The Guardsman, Vol. 159, Issue 8. City College of San Francisco

THE GUARDSMAN

WALKOUT!

VOL. 159, ISSUE 8, MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015 | CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO | SINCE 1935 | WWW.THEGUARDSMAN.COM | @THEGUARDSMAN | #THEGUARDSMAN | FREE

Lawsuit filed over Child Development Center repair

By Natasha Dangond STAFF WRITER

After battling in court for two years over the restoration of the Child Development Center (CDC,) San Francisco Community College District (SFCCD) will go to trial with the Indiana based Hunt Construction Group, in June 2016.

Due to the rusting and paint corrosion of the building, a plan to move the children in the CDC into a temporary location until the Project is rebuilt is currently being set in motion.

SFCCD contracted Hunt to build the Wellness Center, Student Health Center and CDC Buildings (referred to as the “Projects” in the 2005 general obligation bond ) in 2005. The contract stated that Hunt was to “perform general contractor services on the Projects.”

The contract included an indemnity provision, stating that Hunt would be liable for any property damage and losses resulting from negligence by its subcontractors, MKTHINK and Project Frog.

City College student Jahaira Morales leads students, faculty and staff in a walkout demonstration around the Ocean Campus on Wednesday, May 6. (Photo by Natasha Dangond)

Save CCSF and Diversity Collaborative protest payment policy, resource center cuts, lost diversity classes and the Special Trustee in mass walkout

By Otto Pippenger STAFF WRITER

The Save City College Coalition occupied the administrative building, Conlan Hall, for the third year in a row on May 6.

More than 20 activists formed a circle in the building’s lobby and attempted to peacefully occupy the building overnight but dispersed under threat of arrest.

At 12:30 p.m, a crowd of nearly 200 students and teachers had gathered at Ram Plaza for what fliers called a “Walkout To Save

City College.”

The mood was festive as a variety of speakers repeated the three demands the group has consistently pushed for: Special Trustee With Extraordinary Powers be eliminated as an individual and position, elimination of new stricter student loan policy, and that the cancellation of courses, particularly ethnic studies be halted and reversed.

Demonstrators alleged that Diversity Studies in particular are being closed at a disproportionate rate. The 25 percent budget cuts to various resource centers at the begin-

ning of this semester was a particular point of contention.

Downsizing of City College

African American Studies Department Chair Professor Tariq Farrar compared the City College’s circumstance to that of recently closed Heald College. Heald was a for-profit college in San Francisco closed when their owner, Corinthian Colleges, Inc. was fined 30 million dollars by the Department of Education this April for misleading students and loan agencies about job prospects for graduates.

“In 2012, Heald was fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC,) while City College was put on Show Cause” Farrar said. “Thousands were ripped off by Heald’s for profit method, but we’re being punished for not having a profit driven plan.”

Farrar stressed the importance of student organization against private or downsized education, “The plan they have for you doesn’t include

Protest continued on page 3

Is CCSF a Good Neighbor to Ingleside and Excelsior?

By Alex Lamp EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

City College is a huge institution with satellite campuses all over San Francisco.

Ocean Campus, its flagship, has a big impact on the neighborhoods that surround it—Westwood Park, Ingleside, Sunnyside and Mission Terrace. The issues range from transportation to engagement with nearby businesses that serve student and faculty.

How should City College be involved with neighborhood con-

cerns and to what degree?

“Naturally, both the administration and students should be actively involved in the civic life and activities adjacent to the schools,” said District 11 Supervisor John Avalos, who represents the neighborhoods east of Ocean Campus.

City College Trustee Brigitte Davila, who lives near Ocean Campus, also supports the idea of community relations development between the college and surround-

Good neighbor continued on page 2

Pedestrians cross the street on a red light after getting off the 29-Sunset bus on Ocean and Lee avenues, Monday, May 11.

(Photo by Ekevara Kitpowsong)

Litigation ensues

After the projects were said to be completed,the SFCCD received a report in October 2011 which determined that the cause of the progressive paint corrosion of the buildings was a direct result of negligence, not incomplete work.

On September 24, 2013, the first complaint was brought to Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, by the SFCCD after numerous efforts requesting Hunt and its subcontractors fix the paint corrosion that developed from inadequate labor.

SFCCD representatives recognized various items of incomplete work, following a punch list of work for Hunt and its subcontractors to fix. Following this complaint, investigations and corrective work were provided by Defendant Hunt Construction, and its subcontractors.

