Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
Bomb Scare Raises Alarms Around Emergency Text Notifications By Meyer Gorelick msggorelick@gmail.com
The bomb threat that prompted the evacuation of three buildings on Ocean campus on Oct. 17 was a false alarm, but raised questions over the emergency notification systems City College has in place. The City College Police Department worked in tandem with the SFPD, SFFD, and SFMTA to evacuate the MultiUse Building, Science Hall, and Creative Arts Building to search them with officers and bomb sniffing dogs. By 4:33 p.m. the sweep was complete and students and faculty began trickling back into the buildings. While no one was injured, concerns about the efficacy of communications with students and faculty in the event of a future emergency were triggered. Many students didn’t receive text message notifications alerting them to the threat. “I wish it had been announced in all places. I never got a text message, and I have my phone number listed, it’s the only one I have. I wish [the emergency notification system] was better in terms of safety,” said Luana Melnek, a physics major. Melnek wasn’t on campus during the bomb threat, and didn’t find out until the next day through other students. Tarik, an Electrical Engineering major who was evacuated from Science Hall during the bomb threat, also didn’t receive a text message. “I didn’t know about any procedures before our teacher telling us where to go,” said Tarik. In the event of an active shooter or higher level threat, A text message received by some students as an alert to avoid the area around City College after a bomb threat was emergency notifications and procedures could be vital. reported to the Ocean Campus on Oct. 17, 2019. Photo by Amal Ben Ghanem / The Guardsman During the recent outbreak of California wildfires, the office of student affairs sent an email out to students instructing number listed, a college spokesperson said: the call, is currently under investigation,” the same college them to update their Web4 profiles with a text message “The college encourages all members of the CCSF spokesperson said. notification number, despite the fact that most students community to confirm that their contact information in The Interim Chief of Police, Colleen Fatooh, could not already had their cell phone contact listed as their primary Web4 is accurate and up-to-date, and that all fields of the be reached for comment. phone number on the site. form profile are filled out. The College continually evaluates If you haven’t already done so, please log into your Web4 This is an additional step that could be missed by students and adjusts its emergency response protocols to ensure it profile, go to personal information, and add text message who don’t see the email or have trouble completing the steps can communicate as effectively as possible during times of notification number so that you will be alerted in the case laid out in an attached PDF. emergency.” of future emergencies. When asked why students are being required to upload No further details on the bomb threat were shared by a text notification number when there is already a primary campus officials. “The incident, including the origin of
Rodents Leave Unpleasant Surprise for Library ITS Workers By Lisa Martin
communications closet about two times a year. Before October’s incident, the last time lisamartin.562@gmail.com the closet had been accessed was in June Workers from City College’s information when the networking department replaced technology services (ITS) department made the switches. Rodent feces were found in the a gruesome discovery on Wednesday, Oct. closet then, as well. 23 when they opened a closet in Rosenberg Network Manager Tim Ryan is in Library and found rodent feces scattered charge of the networking department. He across the floor. was one of the workers who accessed the Upon their search of telecommunications closet in June. closet 406B, one of the workers saw a dead “[B]efore I would send a team of our rat and notified administrators that they technicians in there I just wanted to make would not be working in the room under sure that it wasn’t any kind of a safety hazard those conditions. or anything like that,” Ryan said. “So I put The closet is located to the right of the on a mask and some gloves and I vacuumed library’s entrance. Sources and photos of the it up in a few minutes and that’s all it took room confirm that the floor was covered in to clean it up at that time.” rat feces on that day. Devall and a member of the networking Alexandre Devall has worked in ITS at department checked the telecommunications City College for five years and said he had closet on Monday, Oct. 28, and even though never seen anything like it. the space had been cleaned, Devall said he “The floor was completely covered in rat saw there was feces again. “Not as many feces, I mean everywhere. In order to walk in as before, but you could see them on the there and not step on any rat feces you had ground,” he said. to be really careful. There was a dead rat “In response to issues raised earlier on the wall opposite of the main entrance,” this week, the College hired Orkin [a pest Devall said. control company] to analyze the situation ITS workers perform routine in Rosenberg Library and implement maintenance in this particular tele- appropriate remediation measures, which
is the standard course of action if rodents are reported in a campus building,” a spokesperson for the college said. The spokesperson said that issues with facilities could be directed to Dean of Evans and Southeast Center Torrance Bynum or submitted as a work-order through the school’s online SchoolDude request system. In the past, Orkin has laid out sticky traps at the library, surveyed the building and talked to employees about problem areas, according to one classified staff member. The issues with rodents are not isolated to this one telecommunications closet. Even if staff at the library hadn’t had encounters with rodents themselves, most of those spoken to had at least heard that there was an issue. When asked if there was an issue with rodents at the library a woman at the learning assistance center who did not give her name said, “Yes, but not overwhelming.” The offices of the Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) are located on the third floor of the library. Although Olga Galvez has only been department chair of DSPS since July, she said she has also had a close encounter with a dead rodent.
