcuts” solution is approved. “I think the impacts of the fees are horrendous. Many of the students at community colleges will not be able to afford to go to school,” Alisa Messer, president of City College’s faculty union, said. “There’s going to be a whole generation of students that don’t get to go to college.” The proposed $800 million cut comes on top of a $520 million cut the system took in the 2009-10 year, which resulted in 140,000 fewer students being admitted than they year before and 38,000 fewer course sections being offered. “What we’re going to see is our bright, young students leaving the state to get their education and unfortunately they don’t always come back,” Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brice Harris said in a press release. “California’s community colleges have been a beacon for decades and what we’re really seeing now is a slow and painful dismantling.”

Additional budget information compiled from the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, The Sacramento Bee and The Bellingham Herald. Email: bozanich@theguardsman.com

Open letter to the college community on board’s involvement in City College 3 case To Editor-in-Chief and Matthew Gomez, We assume that members of the City College community would want to know when they are being misled by the administration or the Board on matters of importance. As counsel for Phillip Day and Stephen Herman, we can attest that the quotes attributed to Board President John Rizzo in your February 23 article about the Board’s role in the prosecution of Day, Herman and James Blomquist are -- at best -- misleading. Mr. Rizzo apparently claimed that the Board “no longer [has] anything to do with [the case].” This is simply not true. In fact, the Board has taken up issues involving the case in at least three closed sessions, on October 28 and November 18, 2010 and most recently on February 24, 2011 -- the day after your article appeared. Contrary to its own Policy Manual and the Brown Act, the Board has not reported out any of its actions or recommendations, but has instead attempted to keep them secret from anyone other than the District Attorney’s Office. That office, however, has revealed that the Board inserted itself into the case by taking a position in support of the District Attorney’s demand that Day, Herman and Blomquist be required to pay $95,000 out of their own pockets for “restitution” to CCSF. It is difficult to characterize Mr. Rizzo’s claim that the Board is in no way affiliated with the case as anything other than disingenuous. Indeed, on February 16, 2011, CCSF’s Acting General Counsel contended, in a letter to Stephen Herman’s counsel, which was copied to Mr. Rizzo, that the Board was taking up the matter because “it involves a pending legal (litigation) matter which involves the District” and claimed that the matter was “agendized” to consider whether the District should initiate litigation. This is hardly consistent with Mr. Rizzo’s characterization of the Board’s involvement. In fact, the Board’s insertion of itself into the criminal prosecution, and the insistence on monetary restitution, has undermined the possible resolution of that matter, and has instead insured that there will be continuing litigation in which City College and members of its community will necessarily be involved. Very truly yours, Cristina Arguedas Julie Salamon Attorneys for Phillip Day Doron Weinberg Attorney for Stephen J. Herman

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maTT lamBeRT / The GuaRdsman

SEIU Local 1021 members protest the “all-cuts” budget on April 4.

some progress made in local hiring efforts By Emily Daly The Guardsman

City College’s efforts to hire more locals for the North Beach campus construction project have been mostly successful, although it was found that some contractors had violated of the project’s “good faith effort” hiring provisions. Trustee Steve Ngo presented this information at the March 10 Facilities, Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting when he introduced resolution 110324-S1. The committee also discussed City College’s local hiring practices with the advocacy organization Chinese for Affirmative Action. “This is the Board of Trustees giving some teeth to the work CAA does,” Ngo said. The contractor with the most hours of work done by locals was Clipper International, at 86.58 percent of the overall work done by San Francisco workers, and 100 percent in January, according to Chinese for Affirmative Action’s Feb. 2 Local Hiring Report. Contractors with the least hours completed by local workers, at zero percent each, were A&B Painting, J&J Acoustics, KCA Surveyors and Concrete Water, according to the Local Hiring Report. However, these contractors worked relatively few hours compared to the other contractors working on the project. Resolution 110324-S1 recommends the San Francisco Community College District initiate a grievance, starting April 15, against any contractor that violates local hiring provisions within 30 days after its adoption. As of Jan. 31, the compliance status of all contractors was listed as “in progress,” except for A&B Painting, which was listed “non compliant.” “What I am ideological about is that we keep promises, and do whatever we can to help the economy,” Ngo said.

CAA’s Local Hiring Report revealed 33 percent of the work hours done on the project in January were completed by local workers, who made up 23 percent of the workforce. Two local workers were female, contributing 188 hours of work. Jenny Lam, director of Community Initiatives of Chinese for Affirmative Action, said local hours are cumulatively increasing, but that delayed scheduling affected the local hiring ability of some contractors. When assessing workers by race, Caucasians worked 2,727 hours on the project, followed by Asian Pacific Islanders at 1,367 hours, Latinos at 1,352 hours, and African Americans at 650 hours. Trustee Chris Jackson expressed concern that the gap in African Americans in the workforce is getting wider. “I can’t get past that. I can’t come back to my neighborhood with that,” he said, but also acknowledged the improvements the CAA has accomplished. Jackson said it was important residents from all communities contribute to City College projects, so they will support future projects in their communities. As hours completed by local workers increase, so will the diversity of the workforce, Lam said, which will make it more representative of the San Francisco workforce. Grace Lee, a policy advocate for the CAA, said the the local hiring agreements focus on construction workers, not employees such as security guards, accountants and management. These workers are not reflected in the statistics. David Liggett, of City College’s Facilities Management Department, said they would work with the CAA to make sure bidders on the Performing Arts Center project know from the start City College is serious about local hiring. Email: edaly@theguardsman.com

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6 | April 6, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com