However, “each of the Defendants denied liability and refused to assist the District in any remediation efforts related to the rust issues and Defendants’ work under the contract”, the complaint stated.

In January 2014, Hunt answered the complaint stating that SFCCD “breached to its obligation to properly maintain the facility,” leading to the cause of any damages it may have sustained, “and is therefore barred from seeking the relief it prays against Defendants, and each of them.”

An initial inspection was held

Lawsuit continued on page 2

2 | THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015

news Good neighbor continued from page 1

Editor-in-Chief Alex Lamp

News Editor Marco Siler-Gonzales

Culture Editor Patrick Cochran

Sports Editor Shaleisa Daniel

Opinion Editor Matthew Patton

Photo Editor Ekevara Kitpowsong

Design Director Elisabetta Silvestro

Online Content Manager Khaled Sayed

Advertising Manager Calindra Revier

Design and Layout Matthew Patton Khaled Sayed Elisabetta Silvestro

Staff Writers Michael Burkett Natasha Dangond Steven Ho Otto Pippenger Yesica Prado

Staff Photographers Natasha Dangond Otto Pippenger Yesica Prado Khaled Sayed Franchon Smith

Illustrators Serina Mercado

Contributors Isra Ahmad

Faculty Advisor Juan Gonzales

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Have a nice summer!

-The Guardsman staff

ing neighborhoods.“ City College can work with the community to develop better strategies to enhance the neighborhood,” Davila said. “As a resident of San Francisco’s District 11, which includes part of Ocean Avenue, I know the college is a key stakeholder regarding improvements in the area.”

Although participation in the surrounding community is expected of the college, members of the community are not impressed by its involvement over the years. The Ocean Avenue Association is one community organization that wants to work closely with the college as the neighborhood is undergoing a transformation.

“In the past, the college has not been involved in corridor planning efforts,” said Ocean Avenue Association Executive Director Daniel Weaver.

Avalos concurred with Weaver.

“If anything, I hear about the lack of attention to the impact of the school on the surrounding neighborhood,” Avalos said. “Especially related to parking and noise, but at the same time people really value the school for its excellence.”

There are several projects that will require City College to work with the community and local government. Citing Avalos and Weaver’s concerns, The Guardsman asked City College about its involvement with the neighborhood.

Ocean Avenue

City College has been a member of the OAA, a community benefit district, since its inception in December 2010, but a review of the organization’s minutes show they have rarely sent a representative to the monthly meetings since they acquired a seat on the board of directors two years ago.

When queried about how involved City College should be with the Ocean Avenue Association, Director of External Affairs Jeff Hamilton said: “As for the Ocean Avenue CBD (Community Benefits District,) we will need to examine the proposal carefully. There are generally financial costs associated with joining a CBD and we would need to consider those first before committing.”

When told the OAA was already in place, Hamilton said, “They’ve canceled the past several meetings.”

The OAA’s minutes show that only one meeting—Feb. 18, 2015—had been canceled in the past two years. Hamilton attended the April meeting after we pointed this out, minutes show.

Transportation

By car, Muni, BART and bikes, students from all over the city and Bay Area commute to Ocean Campus. The daily influx of students overcrowds the streets and sidewalks along Ocean Avenue, making it hazardous during rush hour.

Safety along the corridor is gradually improving. However, there is still work to be done.

“Cycling on Ocean Avenue is getting better with the bike lanes and sharrows, but there’s still a ways to go,” Avalos said. “Bike and

(pedestrian) safety is made difficult by congestion.”

Weaver believes City College could work together with the Ocean Avenue Association to find a solution to this prominent issue.“Definitely they should be involved on these

“Ocean Avenue is very congested, not to mention downright dangerous.”

-Brigitte Davila matters,” Weaver said. “And the new leaders at the College are getting involved in the current Ocean Avenue corridor planning process.

The college’s participation could make a huge positive difference in the results.”

Among the newest leaders at City College, Davila recognizes the problem and fully supports strategizing with the community.

“Ocean Avenue is very congested, not to mention downright dangerous,” Davila said.

Balboa Reservoir

In 2014, Mayor Ed Lee announced his Public Land for Housing program to combat San Francisco’s housing crisis. His plans include creating 10,000 affordable housing units and 30,000 total units, marketable by 2020.

“We are engaging with the Mayor’s office on transportation and housing issues very actively— including discussions around the Balboa Reservoir, Civic Center and 33 Gough,” Hamilton said.