She was in a third floor storage room at the library looking at some equipment, when she realized her foot was sticking to one of the Orkin sticky traps. She looked down and saw a dead mouse stuck to it as well. Galvez said none of her direct reports in DSPS had expressed any concerns to her about the rodent situation. When she reported her own encounter, she said the body was quickly cleaned up. A classified staff member from the second floor, who asked not to be named, said he believed a stricter enforcement of the food and drink policy and proper garbage disposal practices at the library would help discourage rodents from making the library their home. The official policy of the school is that food or beverages “MAY NOT BE TAKEN [sic] into auditoriums (including the Diego Rivera Theatre), classrooms, laboratories, gymnasiums or libraries,” as stated in both the Faculty Handbook and the Classified Employee Handbook put out by the college’s human resources department. Though this policy describes a total prohibition of food from these spaces, this is not what happens in practice at many City College buildings.
2 | NEWS
Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019
Culinary Department Increases Signage for Food Allergy Awareness By Abraham Davis
with reporting by Rachel Berning
abrahamdfrankfurter@gmail.com
This is a portrait of Eli Adams. His family remembers him for his love of nature and animals and his ability to bring out the best in others. Photo courtesy of the Adams family.
Student ’s Passing Leaves City College Community in Mourning By Diana Guzman dianaanaid.gf@gmail.com
Eli Adams died in his sleep on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2019 camping in the Napa Valley Hills. Adams was born in Berlin, Germany but grew up traveling across the United States with his parents who were both in the Air Force. He is survived by his mother Andrea Adams, his father Mike Adams, his sister Rachel and his two dogs, Penny and Wesley. Adams had been a student at City College since 2018 and majored in Computer Science. He was a member of the veteran community on campus and worked at the Veterans Resource Center (VRC). His sister, Rachel Allen, said, “we always had each other growing up. Eli was the most important person in my life. I thought about him everyday since he passed. He encouraged those around
him to do their best because he could see everyone’s potential. I feel spoiled to have him as my sibling. The world is a darker place without my brother.” Adams interests included space, NASA, the ocean, playing ukulele, and designing tattoos. Above all, he loved animals and being in nature; he bouldered, hiked, and rode his bike all of the time, said Rachel Allen. Cody Stephenson, a VRC coworker, said, “he was an amazing individual, shy at first until getting to know him. He was a people person, went out of his way to help anyone.” Adams loved the outdoors and spent much of his time camping. He enjoyed any activities that added to his healthy and active lifestyle. The date of Adams’ memorial service has yet to be announced. To help his family with memorial service and funeral costs, please donate at: gofundme. com/f/2jf6vg-eli039s-memorial-fund
Allergy signs were once again displayed in the cafeteria after an email was sent to City College’s culinary department pointing out the lack of adequate allergen information in the cafeteria. The author of the email mentioned that they have a dairy allergy but could not find any signs posted around the cafeteria indicating what foods contain what ingredients. When they inquired about the ingredients to the students serving the food, even the students did not know which items contained dairy. “We got to get better at it,” said Vince Paratore, the management instructor for the culinary program. “We are trying to get better at our labeling, the last thing any of us want is to get people sick.” Paratore believes that sometimes the students and staff are so focused on what’s happening on the inside of the program, it prevents them from seeing problems that are happening on the outside. “It’s an education for all of us. [We have] a lot of new products, new ethnic style foods, stuff we are just learning about, especially the students,” Paratore said. “It's not just allergies, also sanitation issues, no cross contamination, knowing how to keep food at safe temperatures. Safety and sanitation are all wrapped under that umbrella.” Paratore added. The culinary program has already begun making headway into increasing awareness by putting up signs that have symbols indicating what allergens the dishes being served might contain. Paratore said although there haven’t been increased signage in food preparation areas, the instructors are talking to the students in the program about allergy
awareness in class. “What we do a relatively good job at is labeling our bulk food items.” said Keith Hammerich, chair of the culinary arts and hospitality department. “What we definitely need to do a much better job on would be the soups.” Hammerich said that soups are some of the trickiest to label because even though the soup may appear to only have vegetables in it, the base of the soup could potentially be made with ingredients that are harmful to students with certain allergies. “Hopefully next semester if not sooner, I’ll definitely get together with the front of house instructor [Paratore] and the particular chef that prepared that particular item, making sure they get the entire list of ingredients, or pinpoint some of the specific items that might be an allergy,” Hammerich said. He also mentioned potentially providing students that serve the food with a “cheat sheet” of all the ingredients in the dishes so students with allergies can get accurate information about exactly what is inside the food. Powarin Wongbanchai, a student in the culinary program, said the signs will help the students serving food manage the big lines that pile up during breakfast and lunch time. “Once the signs are up showing the ingredients of the menu, it will be easier to manage the time, so it doesn’t get crowded and people don’t have questions.” The Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology Journal estimates that 4% of all adults in North America are affected by food allergies, 85% of these allergies being made up of “milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, wheat, sesame seed and soy.”