OPINIONs Editor-in-Chief Alex Emslie Managing Editor Ramsey El-Qare News Editor Kwame Opoku-Duku Opinions Editor Alex Emslie Culture Editor Isaiah Kramer Sports Editor Ryan Kuhn Events Editor Estela Fuentes Photo Editor Frank Ladra Online Editor Atticus Morris Multimedia Editors Joe Fitzgerald Kay Recede Copy Chief Erin Conger Copy Editors Don Clyde Liska Koenig Atticus Morris Advertising Manager Essie Harris Illustrator Danielle Schlamp Staff Writers Emily Daly Joe Fitzgerald Estela Fuentes Matthew Gomez Essie Harris Peter Hernandez Gary Jay Catherine Lee Tony LeTigre Brant Ozanich Brian Rinker Staff Photographers Gracie Malley Broadus Parker Clarivel Fong Jessica North Multimedia Gary Jay Tony LeTigre Atticus Morris Brian Rinker Faculty Adviser Juan Gonzales California Newspaper Publisher’s Association Journalism Association of Community Colleges

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Issue 5 Master.indd 6

BRANDeD FOR LIFe: Frank Ladra’s opinion on the Paciﬁc Maritime Association’s ‘one strike’ policy for failed drug tests and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to allow it to continue. TheGuardsman.com/OneStrike

U.N. Libya vote illustrates power-shift By Brant Ozanich The Guardsman

The days of the United States doing whatever the hell it wants as the world’s sole superpower are slowly coming to an end, and the UN Security Council’s resolution on intervention in Libya shows us why. The resolution was put before the fifteen-country UN Security Council on March 17 and needed at least nine votes to pass. Although the resolution passed with ten votes, the top four emerging world economies and the largest economy in Europe – China, India, Russia, Brazil and Germany– all abstained, disagreeing with military intervention in the country. The four emerging countries, also known as “the BRIC countries,” are speculated to dominate the world economy by the year 2050, according to a widely acknowledged and continued study by Goldman Sachs over the past ten years. This disagreement shows that these up-and-coming countries are no longer afraid to openly disagree with the U.S. and other western powers on collective foreign policy decisions. The BRIC countries These four countries, which collectively make up 40 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the world’s landmass, are capable of forming a world economic order comparable to

the current G7 that “If we had dominates global UN Security Council Vote twenty-first centuon Intervention in Libya: trade. ry representation 10 countries in favor All the BRIC 5 countries abstained [in the Security countries have been Council], instead considered “devel- Brazil (2011) – Abstained of sending a plane Russia – Abstained oping” since the end India (2012) – Abstained to drop bombs, the of the Cold War, but China – Abstained UN would send its with their unified secretary-general acceptance of capi- Bosnia (2011) – Voted Yes to negotiate,” he Columbia (2012) – Voted Yes talism and global- France – Voted Yes said. ization, they have Gabon (2011) – Voted Yes Still, their seen recent spikes Germany (2012) – Abstained reluctance to vote Lebanon (2011) – Voted Yes in population, Nigeria (2011) – Voted Yes against the resoluGDP, technologi- Portugal (2012) – Voted Yes tion — or even veto cal advancements, South Africa (2012) – Voted Yes it, which Russia or United Kingdom – Voted Yes mass production United States – Voted Yes China could have and services. done — shows China alone is •Bold: Security Council Permanent the countries are members, with veto power speculated to be not strong enough equal in size to the •(Parentheses): term-end years for politically to U.S. economy by non-permanent members completely oppose Source: United Nations the mid-2020s and the West’s actions, more expansive by yet. 2050. It recently passed Japan to Although the BRIC countries become the world’s second larg- were unified in their abstention est economy in absolute volume. in the Security Council, their what abstention means domestic reactions to the Libyan The reluctance of these rising conflict vary. powers to support the west’s China has been censoring drive to intervene shows they and fabricating news about Libya are ready to collectively stand up and the rest of the Middle East and oppose the way the U.S. and protests to reduce the chances of Europe run international politics. resistance forming at home. The It shows these four countries other BRIC countries denounced are not only gaining power and Muammar Khadafi’s military traction economically, but are repression but believe there are also not afraid to flex their influ- better solutions than western ence politically. military intervention. Former Brazilian president “I would like to re-emphasize Luiz Lula da Silva condemned that India continues to be gravely the military intervention, calling concerned about deteriorating it “weak.” humanitarian situation in Libya,”

U.S. society obsessed with safety By Essie Harris The Guardsman

The U.S. is grossly obsessed with safety and regulations to the point that our liberty is in jeopardy and our rights are compromised. This country is ignoring the wisdom of one of our great founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, who wrote that those who would give up essential liberty for a little safety deserve neither and will lose both. This liberty does not only include the things we like, but also things we stigmatize, like cigarettes. First smoking was banned from restaurants, then parks, then 20 feet from buildings, and now in some communities like San Luis Obispo and Berkeley, it is being banned altogether. Smokers are harassed and treated like second rate citizens. Tobias Medina described his disgust for this habit in a letter to the editor, published in The Guardsman March 9, and went as far to compare smokers to rapists, murders and heroin users. Medina exaggerated the threat of second hand smoke and insinuated City College police should compromise combating more legitimate threats on campus to enforce no-smoking rules. We all know the negative impact of smoking, but what is the negative impact of banning it? Studies done by the National Cancer Society show indirect relationships between cancer and stress. By obsessively trying to pin-point and eliminate causes of death we are replacing our quality of life and liberty for the illusion of quantity, but in reality we are receiving neither. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer 38.2 per 100,000 die from lung cancer in the United States. Mexico’s lung cancer death rate is less than half that of the U.S., with 13.4 per 100,000 deaths. Interestingly, 28 percent of Mexicans smoke cigarettes on a daily basis