Over 150 people attended City College’s May 5 community discussion whereit was announced that a proposalfor approximately 500 units will be released this Fall Season with a developer chosen by 2016.

Announced was the upcoming creation of a nine member Citizen’s Advisory Committee by the Board of Supervisors.

MCDs: issue of the day

Today, a contentious neighborhood issue is whether Sparc, a medical cannabis dispensary, should open its second location near Ocean Campus. Many residents are opposed to the project.

While Weaver said City College should not be involved with Sparc or MCDs at all, Davila had no position on the whether Sparc should open, but was concerned with the dispensaries as a neighborhood issue.

“I do have concerns about so many medical cannabis clubs moving into the neighborhood,” Davila said. “While a ‘pot club’ is a legitimate business there are aspects that make it difficult for the surrounding community, like loitering around the business, noticeable odors, etc. This is manageable when there are only one or two in a district, but District 11 has way too many.”

Avalos has a different position.

“I am not opposed. Sparc will be a good neighbor and will want to work well with the community,” Avalos said. @guardsmanlamp alamp@theguardsman.com

Visible exterior corrosion engulfs the Project buildings of the CDC in the Orfalea Family Center, located on the corner of Phelan and Judson avenues of the Ocean Campus on Monday, May 11.

(Photo by Natasha Dangond)

“The corrosion is not dangerous yet, and deterioration has not begin to allow moisture infiltration into the interior, but it will.”

-Fred Sturner

Lawsuit continued from page 1 in November of 2014, and the parties are currently awaiting a scope of claims/ cost of repair report from the SFCCD. Judge Garrett L. Wong has officially been assigned to the non jury trial.

CDC’s future up in the air

Fred Sturner, director of facilities planning and construction, explained that the CDCis currently corroding due to the marine environment that San Francisco resides in.

“There is a large amount of salt in the air that the committee must put into their design standards that have not been considered in the past,” Sturner said,“The corrosion is not dangerous yet, and deterioration has not begin to allow moisture infiltration into the interior, but it will.”

Kathleen White, chair of the child development department, explained that much of the problem is on the outside of the building, but does not affect the safety of the children.

“The deterioration affects aesthetics, and confidence mainly. It may affect how people feel about working there, how parents feel dropping their children off there.

You want to be in a beautiful environment,” White said.

Problems with relocation

White met with contractors for around three years in efforts to have them fix the physical issues of the building, only to be denied any assistance to change the problems of corrosion as they increasingly became worse.

“Nothing is set in stone right now,” White said, in regards to where the children will be relocated to. “We are at step one. Everyone needs to be on the same page. I am disappointed - it is frustrating and embarrassing, especially when you thought it was going to be fixed.”

City College’s Capital Projects Planning Committee has gone ahead with litigation and plans for construction to begin in October of this year, and completion by June 2, 2016.

“We have an obligation to our students and people that utilize these facilities to maintain good facilities. This one is deteriorating and is rapidly reaching the point where it won’t be habitable,” Sturner said.

Although the approximate cost is still under discussion, Sturner believes it will cost around $4.5 million.

“It is a significant issue, and if we don’t do something now, it will suddenly be too late and we won’t have a place for the kids,” Sturner said. @natashadangond ndangond@theguardsman.com

THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015 | 3

news

State lawmakers push for accreditation reform

By Marco Siler-Gonzales NEWS EDITOR

As the dust settles from the near closure of City College, a San Francisco lawmaker hopes to enact accreditation reform to prevent further allegedly unfair treatment of California public colleges at the hands of the Accreditation Committee of Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

The Federally regulated commission argues the state has no such authority.

Assemblyman Phil Ting, D of San Francisco, has proposed two bills that would require greater transparency in the ACCJC. Ting’s second bill would provide greater provisions against the commission’s ability to charge the college for legal fees when they are being sued for sanctioning a college.

“The ACCJC needs to have a fair and transparent operation where they treat colleges fairly- this bill (ab 1397) has that.”President of the teachers union, Tim Killikelly said.

The ACCJC opposed both bills. The California League of Community Colleges, a nonprofit which represents the state’s 112 colleges,opposes the transparency bill, claiming a number of the bill’s provisions could push the ACCJC out of federal compliance.

Critics of the ACCJC prompt the commission was unfair in threatening to revoke accreditation

Protest continued from page 1

“What they want is a lot of prisons and cops with guns.”

-Tariq Farrar schools, or healthcare, or jobs, or a post office. What they want is a lot of prisons and cops with guns. The youths they don’t put in the grave, they’ll put in prison. That’s their vision for the world.” Farrar said.