BRIEF
College Spending Still High By Milo Kahney milo.kahney@mac.com
On Thursday, Oct. 24, the City College Board of Trustees assembled for a regular meeting at Conlan Hall Room 101. The Budget and Audit Committee gave a presentation on how City College’s expense rate is rising much faster than its income streams, even with recent cuts to classes. This means that further cost cutting measures may be imminent. It was announced that board members hope to increase enrollment by five percent in the coming years in order to cope with enrollment income losses. Overall, enrollment is strong and trending upwards. Trustees are starting to focus more upon increasing the transparency of the college’s available programs and making class time more flexible.
Some major developments that occurred are that the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs overviewed their rollout of the Student Success Dashboard and unanimous decision was made by the board to implement a stipend for a design build at the Diego Rivera Theatre. During public comment, academic counselor, Li Lovett, raised concerns about the unavailability of counselors and suggested the college hire additional employees in order to better meet students’ needs. Computer and Informational Technology Professor, Abigail Bornstein, inquired about the lack of funds that were supposed to be allotted for faculty pay raises. The next monthly board meeting will be held Nov. 14 at 4 p.m, also at Conlan Hall.
Staff Editor-in-Chief Lisa Martin
News Editor Claudia Drdul
Culture Editor Matheus Maynard
Opinion Editor Andy Damián-Correa Photo Editor Amal Ben Ghanem
Allergy signs are back in the Cafeteria as culinary students serve food they prepared in their program to a customer. Oct. 30, 2019. Photo by Abraham Davis
Sport Editor Alec White Copy Editors Tyler Breisacher Meyer Gorelick
Designer Director Chiara Di Martino Online Editor Fran Smith
Staff Writers Anshi Aucar Tyler Breisacher Rachel Berning Meyer Gorelick
Caoilinn Goss Milo Kahney Diana Guzman Jennifer Yin
NEWS | 3
Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019
Chancellor and Students Clash on Validity of Misinformation Claim By Jennifer Yin jyin4@mail.ccsf.edu
Chancellor Mark Rocha stated how he believes City College students are unaware of the current issues involving the college, such as course reductions, class cuts, and administrative salary increase during an interview with the Guardsman held on Sept. 24, 2019. “What happens sometimes is, if I walked up to students walking by and asked them some of the things [current issues] we’ve been talking about, most likely not many of them would know,” Rocha said. Students and faculty have been vocalizing their concerns during the public comment section of the Board of Trustees meetings about course reductions and class cuts. During a Aug 22. Board of Trustees meeting, Way Hung Lam, a part-time Aeronautics professor said, “the class you mentioned which was cut is an Aircraft 106 class. This was a high in-demand classes with 25 enrolled and we had a waiting list of over 10 students. Many of them could not get onto the waiting list, then in July it was cut.” Lam then emphasized his concerns over some of his students’ inability to graduate without being able to enroll in this necessary class. He said he believes this will cause students to defer an entire year to complete the program. However, during the interview Rocha said, “There has been no cuts made to that department. There are things that people say, if anything we are trying to expand the program. One thing I am asking from the opponents is to look at the classes we added.” Rocha’s claim of a program expansion was not evident upon analyzing City College’s 2019 online Spring schedule. Instead, the schedule suggested a negative-growth within
the Aircraft Maintenance department, particularly in the Aircraft 106 section of Aircraft Metal Structures. Previously, two courses within Aircraft Metal Structures were offered during the 2019 Fall semester. However, sections within the program have since been reduced to one available course. Wynd Kaufmyn, a professor in the Engineering and Technology Department, said the Department of Aircraft Maintenance is relocating, and may be subjected to additional costs. In a Sept. 30 interview with Trustee Ivy Lee, she said, “There is a communication issue. I remember over the past year when class cuts started, students and faculty would come to every single board meeting. They would say these are the class cuts, and we heard we are losing these courses. The administration would then give the Board of Trustees information which would be contradictory.” Lee believes the cuts in question were proposed, but were never finalized in the schedule. Lee’s solution in resolving the miscommunication between administrators and students is to provide an academic counselor at every board meeting to aid students with any concerns regarding factuality of public comments and to help them find a replacement class if theirs has been cancelled. An academic counselor has been agreed upon by the chancellor and board, but has not yet been approved or implemented. In an email to the Guardsman, Chief of Staff to the Chancellor Leslie Milloy said, “Student Affairs has also provided an ‘academic counselors’ during some Board of Trustees meetings just before, or after the start of a semester to assist individual students with their schedules.”
Rocha is also working on solidifying a Spring schedule for students ahead of time, so that students will be provided with a concrete schedule upon planning for next semester.
“
[Students and faculty] would say these are the class cuts, and we heard we are losing these courses. The administration would then give the Board of Trustees information which would be contradictory.