compared to 16 percent in the U.S. If we are smoking less, why is cancer affecting us more? Other countries with a lower rate of lung cancer also include Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama and Paraguay. None of these countries enforce smoking laws as strongly as the U.S. does. This country’s manic craving for safety doesn’t stop with smoking laws. Our freedom is diminishing before our eyes and we are too scared to realize it. I can’t even eat a meal without having the nutrition information shoved down my throat, and personally, I would rather eat my meal guilt free. Helmet laws, seat belt laws, no running, no drinking after 2 a.m., no open containers – why? Normally I use common sense with things like not putting my child in the cart at Trader Joe’s when it goes up the very cool cart escalator, but thank god I have a sign to clarify that it is potentially dangerous. This constant implementation of regulations has spawned my rebellious side. I have found myself intentionally acting recklessly with my morning coffee, labeled “Use Caution, Hot Beverage.” I didn’t replace the batteries in my fire alarm which is required by law and yes, I even refused to wash my hands after using the rest room at the mall to spite the “Wash Your Hand” signs posted on all ten mirrors. Despite my dubious behavior, I seem to be just fine. My actions didn’t endanger my life or anyone else and I felt liberated. So this is for the bastard that sued McDonalds for getting fat, for the deranged woman who wouldn’t take responsibility for spilling hot coffee on her self, and for everyone else for allowing these silly warnings and regulations to litter our beautiful country: Your hypochondria is making me sick. Email: eharris@theguardsman.com

Manjeev Singh Puri, India’s deputy envoy to the UN, said in a statement released after the vote. “We call on the Libyan authorities to cease fire, protect the civilian population and address the legitimate demands of the Libyan people.” Adapting foreign policy The former Brazilian president and Indian diplomat may in fact be right. The leaders of this country need to take a step back and look at alternate ways to enact policy and diplomacy abroad. The U.S. needs to revamp its collective security measures within UN and NATO to include opinions of countries that will dominate global politics in the years to come, instead of those who have dominated it in years past. Obama and his allies in Europe should have questioned the abstention of these rising powers and opened a discourse on alternative options, instead of defying the reluctance of governments that represent such a large portion of the world’s population. The way the world responded to Libya is just the beginning. In 20 or 30 years the U.S. will be struggling to keep its position as the most powerful country on earth. It’s going to be a harsh reality for our leaders when we reach that point, and they need to start preparing for it now. Email: bozanich@theguardsman.com

Letter to the Editor

No Tasers for sFPD

Editor, Your headline suggests that you have swallowed the lemonade (TheGuardsman.com/tasers). As abundant testimony and 75 witnesses testifed, Tasers are instruments of torture, not instruments of effective law enforcement. Once the SFPD has these instruments of torture there will be no stopping their abusive, dangerous and deadly use by police Once the horse is out of the barn with near certain Commission approval, be weary of their abusive and dangerous use (don't forget the BART murder). Nick Pasquariello San Francisco resident City College student Guidelines for letters: Letters must be signed with first and last name. The Guardsman reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and content.

4/5/11 2:42 PM

The Guardsman & theguardsman.com | April 6, 2011 | 7

Opinions

Alleged Wikileaker’s appalling treatment continues By Atticus Morris The Guardsman

The military’s treatment of alleged Wikileaker Pfc. Bradley Manning is shameful and inconsistent with the values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Manning, an American citizen, has been imprisoned without trial for the last 11 months under unnecessarily harsh conditions. An introvert who played saxophone and aspired from a young age to serve his country, Manning suffered a crisis of conscience when he was ordered by a commanding officer to ignore well-reasoned critique of Iraqi government corruption because the critics were “the bad guys.” He’s been held for eight months at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va under “maximum custody,” which means he’s locked down for 23 hours a day and must be shackled and accompanied by at least two guards whenever he leaves his cell. While Pentagon spokesman Lt. Brian Villiard insisted Manning’s treatment is in accordance with his maximum custody status, he neglected to mention that Manning is the only detainee being held in max custody. This is a non-violent “offender” who has not been convicted of any crime. By Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell’s own admission, Manning is an “exemplary” detainee, so why is he being treated this way? Many, such as CBS Radio News chief legal analyst Andrew Cohen, have suggested the military is using Manning to send a message to would-be whistleblowers. Whatever the rationale, it’s a direct violation of Defense Department policy, which states “no persons, while being held for trial may be subjected to punish-

Danielle Schlamp / The Guardsman

ment or penalty other than arrest or confinement, nor shall the arrest or confinement imposed upon them be any more rigorous than the circumstances require.” David Coombs, Manning’s attorney, said the degrading treatment of his client is inexcusable and an embarrassment to the military justice system and should not be tolerated. In addition to being held in max custody, Manning is also the only inmate under a “prevention of injury” watch. He is required to reassure his captors every five minutes that he is okay, and when he goes to sleep he is required to

strip down and is denied pillow and sheets. He is also denied the use of his glasses, which leaves him to sit in “essential blindness.” Manning’s request to be removed from prevention of injury watch was denied on March 1, despite the fact that brig forensic psychiatrists have repeatedly concluded there is no mental health justification for such watch. The notion that this treatment is somehow for Manning’s own safety is patently ludicrous. Former State Department Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley said as much, calling it “ridiculous and counter-produc-

tive and stupid.” The remarks cost him his job. A well informed electorate is vital for healthy democracy and should be of the utmost importance to any “free” society. When Manning passed government secrets on to Wikileaks, he was acting as a whistleblower, not a spy; the chat logs with hacker-turned-governmentinformant Adrian Lamo make this clear. During the exchange Manning wrote “the information belongs in the public domain,” adding that if he’d wanted to, he could have sold the secrets to a foreign entity for profit.