American Federation of Teachers Local 2121 President Timothy Killikelly stressed the importance of rebuilding the student population, calling for an end to “push out policies when the school needs more not less students… of teachers being laid off… of administrators giving themselves raises but saying no one else deserves one.”

Killikelly called for an investigation into Heald, and said ACCJC President Barbara Beno had claimed in print to have avoided accrediting Heald due to their recent buy out by Corinthian Colleges, Inc.

PAC coalition rallies

Several spoke from the campaign to build the Performing Arts Education Center (PAEC), raising the question of how the development of the Balboa Reservoir would affect both the PAEC, and the availability of the campus for all students.

The protesters were given lyric sheets to the tune of “Mack the Knife” with lyrics changed to protest the mayor’s upcoming pilot housing

from City College, disregarding the 80,000 students the college served.

Since the commission’s sanction in 2014, student enrollment has dropped significantly, forcing the school into another tight squeeze to preserve state funding.

Bill provisions

Bill AB 1385 gives California community colleges the power to either approve or reject, by majority rule, whether the commission can charge the college to cover legal expenses.

The commission’s extraction of legal fees from City College paid for lawyers who defended the commission in a lawsuit brought down by San Francisco City attorney Dennis Herrera against their initial decision to revoke accreditation in 2014.

Though AB 1385 places safeguards against the commission’s ability to charge legal fees, critics of the bill raise concern over the commission’s aptitude to raise annual dues, which have gone up 10 percent over the last three years for colleges with over 40,000 students.

In 2012 and 2013, City College paid $29,000 in annual dues.

Currently the college has to choke up $39,000.

If the commission did decide to raise generic annual dues on the heel of litigation legal fees, current law only requires them to file explanation to the state.

Ting’s second bill, AB 1397, development of the Balboa Reservoir.

“Will they take away our college, when they need some housing there? They will do it if we let them, but we’re standing for what’s fair.”

New debt policies

During the accreditation crisis, City College changed the student debt payment policy to comply with state laws. The current system, according to organizers , requires 3-5 payment deadlines be met throughout the semester under threat of late fees, with failure resulting in automatic cancellation of courses.

Student organizers say automatic dropping and late fees are not necessary to comply with state law.

Student organizer, Lalo Gonzalez, said it was inaccurate to blame student debt for financial insolvency at the school, when the college receives more than four thousand a year from the state for each enrolled student. Gonzalez said that the principal effect of this policy is to exclude undocumented immigrants who do not qualify for Board of Governors Fee Waivers, and who cannot afford the fees.

“We’re being disenfranchised here...what are the consequences of kicking out predominantly working class students of color? More gentrification, more poverty, less jobs, less of us living here,” Gonzalez said, “The fight for City College is the fight for San Francisco.”

After leaving the school, protesters reconvened at City Hall for a meeting with the Special Trustee With Extraordinary Powers Guy Lease, which he failed to attend. opippenger@theguardsman.com

Illustration by Serina Mercado

requires the accreditor operate within three major guidelines when administering accreditation: • Fairness: the accreditor provide due process to the state’s institutions and follow state and federal law and regulation.

• Objectivity: Strong conflict of interest policies be implemented, meaning half of an evaluation team visiting a college for accreditation review be academics, and no one with a conflict of interest can serve.

• Transparency: Requires public access the private commission’s

meetings, and preservation of all documents during the accreditation review.

Opposition

ACCJC President, Barbara Beno and the commission’s chairman, Steven Kinsella filed objection to both bills last week, stating the restriction of the commission’s ability to collect legal fees could impose a fiscal collapse and displace the commission out of compliance with the US department of Education, which regulates the accreditor.

The California League of Community Colleges argues the validity of accreditation should be exclusive to a peer review process with experts in the field.

“It’s taking a sledgehammer to a problem that needs a lot more finesse,” Ryan Mcelhinney said, a legislative advocate for the league.

Advocates for the bills such as Killikelly wonder what exactly that sledgehammer translates to. @mijo_marco mgonzales@theguardsman.com

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4 | THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015

culture

Five strange and wonderful things you can only find at City College

The abandoned back corner of the tennis courts at City College Ocean Campus.

(Photo by Khaled Sayed)

By Patrick Cochran CULTURE EDITOR

City College, the Harvard of South-Central San Francisco, is a truly strange yet wonderful place when you take the time to explore around campus.