”
— Trustee Ivy Lee
Milloy also mentioned how department chairs are faculty members, and the administration is working shoulder to shoulder with faculty in creating the class schedule. When asked if students will be experiencing further course cuts, Rocha said, “we are reducing and eliminating some classes which have been historically
low enrolled. The students have voted with their feet that they do not want to enroll in it. We are taking those out, so we can put in more sections. Those are the classes the students want.” He also highlighted City College’s graduation guarantee, which allows students to request the addition of a low enrolled course if they need it to graduate in May, even if it was going to be cut. Currently, Rocha’s aim is to expand sections involving computer networking, information technology, cyber security, health care, construction management, and construction trade programs. In addition, he expressed how the college’s administration has put time and effort in increasing resources to the LGBTQ community, the Queer Resource Center, and they are working closely with the LGBTQ task force. In response to Rocha’s statement, Hold Sall Vesselenyi, an LGBTQ studies student, said, “there are so many of my peers and myself included, who have lost one or more classes. We have lost important faculty and staff members, who have supported us throughout our studies for semesters on end. They [faculty] were working more for what they were getting paid for.” Rocha ended his interview with a message to City College’s community by saying, “My main message to faculty is whenever I see them is to thank them and their services to us. My main message to students is to finish and if you can not get a class that is going to keep you from graduating then come see me.” If you wish to meet with the chancellor, he has suggested to email him with "Philz Coffee” on the email’s subject line and he will meet with you one on one with a promised coffee on him.
In Upcoming Elections, Incumbency May Be an Advantage or a Liability By Tyler Breisacher tbreisac@mail.ccsf.edu
The advantage of incumbency will play a major role Tuesday, Nov. 5 when voters across San Francisco elect a district attorney and voters in District 5 choose a supervisor to represent them at City Hall. City College's faculty union, AFT 2121, has made endorsements in both races. According to their website, they support Chesa Boudin for district attorney because he “has a dynamic vision for community safety that which embraces restorative justice, police accountability and corporate responsibility.” In District 5, AFT 2121 endorsed tenants' rights attorney Dean Preston, saying he “deeply understands the issues our members and students face.” The city’s district attorney race was set to be the first in a century without an incumbent. District Attorney George Gascón was not planning to run for reelection, meaning that no candidate would get the advantage of name recognition that comes Illustrator Kristina Hines
with being an incumbent. However, after Gascón announced on Oct. 4 that he would resign before the election to begin a his campaign for District Attorney of Los Angeles County, Mayor London Breed appointed one of the candidates in the race, Suzy Loftus, to serve as interim District Attorney, potentially giving her an advantage. Her incumbency will be an unusual one, however. Voters won’t see “Interim District Attorney” under her name, as ballots were already printed by the time the appointment was made. Even so, many critics still believe the last-minute appointment was an attempt to tilt the election in Loftus’s favor. The Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the move “fundamentally undemocratic” in an Oct. 4 press release, noting that “incumbents win 95% of the time” in DA races where someone challenges an incumbent. However, Loftus’s odds may not be quite that good. When Breed and Loftus held a press conference to announce the
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appointment on Oct. 4, they were come down to each candidate’s before. The voters there are forced to move a few blocks away, “ground game,” Tracy said. A very independent,” Tracy said. because of protesters who echoed campaign mobilization on Oct. “Brown’s real strength comes from the ACLU’s sentiments. 26 drew about 150 people. The her work in the neighborhood. “You are undermining our mobilization was for both Boudin’s Preston’s strength comes from his democracy,” one of the protesters campaign, and that of Preston (the intensely dedicated volunteers. shouted, according to the SF other candidate endorsed by AFT These factors will figure in much Examiner. 2121). Preston is a top contender more than incumbency.” The frustration behind said for the supervisor race in District City College Political Science protests may or may not translate 5, which includes the Inner Sunset, Professor Timothy Killikelly into votes for one of Loftus’s Alamo Square, and Lower Pacific agreed that incumbency may not challengers, according to James Heights neighborhoods. be a major factor for Brown, even Tracy, a City College instructor in Incumbency is playing a similar though it is “a huge thing,” in Labor and Community Studies. role in that contest: Preston’s main American elections in general. One It depends on whether people challenger, Vallie Brown, has held reason incumbency makes such a are willing to not just protest, the District 5 seat on the Board big difference is name recognition. but also do the “boring work” it of Supervisors since she was However, Dean Preston has takes to win a campaign, such as appointed by Breed in July 2018. significant name recognition as canvassing and phonebanking to That may help her somewhat, but well, from his campaign for the reach out to voters. incumbency is far from a sure same office in 2016. Tracy is also the political thing, particularly in San Francisco “He didn’t lose by very much to director for AFT 2121. He said supervisor races. London Breed. He did way better Boudin (the candidate AFT 2121 In 2015, after Julie Christensen than people thought he was going endorsed for district attorney) was appointed to the District 3 seat to do,” Killikelly said. “Some of would frame the appointment in by then Mayor Ed Lee, voters the advantage that Vallie Brown a “David vs. Goliath” way, and ended up electing Aaron Peskin might have might be mitigated by if that narrative is successful, instead, who had previously held the fact that people in the district Breed’s move could backfire the seat about six years earlier. know who Dean is.” and end up being a benefit to Voters rejecting mayoral Boudin’s campaign. appointments is not unique Since turnout for this election to District 3. “D5 has rejected will be relatively low, it will all mayoral appointed incumbents Twitter and Instagram @theguardsman #CCSFjournalism Facebook @theguardsman
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4 | CULTURE
Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019
Animation Program Showcases International Films Including Two Oscar Nominees By Meyer Gorelick msggorelick@gmail.com
Poster for the 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows at CCSF Oct. 23, 2019. Courtesy of Ron Diamond, Animation Show of Shows