He certainly didn’t “boast” of his deed, although that bit of misinformation has been parroted by much of the press. Rather, he was mired in ethical dilemma, saddled with the moral weight of an immense secret that isolated him from his countrymen. George Orwell famously said that telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act in a time of universal deceit. The Obama administration’s handling of Manning would suggest it’s a crime against the state. Email: amorris@theguardsman.com

Time to clean up culture of corruption in the SFPD By Joe Fitzgerald The Guardsman

The San Francisco Police Department and the city’s Public Defender Jeff Adachi have been lampooning each other in the media lately, and it seems like the cops feel they are the true victims in this tale of corruption. Instead of responding so defensively to every legitimate accusation, SFPD brass need to use this opportunity to clean up the department’s image, which now stands battered and untrusted. Adachi can help. Like a man with a voodoo doll, Adachi has been needling our boys in blue at every pressure point — misuse of evidence in crime labs, withholding officer’s criminal backgrounds from defense attorneys, the size of officer pensions, and the more recent debacle at the Henry Hotel, where police were caught on video searching suspects’ residences without warrants. Adachi vs. the SFPD Adachi’s role as public defender is to ensure even those on the lowest rung of society’s

Issue 5 Master.indd 7

ladder get their fair due, and the cops role is to push for as much leeway as they can in order to enforce public safety. It can make cops seem totalitarian, which makes it easy to paint them as the bad guys. This is clearly not the case. But the police have responded like the allegations of perjury are personal attacks on their saintliness, seemingly forgetting their actions have profound consequences on the lives of the people they serve. Acting Police Chief Jeff Godown responded defensively in a recent news conference, laughably asking reporters to imagine how difficult it would be to write down every detail of an incident report relating to a crime. He offered up small “fixes” to the allegations, saying the SFPD would conduct an audit of the plainclothes operations, “and will review policies and procedures, and see if there’s anything that has to be changed.” A canned response if ever there was, and inadequate for dealing with systemic problems that have been prevailing for years.

A history of corruption Adachi said none of what we’re seeing is an isolated incident, but “teams or units... that appear to be engaged in committing acts of perjury almost nonchalantly.” That’s not to say the cops should be criminalized or their achievements in the city discounted. According to their own statistics, even though there were more homicides this year to date compared to last year (17 versus 12), total violent crime in San Francisco is down 13 percent versus the same time last year, and overall homicides have dropped significantly since 2008. Improvements in the city as a whole don’t matter so much when seen through the lens of one individual, though. “I remember I had one case where I flat out proved the officer was lying — no question,” Adachi said. “The judge was upset at me, and sentenced my client – almost as if to challenge a police officer’s version was sacrosanct.” If cops don’t have repercussions for lying in the high-

est levels of our justice system, what incentive do they have to get the job done without taking shortcuts? It’s not even a question of cop ethics at that point, but human nature. How we got here It’s human nature to take the advantages you can, but when the cops do it, innocents suffer. Cops can get hardened to the job, and as Godown described, the reports all tend to blur after a while. It’s important then that the cops take on tactics that help them maintain relationships with the people they serve. Newly minted District Attorney George Gascón, also former police chief, introduced the CompStat system to the SFPD under his watch as chief. The CompStat system is very complex, but at its heart provides detailed statistics on where and when crimes happen in the city. This leads cops to have goals that revolve around numbers alone, pulling uniformed officers off of the streets and chasing down percentages and number crunching people’s lives. Community policing is the real solution.

Beat cops would be more likely to uphold the rights of citizens they encounter if they were out there everyday getting to know those citizens, building relationships with informants and preventing crime as opposed to simply responding to new numbers. The next step Gascón brought in the FBI to investigate the unit that discarded the constitution under his watch. It’s a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. The SFPD are no villains, but should concede they cannot trust officers on their word alone to avoid taking shortcuts in difficult cases. Godown and Gascón should use the FBI investigation to objectively clean house from top to bottom, instating clear policies that reinforce the department’s stated commitment to honesty and justice.

Email: jfitzgerald@theguardsman.com

4/5/11 2:42 PM

8 | April 6, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com

CULTURe

BeeKeePING VIDeO: Watch The Guardsman Online’s video package about urban beekeepers. TheGuardsman.com/Bees

Urban beekeepers sweeten life in the city By Brian Rinker The Guardsman

Last week the rains stopped, the sun came out, flowers began to bloom and urban beekeepers rejoiced – their honeybee colonies began to buzz after the winter months had kept them dormant, and thousands of bees flew out in search of pollen and nectar. Over the last five years, urban beekeeping has become a popular hobby for San Francisco residents. Hundreds of hives are now located throughout the city on rooftops, in backyards and at parks. The amount of bees in a colony can range from 4,000 to 80,000. “The San Francisco urban setting is fantastic for bees,” said urban beekeeper Karen Peteros, who is also the former president of the San Francisco Beekeepers Association. The Bay Area’s mild weather is an ideal setting for bees. Neighborhoods have varying microclimates, which causes the honey from one neighborhood to taste different than honey from another. The honey from the warmer climate of the Mission will taste noticeably different than honey from a cooler climate like Glen Park, Peteros said. “There are more bee clubs in the Bay Area than anywhere else,” Peteros said. When she joined the association in 2006 there were 60 members, and when she left in

Jessica noRTh / The GuaRdsman

Founder of San Francisco Bee-Cause Karen Peteros searches through old honeycomb for examples of bee development stages, like larva and pupa.