With so many interesting nooks, crannies and eccentric people on the Ocean Campus, we thought it was deserving of a top five list celebrating our collective strangeness. To steal a phrase from Austin/Portland/a bunch of other gentrifying cities, Keep City College weird!

5. The “Wall Ball” court

The tennis courts at City College have a creepy feeling to them.

They are similar to what a rabid internet conspiracy theorist would imagine FEMA Death camp to look like. The tennis courts have the feel of prison cages, oddly similar to Phoenix, Arizona’s infamous “Tent City” prison.

After strolling through the faux FEMA death camp alley, you arrive to an open space where there is a large green wall. Everytime I see the green wall it brings out my inner ten year old, and I just want to organize

Memorial and Wildflower Garden dedicated to Austin White aka “The Maze,” at City College Ocean Campus. (Photo by Khaled Sayed)

a game of wall ball.

You will also find a batting cage with an overturned shopping cart, that I swear has been like that since I entered City College two years ago.

Someone smarter than me would find a metaphor in there somewhere.

4. “The Maze”

What happens at the maze stays at the maze.

3. Bungalow 615

If the Ocean Campus were a house on MTV Cribs, Bungalow 615 (home of the Guardsman)

would be where Trick Daddy looks at the camera, and with a slight grin, proclaims “This is where the magic happens.”

2. The football field

I covered the football team at City College, and lets just say I know some things… I also don’t want to disappear Jimmy Hoffa style and end up as part of the cement under the stands, so lets move on to the next topic…

1.City College shortcuts

Every student here it seems has

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their favorite shortcut, cut through building, or hidden path to get to class quicker, spare their calves the steep hills, or sneak off and smoke a joint.

Shortcuts can be exploited like the grass path leading from Ocean Ave to the Wellness Center, which maybe saves walkers 50 extra feet of effort. You can also take to the elevators in the library or the Student Union building, which lead to a plethora of other shortcuts on campus. Shortcuts are an instrumental part of City College. pcochran@theguardsman.com

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THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015 | 5

culture

The future of journalism matters at City College

(L-R) Juan Gonzales, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriquez, Molly Oleson, Cheryl Jennings from ABC7 News and Alex Emslie, and “Why Journalism Matters” symposium at City College of San Francisco, Mission Center auditorium on Tuesday, May 5. (Photo by Khaled Sayed)

By Marco Siler-Gonzales NEWS EDITOR

At a time when smartphones and tablets have made way to lightning fast news streams and countless new forms of media, aspiring journalists must take into account their ability to maneuver through this hyper competitive race of distributing information.

Shrinking newsrooms and the increasing expectations for one reporter to cover multiple platforms of media places journalism as somewhat of a daunting career path.

But never fear! Former City College students turned promi-

nent bay area journalists attended Mission Campus last Tuesday to deliver some hope and guidance at the “Why Journalism Matters” symposium.

Recruited by Tom Graham’s journalism 26 class, ABC 7 news anchor Cheryl Jennings, KQED criminal justice reporter Alex Emslie, Examiner Columnist Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez and Pacific Sun editor Molly Oleson spoke personally on their careers as journalists at City College’s very own publication, The Guardsman, and to media outlets beyond campus.

In just a month, Graham’s public relation class was able to rally

these prominent journalists to Mission’s campus where they were met with a jam packed room of students and faculty.

“This class is a motley crew of 11, comprised of people from all walks of life and different levels of motivation for being in the class.”

April Chan said, who took the lead as curator for the event, “With limited resources and against draconian bureaucracy, we pulled this off together in one month. Can’t think of a better representation of the community college environment.”

So, Why does journalism matter? Considering news outlets are subject to market standards now

more than ever, and social media has made it exponentially difficult to separate fact from fiction, why is journalism such an important role to take for the younger generation?

Solid reporting is critical to serve as watchdog for the community, especially as a Guardsman reporter, Fitzgerald said.

“There are always stories that other reporters can’t get to. You’re in the thick of things, you have access.

There up there, you’re down here.”

Fitzgerald said.

As for the fervent expectations for journalists these days, Alex Emslie sees it as just another way the job is evolving.

“I can’t describe how much that newsroom (KQED) has changed. but really what i’m supposed to do all day is be where the most interesting place at that particular time is, and talk with those people involved.” Emslie said.

Oh, and if you’re agonizing over the woes of being a part time student, just remember Cheryl Jennings took 10 years to work her way through City College. Jennings broke into the journalism landscape as an unpaid fifty hour a week freelancer for KNBR radio.