A still from film "Love Me, Fear Me" by Veronica Solomon, from 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows. Courtesy of Ron Diamond, Animation Show of Shows
A still from "Weekends" by Trevor Jimenez film from 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows at CCSF Oct. 23, 2019. Courtesy of Ron Diamond, Animation Show of Shows
A still from "Weekends" by Trevor Jimenez film from 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows. Courtesy of Ron Diamond, Animation Show of Shows
City College hosted the 20th annual Animation Show of Shows, a diverse collection of 15 short animated films from countries across the world featuring two 2019 Oscar nominees. The event on Oct. 23 marked City College animation program’s third consecutive year hosting the event. About 75 people, including students, faculty, and children viewed the 2D animation, claymation, and virtual reality films in room 140 of the Multi-Use Building. Diversity in terms of types of animation and countries of production were apparent, as were an array of genres. Absurd, silent, dark comedies like “Flower Found,” by director Jorn Leeuwerink, were featured alongside animated productions of preschool poems narrated by the children who wrote them. The first Oscar nominated film shown was a tear-jerker set in San Francisco called “One Small Step,” directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas. It is a silent film that uses 2D graphics and a strong musical score to tell a powerful story about an aspiring young astronaut and her relationship with her cobbler father. The show closed with a gripping piece called “Weekends” by director Trevor Jimenez, also nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 2019 Oscars. Set in Toronto in the 1980s, it profiles a boy whose parents are divorced, and how their subsequent lives and relationships impact him. Without words, the film used music and 2D graphics to tell a beautiful story that pulled at the viewers’ heartstrings. “Animation is not a genre, it’s an artform,” said Visual Media Design (VMD) Professor Tim Harrington who organized the event. He wanted students to gain exposure to the myriad of different directions animated filmmakers can go in terms of both technique and storytelling. “Animated films are not just for kids,” Harrington said. Executive Producer at Acme Filmworks Ron Diamond curated the Annual Animation Show
of Shows by spending six months vetting over 1,000 films that he watched at various film festivals around the globe. His 30 years working in the animation world have honed his keen eye for compelling and interesting work. Diamond worked in distribution for much of his career in the film industry. After working as a producer on a few films he started his production company Acme Filmworks. Diamond visited countless festivals scouting out directors for his production company which inspired him to form Animation Show of Shows as a non-profit as a way to preserve film production and enlighten audiences to diverse selection of films. Diamond Skyped in to do a Q&A with the audience from his home in Southern California after the showing to discuss the films, most of which were produced by students. Ever the networker, he had every audience member text him their name, affiliation, and email. Harrington and Diamond are both excited at the access students and artists have to animated film production equipment given the rapid advancements in technology. “It’s great that there is a much lower barrier of entry into the animation field these days,” Harrington said. “Very simple productions used to require a staff of twenty people and be very expensive. Nowadays solo projects are affordable and feasible.” “People can shoot 4K films on their iphones now,” Diamond said, brandishing his smart phone to the audience. “It was amazing. That was some of the best animation I’ve seen in years,” said Zeke Winter, who is taking two art classes at City College. Harrington heads the animation program within the VMD department, teaching 2D animation and visual development for animation. Student work from these classes will be showcased Dec. 4 at the Roxie Theater in The 9th Annual Festival of The Moving Image that is put on by the cinema, broadcast electronic media arts (BEMA), and VMD departments.
Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019
CULTURE | 5
Austin Price (right), Jess Nguyen (center), and B-Golden (left), Metal Art students, create their Halloween costumes by using recyclable materials during the Halloween Mixer event at Ocean Campus on Nov. 28, 2019. "We've had a lot of class cuts and we want to show all the students it matters to have something like Metal Art program in a public education," Nguyen says. Photo by Amal Ben Ghanem/The Guardsman
Students Get Creative and Spooky at Halloween Mixer By Rachel Berning
a bag full of prizes such as notebooks and students to know and use all the different self care products. resources that are at their hands. Getting the rachelo.berning@gmail.com The low-cost costumes were very students to mingle at different socials allows The first Halloween mixer at City creative, such as where’s waldo, a green alien, programs and clubs get to know each other. College was thrown by the Women’s a flower boutique, and others. Students “There are a lot of issues where people Resource Center for students to get together, took their time and creativity to create don’t know how to communicate. This mixer collaborate and meet one another. such great costumes. is a good way for us as students talk about all As music played in the background, the The most impressive costume was the the different issues that are going around on students participated in different activi- flower boutique because it was made around campus. Come up with ideas so we can fight ties set up by the center. Button making, a Jess Nguyen’s head. Nguyen made the the class cuts,” psychology student Kasandra candy necklace station, jeopardy, and low costume with recycled items such as metal, Carreno said. cost costumes were the main attraction of flowers and old news papers, with the help Eira Kiev, who has been a student for this Halloween party. of Austin Price. It was also a political state- four years, indicated that much of the issues Students wore the buttons and candy ment regarding the ongoing situation with around the campus at this moment have necklaces they made to show off their class cuts at City College. to do with class cuts and downsizing at Halloween spirit. The jeopardy game had The Women’s Resource Center wants the college and the proposed privatization
of the Balboa Reservoir for private housing developers may cause a major gentrification in the area. The Women's Resource Center just wants students to help one another when it comes to having all these different situations going on around campus. Lenna Malietulua is a student worker at the Women’s Resource Center and echoed that sentiment. “[We] encourage students to be more together so that they can do more things together, because we all should be more civil to one another. So many bad things happening in the world, you can’t keep walking past it every day,” Malietulua said.