2009 there were 205. Urban beekeeping is a popular hobby because it’s relatively inexpensive, bees don’t take up much space and of course the payoff – honey. An urban beekeeper could get started with a hive and colony for around $200, Peteros said. She suggested someone interested in beekeeping should take a class first and then join a club. The clubs offer bee packages that include 10,000 bees and a queen,

which comes in a little cage. “Then the bees do all the work,” Peteros said. Well, almost all of it. There is some maintenance required. “People don’t understand how much work it is, and so they don’t do very well. Their bees swarm and swarms of bees freak people out,” Peteros said. Swarming occurs naturally when a second queen is produced within a colony. The older queen takes flight with half the colony’s

bees and searches for a new home. Bees normally make their hives in crevices, like a hollowed out tree trunk, but in urban settings the hives end up in buildings and other man-made structures. When bees swarm, they are not aggressive. The growing trend of urban beekeeping didn’t pass over City College. “We have bee hives here at City College,” said Steven Brown, chair of the environ-

mental horticulture and floristry departments. “But they’re not doing very well.” A few years ago, someone set up four bee hives on campus, but nobody knows who that person is or if they are still tending to the bees. “He is neither a student nor a teacher,” said Liz Murray, horticulture student and urban beekeeper. “We have no idea who this person is, but he does have at least one active hive.” City College would like to have their own bee hives, Murray said. She said there has been discussion of planting more beefriendly flowers around campus, and that the honey would be used in the school restaurant and cafeteria. “I would love to be the campus beekeeper,” Murray said. “Unfortunately it takes a lot of time to get the permission and the funding and to get all the logistics for having a bee hive ready in a school environment.” Murray runs a business, Sweet Thieves BeeKeeping, and normally has three bee hives on the roof of her town house in the Upper Haight. Surrounded by Buena Vista Park, Twin Peaks and Golden Gate Park, her bees have an ample supply of pollen and nectar. Email: brinker@theguardsman.com

Anarchists to host book fair in Golden Gate Park April 9 - 10 By Isaiah Kramer The Guardsman

An anarchist walks into a potluck, a café, a book fair and a sewing contest—sounds like a bad joke, right? It’s not. It’s the

event schedule for the city’s revolutionaries’ biggest weekend, the Anarchist Book Fair, which will take place at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park the weekend of April 9-10. The Anarchist Book Fair is

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Issue 5 Master.indd 8

the most visibly active anarchistorganizing event. The event, now in its 16th year, is produced by Bound Together bookstore, and comes just in time to discuss union busting in Wisconsin and bombs in Libya. Anarchist book fairs are a worldwide occurrence. Name a major city and they have one annually, and if they don’t, the city next to them does. The best thing about Anarchist events: they’re free. Food Not Bombs will provide food gratis; free music will likely be played by vagrant-types; and though it may not be polite, there will be great people watching, which doesn’t cost a dime. More than 50 vendors will fill the cramped hall to sell their wares. The largest stand will be Oakland-based publisher AK press. But anarchist consumerism – an irony – is not all the book fair offers. There will be 11 discussion panels and 20 speakers as well as work from several artists over the course of the 14-hour working weekend. Many of the speakers are authors whose books will be available at the fair. Topics discussed in the panels will be on subjects ranging from “living in communes” to “crime in the city.”

claRiVel fonG / The GuaRdsman

A chalkboard marks an April 1 meeting of anarchists on the second floor of Station 40 in the Mission.

The artist’s politically-charged posters and artwork will also be for sale. The buildup to the book fair includes a fair share of activities as well. Station 40, the Mission antiauthoritarian events collective, will host a Potluck and Anarchist Salon April 6 to “encourage critical yet constructive dialogue and comradely debate concerning the difficult strategic questions that we face as we try to engage in social transformation,” according to their website. A one-night anarchist cafe at 225 Potrero Ave. will provide

food, drinks and entertainment will be at 7 p.m. on April 8, with a $5 to $20 sliding scale “donation.” On Sunday evening there will be an after party held at 1592 Market St. in the brand new community space “Social Fabric.” The nights activities will include a bike race, a sewing competition and dancing to the sounds of live bands and DJs. As celebrated anarchist Emma Goldman said, “If I can’t dance, it’s not my revolution!” Email: ikramer@theguardsman.com

4/5/11 2:43 PM

The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | April 6, 2011 | 9

Culture

Chinese art teaches history at YBCA Conceptual artists and outlaw cinema paint a picture of hardship in China By Catherine Lee The Guardsman

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts features two exhibits about China – a documentary series and art installations by Song Dong – that pull back the jade curtain to reveal current Chinese issues and heal wounds from China’s past. The raw truths exposed in the documentary film series will engage and outrage viewers by revealing the injustices of China’s modern society. A six-part series of underground documentary films promises to give audiences a new view of China, while the galleries host Song Dong’s conceptual art that attempts to heal the scars of China’s 1960s Cultural Revolution. “You find in Song Dong’s art a healing message from an illness caused by culture or society,” University of Chicago Art History Professor Wu Hung said during an artist’s round table discussion. Wounds are still present from the Cultural Revolution, a governmentsponsored series of social-engineering programs imposed from 1966 to 1971 by then Chairman Mao Zedong. In an effort to cleanse society of class

“People who haven’t experienced, directly, this level of poverty may have a hard time understanding the material hoarding they see in ‘Waste Not’,” — Zheng Shengtian “Yishu” editor

structure and capitalists, Mao threw many educated, professional and urban Chinese into “re-education camps,” where they were forced to purge their elitist thoughts and adopt a proletarian worldview. Re-education commonly included torture and extreme acts of degradation. Participants were compelled to turn in their friends, family and colleagues for being insufficiently communist. Hundreds of thousands were killed, and many more people committed suicide to escape, but to this day, no official tally of the dead has been released. “A lot of art starting in the 80s was about family, because there had been severe damage in families during the Cultural Revolution,” Wu said. “Song’s father was sent away in 1966, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, soon after Song was born,” said Zheng Shengtian, the editor of “Yishu”, the first English language journal devoted to Chinese art and culture. Song’s video installations use video to “touch” people, emotionally, Zheng said. In “Touching My Father” the son’s hand reaches for the image of his seated father via a projection, representing an absence of physical connection in childhood. After his father died, Song determined a method of using art to help his mother recover. Song’s mother collected and stored everything she ever obtained. Their Beijing home bulged with hoarded items. Song

Issue 5 Master.indd 9

phoTo By phocasso / J.W. WhiTe / couRTesy of yBca

Song Dong’s “Waste Not” exhibit covers the floor of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, displaying his mother’s lifetime of collecting objects.