“Persevere, persevere, persevere.” Jennings repeated, “When you think it’s getting hard just think of me.”

The Symposium ended at nine pm, with many of the journalists sticking around to speak individually with any student that approached.

“When the symposium ended there was such excitement and good feelings among our students,” Journalism Department Chair Juan Gonzales said. “You could hear in their voices and see on their faces how inspiring the event was and how our alumni touched their very souls.”

After serving more than 30 years as department chair, Gonzales remains confident in their ability to create inroads to the professional industry.

“I truly believe the symposium instilled greater confidence about the career path many of our students have chosen because journalism does matter,” Gonzales added. @mijo_marco mgonzales@theguardsman.com

CCSF Fashion Show

Students make retro fashion statement

By Michael Burkett STAFF WRITER

The Fashion Department’s Fash Direction & Coordination (FASH 47) class performed at Smith Hall on May 5, showing off retro fashions from the 1980s and 90s along with some of today’s fall fashions.

The looks were put together by clothes donated from Goodwill’s flagship store on the corner of Mission and South Van Ness.

Bruce Kotrys and Diane Green, the chair of the Fashion Department, coordinated the show.

The show was opened enthusiastically by Green who praised her students. After she spoke, Bill Haley and the Comets classic hit “Rock Around the Clock” started and the first model up was a young black haired lady with a full length crushed red velvet dress.

All the looks would have been at home with the casts of “The Breakfast Club”, “Sixteen Candles”, “Big”, “Porky’s” or many other movies from the 1980s or 90s.

There were ten models with 17 looks - formal, casual or semicasual, from the two decades.

There were platform, ankle high, open toe, sandal straps and traditional high heels, as well as loafers, but no sneakers.

(L-R) Models Viktoriya Romashova, Gabriela Recalde and Meenakshi Wadhwa. (Photo courtesy of City College Fashion Department)

One model wore a pale blue dress with pale yellow crosshatching that reached her thighs. The look was reminiscent of Jackie O’s fabulous summer dresses by Cristobal Balenciaga. The only missing piece for the ensemble was the iconic pillbox hat that Balenciaga designed for the former first lady.

Bruce Kotrys informed the crowd that this was put on by the Fashion Coordination (Fashion 47) class as their final production of the year.

Green, who has been teaching at City College for over 30 years, was full of praise for “the wonderful

students”, and her enthusiasm for fashion was obvious to everyone in the crowd.

“You can’t teach here without getting paid someone told me. So I applied for, and got a check for something I love doing,” Green said.

This was the final show for this class, but there will be another at Smith Hall on Tuesday, May 12 and the department is hosting a big show Sunday, May 17 at Ruby Skye starting at 5:00 p.m. @mjburkettinsf mburkett@theguardsman.com

For more stories visit theguardsman.com

6 | THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015

THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015 | 7

opinion

It’s not just harmless water vapor

By Isra Ahmad CONTRIBUTOR

Before I began college, I couldn’t have identified an e-cigarette if I saw one.In my first semester at San Jose State University, I sat next to a student who was openly smoking an e-cigarette in my community health class, to my surprise. Since I didn’t know much about e-cigarettes, he was nice enough to explain to me how they work.

While smoking a traditional cigarette in a classroom is unthinkable, much less a health class, e-cigarettes have emerged as a strangely acceptable practice. I fear this trend will erode the progress that has been made over decades in the fight against tobacco.

Although I always knew cigarettes can kill, the “truth campaign” helped me learn just how much the tobacco companies were willing to do to keep people addicted.These days it seems that health organizations are fighting the same battles as they did years ago, but this time against e-cigarettes. I’m taking notice because this time it’s personal. They are targeting my generation. This is about teens and young adults, those who will write the next chapter of California’s history.

Have you noticed that e-cigarette marketing is more pervasive than traditional cigarettes, and that the ads seem to be speaking to you specifically? That’s because e-cigarettes are heavily advertised and targeting young adults through tele-

vision and radio – channels where cigarette ads were banned more than 40 years ago. They can even pass out samples at concerts, bars and festivals.

What I’ve come to learn is that of the more than $80 million spent on e-cigarette advertising in 2013, the vast majority came from Big Tobacco companies. This is because they own most of the e-cigarette brands now. For example, Lorillard, the nation’s third-largest cigarette company, bought blu, the clear market leader in e-cigarettes.