6 | OPINION
HAVE YOUR SAY BY ANDY DAMIÁN-CORREA
“ARE YOU READY TO VOTE IN SAN FRANCISCO?”
“Yes, we’re misinformed and there is not a lot of information for election on campus.” Pho tos
— Austin Wheelir, Industrial Design
by
An
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Da
mi án - Co r rea
“Yes, young generations need to get involved and vote always.” — Breanne Sanchez, Biology
Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019
PG&E Is Fire... In a Bad Way Matheus Maynard
After major mayhem in areas affected by power outages, we would expect those actions to prevent mmaynar7@mail.ccsf.edu another major fire. Kincade Fire started on Oct. California’s privately-owned power provider 23, in Sonoma County and is burning vegetation, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) left over a million houses, vineyards, buildings, farms and causing in Northern California without electricity for several injuries to civilians. days, in a move that ultimately proved to be a waste Although the involvement of PG&E’s power grids of time since the Kincade Fire spread anyway. in this latest fire is still being investigated, it is likely PG&E has an ongoing history with California’s that they were responsible again. wildfires. During the deadliest and most destructive Governor of California Gavin Newsom is now wildfire in California’s history, the Camp Fire in 2018, pushing PG&E to the wall. Now, under the threat PG&E’s power lines caused the ignition of the fire. of being overtaken by California's state government, Camp Fire caused the death of 85 civilians and PG&E must withdraw from bankruptcy and modernmore than $16 billion in damage. Multiple lawsuits ize its power grids. have already being filed. The company filed for bank“Californians should not pay the price for decades ruptcy protection in January. of PG&E’s greed and neglect. PG&E’s mismanageWildfire is considered a natural phenomenon or ment of the power shutoffs experienced last week disaster. Burnt vegetation allows nutrients to return was unacceptable. We will continue to hold PG&E to the soil, helping the renewal of the ecosystem. accountable to make radical changes — prioritizHowever, wildfires have increased in number, size ing the safety of Californians and modernizing its and destructive capacity due to human activity. equipment,” Newsom said in an official statement. Most wildfires now are caused by human activNewsom also pointed out that the company ity, from cigarette butts to abandoned camping fire prioritized profit over public safety. pits, and now PG&E power grids. I even question if PG&E’s irresponsibility has lasted for too long, wildfires can be called wild anymore. and Californians have been paying the price of those In California, wildfire season is usually during consequences. Instead of providing modernization the fall, because vegetation dries out during summer to the power grids to save California from another and becomes the perfect fuel for a large fire carried tragedy, PG&E decided to put the weight of preventby hot, dry winds like Diablo and Santa Ana winds. ing fires on its consumers. With the forecast of an upcoming wind storm in Cutting power not only proved to be lethal, but Northern California combined with dry weather and it is disrespectful towards the ones who allow the vegetation from the summer, the danger of the fire company to profit. Leaving almost two million people season was once again alerted in California starting without electricity to unsuccessfully fix their mistakes, mid-October. is more proof that this company should no longer Since Camp Fire, PG&E was expected to be monopolizing an essential feature of modern life. modernize its power grids in rural areas of California. In a perfect world, the government would operHowever, instead of doing so, which would cost a ate all the companies providing basic services, since huge investment to the profit-oriented company, the focus would be providing the service and not PG&E decided to cut power in multiple areas along profiting over it. However, since this culture does not the North Bay area. exist in this country yet, allowing the free market and An oxygen dependant man in his 60s died in his competition to work by removing PG&E’s monopoly residence in Pollock Pines, in El Dorado County, 12 over electricity wouldn’t be a bad idea either. minutes after power got cut off.