transmuted this hoard into an art installation, a manifestation of the adage “Waste Not,” also the name of the exhibit. The collected objects also signify family life together, a physical account of sentimental feelings. To release the emotions stored in the household objects, Song and his mother sorted and arranged over 10,000 collected pieces – toothpaste tubes, shoes, combs, crayons and bric-a-brac – that carpet the YBCA main gallery. The objects are arranged in sets, and the resonance of color and shape is oddly poetic. The room is crammed full, yet orderly. Zheng, Wu and Song said patrons reacting strongly, some crying, after seeing the installation. For some people, this lifetime of hoarding or saving evokes painful memories of the Great Depression, the Korean War and other deprived eras, Zheng said. “In the 1960s, during the Cultural Revolution, everything was paid for with coupons. There was one year when fabric rations were just two feet of cloth. These were very hard times for a mother to try and take care of her family under these conditions. This poverty caused mothers so much pain because they couldn’t clothe their children with their meager cloth rations,” Zheng said. His mother’s lifelong fear of deprivation and shortages was the artistic medium through which this 50-year time capsule was created. The objects transmit her trauma accumulated over decades. “People who haven’t experienced, directly, this level of poverty may have a hard time understanding the material hoarding they see in ‘Waste Not’,” Zheng said. The narrative is essential to this installation. “Otherwise it just looks like a flea market, or a bunch of junk,” Dong said. The YBCA film series “Fearless: Chinese Independent Documentaries,” accompanies Song’s exhibit, giving a more direct look at the society’s sufferers. “For about five years, Chinese filmmakers have produced something like a new wave in cinema where most of the

documentaries are political in nature, with relatively small budgets, made on cheap but powerful equipment,” YBCA Film and Video Curator Joel Shepard said. Chinese state-controlled media defines films as either “official” or “unofficial.” Unauthorized films made and distributed beyond the censorship apparatus are illegal. Unlike in western cinema, the terms “underground” and “independent” are profoundly meaningful and potentially dangerous descriptors for Chinese artists. “Independent” filmmakers have been fined, imprisoned and temporarily banned from filmmaking in some instances. Nobody has done a documentary

series like “Fearless” yet, Shepard said. San Francisco is fortunate enough to present this series in large part because of the New York-based company dGenerate Films, Shepard said. The company specializes in distributing “uncensored Chinese media from deep within mainland China’s independent, and underground, film scene,” dGenerate’s website said. All films have a student discount rate at the door and are in Mandarin with English subtitles.

Email: clee@theguardsman.com

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4/5/11 2:43 PM

10 | April 6, 2011 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com

Classiﬁeds

Late April events

CCsF Commencement Ceremony

April 20: Film: “The Story of Stuff” – 9:10 a.m. to 10 a.m. Rosenberg Library, room 305. Film: “A Fierce Green Fire” Mark Kitchell screens and discusses the history of the environmental movement. – 7 p.m. Cloud Hall, room 246. Rosenberg Library Exhibition: Recology’s Artists in Residence Program. – Through Nov. 4. April 21: Films on environmental themes – 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Rosenberg Library, room 305. Earth Day celebration: CCSF Recycling, San Francisco Department of the Environment, and others in Ram Plaza. Ride your bike to campus and get a free Chico Bag! 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Dr. Matt Ritter discusses trees in San Francisco and his new book, “A Californian’s Guide to the Trees Among Us.” – 6 p.m. Multi-Use Building, room 140

Career Information Fair The Career Development Counseling Department (CDCD) will be hosting the annual Career Information Fair on April 20, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Smith Hall at the Ocean Campus. We will host corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations that will provide CCSF students with career information and advice for obtaining employment or internships in diverse fields. This is a great way for our CCSF students to collect career and occupational information relative to choice of majors and career. Most representatives prefer resumes for actual job and internship opportunities. The CDCD offers workshops on job search techniques. Students can also pick up free resume and interviewing handbooks in Science Hall 127, Ocean Campus. For help with resume writing and career fair preparation, students can come by or call the Career Development Counseling Department for career counseling services, (415) 239-3117.

Classiﬁed Ads 50 cents per word. $5 minimum for commercial advertisers. Classified ads for City College students, staff and faculty are free. Multiple ads not accepted. Must show current student ID. Commercial ads not accepted from students. Acceptance of ads at the discretion of The Guardsman.

Issue 5 Master.indd 10

Culture

wonderCon wows comic enthusiasts

DATE: Saturday MAY 28th, 2011 TIME: 10:00 AM LOCATION: RAM STADIUM, OCEAN CAMPUS All student graduates wishing to participate in the CCSF Commencement Ceremony must register with the Office of Student Affairs. Upon registration you will receive a packet containing all informational materials.

CCsF Metro Academy The Metro Academy is a clear, supported path to CSU transfer with an emphasis on health and social justice. Students in Metro take English courses linked to other Metro classes and have the benefit of being part of a cohort and receiving academic counseling.

phoTos By fRank ladRa / The GuaRdsman

By Frank Ladra The Guardsman

WonderCon is one of the biggest and most popular comic and arts conventions in the United States, and the 25th anniversary was held at Moscone Center from April 1 to April 3. The event, sponsored by Comic-Con International, gives artists and retailers opportunity to share a wide range of comic art with fans who come from all over the globe. This year’s convention featured several celebrities, like “The Incredible Hulk” television star Lou Ferrigno, late night

–Have more questions? Want an application? Please email: Amber Straus astraus@ccsf.edu

Free Dental X-Rays The Dental Assisting Program at CCSF is again providing FREE dental x-rays. The x-rays are taken by appointment by students in the Advanced Dental Radiology Class in Cloud Hall, room 304 at Ocean campus. An appointment can be arranged for Tuesday a.m., Thursday a.m. or Friday a.m. or p.m. by calling (415) 239-3479.