In the last three years, the amount of e-cigarette advertising rose more than 1,200 percent, clearly showing that the tobacco industry is investing in a new market. They are aiming to recruit the next generation of smokers to replace the one they are killing off now with traditional tobacco cigarettes.And there’s a lot they’re not telling us about what’s actually in e-cigarettes.

E-cigarette companies are currently not required to disclose the ingredients (and toxins) in their products.

There are no safety or health standards associated with e-cigarettes…. right now, pet food has more safety standards than e-cigarettes.

Facts about e-cigarettes

•E-cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance (as addictive as heroin).

•E-cigarette use among young adults, ages 18 – 29, increased from 2.3 percent in 2012 to 7.6 percent in 2013. Young adults in California

are three times more likely to use e-cigarettes than those 30 and older.

•E-cigarettes are purposefully marketed to a younger audience with fruit, candy and alcohol flavored e-juice.

•E-cigarettes pose health risks not just to those who use them, but also to people who may be exposed to the secondhand aerosol emitted from e-cigarettes, which contains harmful chemicals — it’s not just harmless water vapor.

What really scares me though is that all of this e-cigarette marketing, and rapidly increasing usage, is making the act of smoking seem… normal again. These electronic devices are clearly aimed at introducing our generation to nicotine addiction. This directly undermines California’s progress to establish tobacco-free norms, which reduced smoking rates by 50 percent, saving people’s lives and reducing healthcare costs.

The California Department of Public Health recently released its first campaign to educate Californians on the health risks of e-cigarettes, and these aggressive marketing practices used to recruit the next generation of smokers. As students who are taught to question our surroundings, I encourage you to get smart and educate yourself about e-cigarettes. Together we can ensure that younger Californians do not fall victim to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing and rewrite the history we should be living.

A golden boy is tarnished. Again.

By Matthew Patton OPINION EDITOR

When I heard the recent news that Tom Brady was essentially guilty of cheating, I laughed.

Here we go again.

How many times is some sort of controversy going to circle it’s head around the New England Patriots? Whether it’s the head coach, Bill Belichick, or the boy wonder quarterback Tom Brady, it seems something shady is always coming from their camp.

In 2007 it was Spygate. (Quick sidenote: is there any way that we can give these scandals a title that doesn’t end with the word “gate”?

Or all of these things doomed to reference Watergate from now until the end of time?)

Like I was saying, in 2007 it was Spygate, when the Patriots were caught illegally videotaping opposing coaching signals.

The National Football league came down on the entire organization with a series of penalties, but the steepest one was in the form of public perception: everyone outside of Boston viewed them as cheaters.

And that particular stigma followed them every year they didn’t win a Super Bowl, fair or not.

Now, you have people from all corners of life saying that deflating the footballs didn’t really influence the game that caused this whole stink.

My thing is: then why do it?

Photo by Gregory Wakeman

Whether it’s Brady, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Tyson Gay... whomever. Why do great athletes cheat when they clearly don’t need to?

The answer is simple: because they can. They do it because they can, and because they can get away with it. And on the off chance that they get caught, they can always say “what? Me? Why would I need to cheat?”

And it would make sense, because the athletes mentioned earlier are/were among the best in their respective disciplines. Cheating should be a tactic left to the rank and file, not those at the top

of their sport.

But it happens anyway.

The same ultra-competitive juices that ultimately helped make them the success stories they were are the same juices that end up smearing their name.

And an example should be made of them. No one should be above the rules, no matter how inconsequential they may seem.

If the rules that govern a sport don’t matter, then why bother having them in there? @koldest_wynter mpatton@theguardsman.com

Photo illustration by Khaled Sayed

Imagine no religion

By Khaled Sayed

online content manager What if I told you that I have a friend who wants you to follow his teaching, believe in him and live by his rules, but you can’t meet him, see him or even listen to him over the phone? My friend only speaks to me. He is shy that way.

He wants you to know that he is all-powerful and infallible: the eternal supreme being. He created the world and he also created you in his image. He said that he loves you and he asks you to love one another.

Believe in him and have faith in

If I told you that story would you believe me?” his existence and you will be rewarded after death with awesome things that you can’t even imagine or see.

He calls it heaven. Heaven is where you live after death for eternity with all your family who follow him.

However, if you choose to ignore his teachings and turn your back on him or question his existence, you will burn in hell where you will suffer and live in pain for all eternity.

The question is, if I told you that story would you believe me? Would you listen to what I have to say on behalf of my friend? Or would think that I’m a crazy person whom you would walk away or even run from?

These are religions and their promises. All of them want you to follow them without a shred of evidence.