Boudin’s Policies Are Activist-Approved “No, I’m not aware of elections. The city needs more information regarding voting on campus.” — Tamika Harris, Fashion
“Yes, we have a big responsibility. It matters because it is our future.” — James Diep, Engineering
“Yes, we’re the one to make the changes, it is our responsibility to be part of politics.” — Leslie Mendez, Biology
By Claudia Drdul claudiadrdul@gmail.com
The criminal justice system needs reform, and Chesa Boudin’s election as San Francisco’s District Attorney (DA) is an important, if incremental, step in improving how we prevent crime. Boudin has received endorsements by proponents of restorative justice like Angela Davis and Shaun King who will undoubtedly hold him accountable. On his website, it states “the criminal justice system is racist. Even though African Americans make up at most 5% of San Francisco’s population, they make up about 50% of the people in San Francisco’s jails.” To combat this injustice, Boudin has vowed to “decline to prosecute cases where an arresting officer has a history of racist behavior” and require bias training for police. Due to his equitable racial policy plans, the Latino Democratic Club, and members of the San Francisco lowrider community have come out in support of Boudin. Suzy Loftus grapples for votes from people of color by parading around the Mission in a lowrider, presuming her target audience will solely vote on principles of identity politics. At an Oct. 23 debate, Boudin made it clear he will not prosecute consensual sex work, something that DAs typically conflate with sex trafficking. As for actual sex crimes, sexual assault survivors like Tiffany T. have come out in support of Boudin’s platform by being featured in one of his campaign mailers where he vows to implement a six point plan that includes establishing a sexual violence task force and testing every rape kit. In 2016, Loftus, who was president of the San Francisco Police Commission at the time, was named in a lawsuit by Heather Marlowe for not testing her rape kit.
Boudin has promised to crack down on instances of police brutality and has vowed to re-open local police brutality cases. This has been well received as he has been endorsed by the families of Mario Woods and Alex Nieto, both killed by the SFPD. Shortly after taking office as interim DA, Loftus’s office decided to file charges against a defendant for “possession of cannabis.” Although she later asked the prosecutors to drop the infraction, it’s hard to trust someone who has been running on a platform of prioritizing “rehabilitation, alternatives to incarceration, and other diversion programs that address the root causes of crime” while allowing charges like this to be filed in the first place. While mainstream media outlets have barely reported on the inconsistencies in Loftus’ campaign, the people of San Francisco are seeing through the cracks in her stolen platform. At a DA candidate forum in a Mission coffee shop on Oct. 30, a banner was dropped behind Loftus that read “#Killer Cop Suzy Loftus” and audience members booed her off stage with their chants. Due to Boudin’s dedication to hold the SFPD accountable during instances of police brutality, the San Francisco Police Officers Association (SFPOA) has established a Political Action Committee (PAC) that has raised more than $650,000 for a smear campaign against him. One of the mailers the SFPOA PAC sent out had the mugshots of several men on the front, essentially using their faces without their permission for political gain. Although the mugshots are classified as public domain because they are owned by the federal government, they attest to the dehumanizing mentality of the POA. Boudin acknowledges victims of crime need justice to heal, but he also understands that those who commit crimes commit them because they themselves have not been able to heal.
COMMUNITY | 7
Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019
CALENDAR
co-sponsored by the Department of Journalism at City College of San Francisco presents
“The Impact of Big Tech on Journalism”
Diego Rivera Theater 50 Frida Kahlo Way, San Francisco
For more information, call Juan Gonzales at 415-239-3446 or check out the San Francisco Press Club website at www.sfpressclub.org
HEALTH INFORMATION STUDENT ASSOCIATION hisa@mail.ccsf.edu
A Panel Discussion
A delegation of Danish journalists and editors representing a broad range of outlets in Denmark will speak about the challenges journalism faces due to the tech industry. A major Danish governmental report found that Facebook and Google took 90 percent of the Danish news media’s ad revenue. The European Union also has been very critical of the U.S. technology giants because of disinformation and data collection/breaches. Others have argued that Facebook and Google are giving huge sums of money to a free and independent press and that the tech industry will serve as “patrons” for the journalism of the future. Come for a fresh perspective. The event is free to the public. Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019 Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Place: City College of San Francisco
12 NOV
13 NOV
CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION 2pm | Ocean Campus, MUB 250 mho53@mail.ccsf.edu
CAREERS IN PHOTOGRAPHY 3pm-5pm | Ocean Campus, VAB 114 arya.zarrinkelk@mail.ccsf.edu
17 NOV
CCSF ARCHERY CLUB TURKEY SHOOT Golden Gate Park Archery Range dnagura@ccsf.edu
20 NOV
ZERO WASTE CLUB CAMPUS CLEANUP 12pm-1:30pm | Between MUB and Whole Foods zerowasteonabudget@gmail.com
RESUME ESSENTIALS 3pm-5pm | Mission Campus, Rm 469 arya.zarrinkelk@mail.ccsf.edu
Portfolio Club Presents: Kristina Hines
ccsfportfolio.com @TINACOstudio tinacostudio@gmail.com
8 | SPORTS
Vol. 168, Issue 6 | November 6– November 20, 2019
Women’s Water Polo Team Learn from Losses in Time for Conference Games By Rachel Berning rachelo.berning@gmail.com