horror vamp Elvira, and former City College student and Miss America winner Lee Meriwether. Also available were dozens of lectures and panels featuring illustrators and designers, like New York Times best selling author Robert Kirkman, creator of popular comic and hit television series “The Walking Dead.” With a heightened interest in upcoming comic-inspired films, like Captain America and Green Lantern, hundreds of attendees of all ages arrived in full costumes representing a variety of comic book characters. Email: fladra@theguardsman.com

Anyone who can benefit from this free service will need a written authorization signed by a dentist and the films will be sent to this dentist for diagnosis. fRank ladRa / The GuaRdsman

Calendar for April 6 - April 19

WED

Global Health Sciences Lecture with Dr. Kimberly Page: HIV epidemic in Cambodia UCSF Mission Bay Campus 550 4th St Rock Hall Auditorium 4 p.m. Filmmaker Judy Irving will screen and discuss her ﬁlm “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” Ocean Campus Cloud Hall Room 246 7 — 9:45 p.m.

WED

Mark Kitchell and Jim Granato screen and discusses their new ﬁlms, “A Fierce Green Fire” and “D Tour” Ocean Campus Cloud Hall Room 246 7 — 9:45 p.m. How-To-Night: How to Be a Human Beatbox Bazaar Cafe 5927 California St 7 p.m.

THUR

TED ATLAS presents Candlestick Park Book Books Inc 2251 Chestnut St 7p.m. Lemi Ponifasio/ MAU: Tempest: Without a Body Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 701 Mission St 8:15 p.m. Free entry for college students with valid ID through April

THUR

Women’s Softball Game vs College of San Mateo Fairmont Field Paciﬁca, Calif 1 p.m. Men’s Baseball Game vs West Valley College Fairmont Field Paciﬁca, Calif 2 p.m. Women’s Tennis All Day Conference Tournament Chabot College Hayward, Calif

Sports

FRI

Glide Community Wellness Fair Glide Memorial United Methodist Church 330 Ellis St 10 a.m. CCSF Guitar Ensemble Pierre Coste Ocean Campus 11:30 a.m. — 12:45 p.m. Reboot Roller Disco Cellspace 2050 Bryant St 8 p.m. $10 — $15

FRI

Business and Culture Lecture: Hong Kong: One Country, Two Systems Ocean Campus Rosenberg Library Room 304 11 a.m. — 12 p.m. Guys and Dolls Musical Ocean Campus Diego Rivera Theater 8 p.m. General Admission $15 w/Student ID $10

SAT

Campus Events

SUN

Women’s Swimming Chabot Invitational Chabot College Hayward, Calif 9 a.m.

Sunday Streets Route: Great Highway and Golden Gate Park 11a.m. — 4p.m.

Cherry Blossom Festival Japan town 11 a.m.

Cherry blossom Festival Japantown 11a.m.

Cesar Chavez Holiday Parade from Dolores Park to 24th and Mission.street 11 a.m. Street Fair on 24th Street between Treat and Bryant street 12 — 6 p.m.

Tameshi-Giri (Test-Cutting) & Ken-jitsu ( Sword ﬁghting skills ) demonstration Cherry Blossom festival Japantown Peace Plaza 5:00 - 5:30 p.m.

SAT

Women’s Tennis All Day Conference Tournament Chabot College Hayward, Calif Guys and Dolls Musical Ocean Campus Diego Rivera Theater 8 p.m. General Admission $15 w/Student ID $10

SUN

Guys and Dolls Musical Ocean Campus Diego Rivera Theater 2 p.m. General Admission $15 w/Student ID $10 Cherry Blossom Festival and Parade Parade is from City Hall to Post and Fillmore street

Above Left: Retailers display popular hit comic “The Walking Dead” in the market space at WonderCon on April 1. Above: A WonderCon participant dresses as comic book hero Captain America on April 1. Left: (L-R) Two WonderCon attendees wear life-like costumes of characters Dr. Zaius and Dr. Zira from the original “Planet of the Apes” movie series.

Community Events

MON

Photo grapher Brigitte Conrachan shows and discusses her work. Ocean Campus Conlan Hall, Room E-101 6:30 — 9:30 p.m. California College of Art’s Architecture Lecture Series: Lyndy Roy CCA San Francisco campus Timken Lecture Hall 1111 8th St 7—9 p.m.

MON

1906 Quake Rememberance Lotta’s Fountain Kearny and Market street 5:12 a.m. and Fire Hydrant Painting Ceremony Commemorating the 1906 Earthquake Church and 20th street 5:40 a.m. Charles Baxter discusses “Gryphon” The Booksmith 1644 Haight St 7:30 p.m.

TUES

Women’s Softball Game vs DeAnza College Fairmont Field Paciﬁca, Calif 1 p.m. Men’s Baseball Game vs Cañada College Fairmont Field Paciﬁca, Calif 2 p.m. Women’s Badmington Game at Skyline College San Bruno, Calif 3 p.m.

TUES

Poet Joseph Lease reads from his latest book, and discusses his writing Ocean Campus Rosenberg Library Room 305 12:30 — 2 p.m. Design Speaks Lecture On Comics by Melaina Eller discusses the art and craft of comic design. Ocean Campus Visual Arts Building Room 115 7 — 8:30 p.m.

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The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | April 6, 2011 | 11

Culture

City College students display photography in old SoMa DA ofﬁce

Jessica noRTh / The GuaRdsman

Da Arts visitors view the “Sixth Sense” photography exhibit by Reynaldo Cayetano Jr. and Chris Beale on April 1.