God decided to send his message through people (mostly uneducated) living in the deserts somewhere in the Middle East. He gave them some kind of story book and rules to follow, and you should just blindly follow their teaching and fight for God and raise your offspring up in that religion.

Religion promises you that you will be rewarded for being a sheep: a weak minded individual who likes to be part of a group, maybe because misery loves company.

Don’t you think that it would be

simpler if God showed himself (or herself) to us and asked us to follow him and his teaching? You would think that this would eliminate our doubts and make it easier to believe in him.

You would think that God, being all-powerful, would have a better and more convincing way to attract followers. Instead God is standing by watching wars unfold and watching people die in disasters without helping. He will also watch you make mistakes such as murdering people or getting addicted to drugs.

But don’t worry: when you hit rock bottom or go to prison, you will find him there. If you choose to become a believer, you will be born again and be cleansed of all your sins.

According to religious books God does not interfere. But apparently he did long ago to punish people who didn’t believe in him by turning them into salt, drowning them in a worldwide flood, or getting the Earth to swallow them with no regards to the innocent, the infants or the unborn babies.

Religion is a false belief that is based on an incorrect interpretation of history and reality. People who believe in God hold on to false beliefs despite clear evidence to the contrary. A person will go to war, desert his family and friends and do wicked thing in the name of religion.

God also stopped appearing to prophets, and stopped making new religions and books. Now he is only relying on his followers to convince you of his teaching, instead of doing the obvious thing and appearing to us. He decided that letting his people do the leg work is more effective than talking to us directly.

It is time to leave your imaginary friends behind and start living your own life; the only life you will ever have. Be good to people around you and treat people they way you want others to treat you. Love one another and be kind to one another not because some invisible being or a book told you so.

Do it because it is the best way to behave in society among people. @khaledfilms ksayed@theguardsman.com

8 | THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | MAY 13 - MAY 22, 2015

sports

Women’s water polo in the works

San FranciSco PeninSula

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SUMMER OPEN HOUSE Women’s swim team set and ready for the mark, Friday, January 30.

(Archive photo by Jon Brooner)

By Shaleisa Daniel SPORTS EDITOR

The likelihood of a competing water polo team coming to City College is creating a wave of interest and enthusiasm.

The athletic department has been buzzing with plans to create a women’s water polo team and the Fall 2015 season is pending college approval.

The new addition cannot come soon enough according to Swimming Coach Phong Pham, who for years has expressed interest in starting such a team.

“It’s been in the works and talked about in meetings for the past few years,” Pham said.

Although the City College Athletics Department has vocalized their support for a women’s water polo team, Coach Pham is concerned that its lack of popularity as a sport could thwart its development.

“Our goal is to recruit enough players to compete knowing that San Francisco is not a huge fan of women’s water polo or water polo period,” Pham said. “It’s going to be challenging. But I think we can make our goal and have a somewhat competitive team.”

Strong support for women’s water polo at City College

Three City College swimmers have already committed to the potential team, but Coach Pham would like to acquire others to definitively have a team by next semester.

“We need to have more players in place by the end of the semester so we’ll probably know in the next

couple of weeks,” Pham said.

Pending finalization, the development is expected to go smoothly according to City College Athletic Department Chair Dan Hayes.

“We’ll know pretty soon. I think everything is going to be positive,” Hayes said. “We already have a facility and a coach; we’re looking to create more opportunities for female student athletes.”

There are no known plans to bring a men’s water polo team to City College any time soon.

“There seems to be more interest in women’s water polo.” Hayes said.

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Water polo aids swim team

According to Pham, developing a water polo team is expected to strengthen the swimming program.

Swimmers choosing to play water polo will be required to train in the fall and spring in order to help them maintain excellent physical condition.

“It will support both programs because the conditioning for our student athletes will be year around between swimming and water polo,” Pham said.

As of now, City College is the only school in the Coast Conference that does not offer women’s water polo.

In the past, swimmers coming from nearby high schools who wanted the option to swim and play water polo have instead opted for schools that offer both sports, according to Pham.

College approval is expected in the coming weeks.

“We’re very optimistic.’” Hayes said.

REALIZE YOUR DREAM AT MILLS COLLEGE.

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Swim team practice at the Wellness Center, Friday, January 30.

(Archive photo by Jon Brooner)

There’s still time to apply for fall 2015!

Call or email today to meet with an admission counselor and tour the Mills campus. Learn about our generous financial aid opportunities and our admission process.

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