City College Women's Water Polo Team is pushing through the season as freshmen by turning their defeats into wins. So far, the season has been the coin flip with Rams winning and losing competitions but the team players are trying their best by not giving up. “We lost today but we had play a whole lot better than we did in other games. If we play like that like we did in this fourth quarter, we will be better, ” Assistant Coach Natalie Taylor said The Rams have played Sacramento City and the score was 17-1. During their game on Nov. 2, the team saw an improvement, scoring 18-8. Even though they lost, they were excited about playing and doing their best. “Beginning in the fourth quarter their energy was really moving, creating three injects wrong and five goals for themselves,” Coach Pham Pho said. Losing a game is never fun, and the Rams feel pretty defeated especially because they made all the same errors throughout the whole season. But knowing that the Rams can go back and play their competitors again makes them really gain confidence and show off their best side. “If we play like the fourth quarter today, I think we have a good chance at our last game and conferences we have ahead of us," team player number four Aryana Senel said. “I know we have the potential but times we forget things as a team. Also being mindful of what we do in practice.” “We played CSM [College of San Mateo] at the beginning and lost really bad to them so knowing how we are going
to play against them the second time is really exciting because they know that they are doing and we got this,” Assistant Coach Taylor said. The best game of the season was going against College of San Mateo. The team played really strong and had good communication with each other. The Rams are ready for their game on Wednesday, Nov. 6. They are really enthusiastic to challenge De Anza College again. The score the last time they played De Anza didn’t reflect the way the team played, because they fell apart at the last quarter even though they were tied at half. As long as they keep winning, they will do really well. They know why they lost to De Anza and know how to change it around to a win. This game will let them move forward to the conferences they have ahead of them. “If we really got our head into the game, I feel like we would be ready for the conference. We will always do our best. This is my first season playing water polo,” player number nine Sima Kassianik said. As a team made of mostly Freshman players who don’t have as much experience, they have definitely improved a lot. “We will be a lot stronger next year if they all come back.” Assistant Coach Taylor said. After their Nov. 2 defeat against Sacramento, Kassianik said, “Even though we lost, Sac was a pretty strong team. I think we did really well with running our plays and doing what we practiced. Overall, I think we did well.” “I think we had a rough start in the first half because we were intimidated, because we played them before, and we weren’t that strong. Overall, the second half was pretty good for us,” Aryana Senel, player number four, said.
Jamar Julien Jr. hurdles past Chabot's defense on a gravity-defying touchdown run. The Rams beat Chabot 40-7 during the Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 game. Photo by Eric Sun / Special to The Guardsman
RAMS TRAMPLE GLADIATORS ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD By Meyer Gorelick msggorelick@gmail.com
The City College Rams football team dominated on both sides of the ball Saturday, Nov. 2 against Chabot college in a 40-7 win. The Rams gave the Gladiators a steady diet of ground and pound racking up 280 yards rushing to go with three first half rushing touchdowns. The defense was equally impressive, coming up with three interceptions, two by number four Timote Finau, a sophomore out of Pittsburg High School. They limited the Gladiators to one score, a consolation touchdown at the end of the first half with the game already out of reach. With the Rams up 30-7 at halftime, a jubilant sideline fueled a comfortable cruise to a 40-7 finish. Freshman running back Jamar Julien Jr. stood out with two touchdowns, including an athletic opening score in which he went
airborne at the five yard line before dragging two defenders into the endzone. “I think I did good, the line played well, we played together. I couldn’t have done it without them,” Julien said. He has aspirations for a state title, as well as a Division I scholarship. Head Coach Jimmy Collins praised the team’s performance across all three phases: defense, offense, and special teams. “Our quarterback and running backs played well. Kenden Robinson Jr. stepped up and proved himself as someone who can be a DI player. Finau stood out. Our D-line showed great discipline and kept an elusive quarterback in check,” Collins said. Looking forward, he acknowledged that next week will be a challenge, playing away against Santa Rosa Junior College, as he anticipates their community, recently ravaged by wildfires, to be out in full force to support the Ram’s opposition.
City College of San Francisco
Engineering, Architecture, Technology, and the Environment The Commonwealth Club of California
City College's women's water polo goal keeper Valerie Kraus (center) blocks a shot thrown by the opposing Sacramento team during a game held on Nov. 2, 2019 at City College. Photo by Jennifer Yin/The Guardsman
November 18 2019
Our panel members will explore the depth of talent, expertise, learning, knowledge and experiences at City College in making important improvements to combat global environmental issues and problems. Environmental flexibility and plans for the adjacent college 17 acres that were graciously leased to City College by the SFPUC for many decades will help students, college and communities learn, address and implement important knowledge and advancements to enhance solar, wind, charging stations and sustainable learning opportunities now and in the future.
JOIN US
City College's women's water polo player #9 (center) tries to intercept an opposing Sacramento player's grasp on the ball during a game held on Nov. 2, 2019. Jennifer Yin. Nov. 2, 2019.
Keith Mueller Department Chair, Engineering, CCSF Peggy Lopipero-Langmo Environmental Health Science, CCSF John Rizzo Broad of Trustees, CCSF Ann Clark Ph.D. Chair, Environment and Natural Resources Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California
110 Embarcadero commonwealthclub.org; go to Nov. 18 calendar program for tickets and reservations. Student tickets and reservations available for Students. Guest Registration: 5:30; Program 6:00 to 7:00pm