By Jessica North The Guardsman

“Sixth Sense,” a documentary photography exhibit presented by City College students Reynaldo Cayetano Jr. and Chris Beale, was met with dancing in the street on April 1. Produced by Cayetano’s art collective, Inks of Truth, the event took over the eastern corner of Sixth and Minna streets, in the old District Attorney’s officeturned-art-space, appropriately named DA Arts. The photographs by Cayetano and Beale were taken in the South of Market neighborhood as part of Beale’s class project.

Outside, DJs from Children of the Funk spun old-school hip-hop and funk records. DJs Bhorus, Chill Will, and Yelir – all City College students – kept the crowd dancing while the police kept them out of the street. Cayetano, a South of Market native, recalls how the old office space sat empty for years. Motivating his community through his art “fulfills his childhood dream.” DA Arts, is in a state of transition. Cayetano and Beale are meeting with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic to discuss their further involvement in the space. Email: jnorth@theguardsman.com

N A T I O N A L

What’s Jessica noRTh / The GuaRdsman

Members of Children of the Funk and Bored Stiff spin at the “Sixth Sense” documentary photography exhibit on April 1.

City College of san franCisCo need eXtra Credits this semester? it’s still $26 Per Credit! register now for the following short-term offerings:

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Issue 5 Master.indd 11

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12 | April 6, 2011 | The Guardsman & theguardsman.com

SPORTS

FROM THE BLEACHERS: Ryan Kuhn’s column about the brutal beating of a Giants fan outside Dodgers Stadium. TheGuardsman.com/bleachers

Baseball

Injuries plague Rams in 2011 By Ryan Kuhn The Guardsman

Sitting on the bottom of the Coast Conference standings, City College baseball is looking to finish the last month of their season on a high note. From the very beginning, injuries and a handful of errors has given the Rams a record of 5-20. Having coached at City College for 12 seasons, head coach John Vanoncini said his team just has to focus on the positives. “We don’t have a lot of depth and when we have injuries it definitely hurts us,” Vanoncini said. “We just have to keep battling and keep a positive spin on everything no matter what.” With City College starting the season with six players already injured, their leading hitter Cody Silveria broke his wrist, sidelining him for the remainder of the season. Before the injury, he was batting .324 with eight RBIs. Freshman pitcher Shusaku Tomaru from Chuo High School in Japan, who started the season for City College with an earned run average under one, struck out 12 in seven relieve appearances before deciding to leave the team. “He was our best pitcher at the time,” Vanoncini said. “He couldn’t handle the American baseball. He just said he wasn’t having fun and it wasn’t the same as in Japan.” Despite the injuries and their best pitcher leaving the team, two

bright spots have been the offensive play of outfielder Dan Brown and the pitching of Aaron Hartman. Brown is hitting .291 and has a team high of 11 RBIs while Hartman has won both conference games for the Rams and leads the team in strikeouts with 24. Even with the problems out of players’ control, like injuries and departures, Vanoncini said his team needs to minimize mistakes on the field. With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, City College gave up seven runs, losing to their division rival Skyline College, 9-2 on April 2. “[Hartman] had a great game Saturday but we blew it on ourselves in the eighth inning,” Vanoncini said. With the final games coming up in their last season at City College, sophomores like catcher Mark Johnson know they need to work hard during practice to get some more wins. “It starts with practice.,” Johnson said. “We try to come out here and be intense every day. Baseball is one of those sports where you have to have a short memory. You can’t let the past affect you.” The Rams faced Cabrillo College on the road on April 5. They will play West Valley College in Saratoga on April 7. First pitch is at 2 p.m. Email: rkuhn@theguardsman.com

Broadus Parker / the guardsman

Freshman pitcher Yennifer Mendoza tries to close out the inning in their loss to San Jose City. Its the Rams 5th straight loss, which moves their record to 2-20.

Offensive slump continues Softball loses to San Jose City to fall 1-11 in league By Ryan Kuhn The Guardsman

The City College women’s softball team continued their offensive struggles and extended their losing streak falling to San Jose City College in conference play. The Jaguars got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and with the help from solid performance from their pitcher sophomore Amelia Vivo, San Jose defeated the Rams, 7-2. “Their pitcher was very good,” head coach Jack McGuire said. “We have been in a bit of a slump hitting lately but that’s the

REALIZE YOUR DREAM AT MILLS COLLEGE.

game of softball. It’s a game of inches.” Vivo was a nightmare for the Rams batters only allowing two runs on four hits and striking out six in six innings. Sophomore Megan McGuire gave the Rams the only spark of offense during the afternoon in the sixth inning smashing a line drive home run that scored her and leadoff hitter Rae Walsworth. McGuire, who is second on the team in batting behind Walsworth, knows she and her team need to get out of the slump. “During the early part of the season I didn’t want to get in a slump but I did and seeing that pitch outside I usually love it so I hit it was it was big confidence for me,” Megan McGuire said. Rams Pitcher Yennifer Mendoza who was injured in the first part of the season after getting struck by a line drive to her nose, has made her way back to the mound during the past month. The freshman pitched well for the most part as she got the Rams out of multiple jams despite struggling in the later

innings. She finished giving up seven runs on 10 hits, striking out and walking three. “I think she pitched the best game all year,” Jack McGuire said. With Mendoza doing most of the pitching since her return, that moves Louisa Sausedo to third base to give the Rams some more offense. Sausedo is third on the team in batting and second in RBIs. With the season winding down, City College looks to improve on their season with four out of their last six games being at home. “We need to minimize the errors. If they get good hits they get good hits but if we can minimize those then we will be a good team. The Rams will play their next game April 7 as they travel to Chabot College to face the Gladiators (11-14) and improve their 2-20 record. First pitch is at 3 p.m. Email: rkuhn@theguardsman.com

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Broadus Parker / the guardsman

Sophomore third baseman Louisa Sausedo hustles to make an out for the struggling Rams.

City College — The Guardsman Size: 6” x 6” Ad #802DREAM11 Issue 5 Master.indd 12

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