C I T Y C O L L E G E O F S A N F R A N C I S C O ’ S N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1 9 3 5
Volume 153, Issue 1
TheGuardsman.com
January 25- February 7, 2012
A BUG IN THE SYSTEM (Part 1)
A computer virus trolled banking information from City College students for over a decade. Tens of thousands of students’ financial information may have been stolen.
This is how it happened. A Guardsman first! Hand drawn, fully illustrated news story on Reporting by Joe Fitzgerald, Art by Jessica Kwan
ON THE INSIDE CULTURE: CITY COLLEGE STUDENT ART SPOTLIGHT Page 5
page 2.
Final Report by the Student Success Task Force unanimously approved in January
COLUMN: ESCAPE FROM CITY COLLEGE
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MATT LAMBERT/ THE GUARDSMAN
One of dozens of speakers at the California Community Colleges Board of Governors meeting January 9, City College student Fly Benzo talks about his educational experiences and questions the Task Force’s definition of ‘student success’. By Sara Bloomberg THE GUARDSMAN
SPORTS: WOMENS BASKETBALL’S NARROW VICTORY Page 8
With only two abstentions, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors has unanimously approved the adoption of the final recommendations of the Student Success Task Force, setting in motion the implementation of a controversial new set of rules. A lively crowd of over 100 people, including more than two dozen City College students and faculty, assembled Jan. 9 in Sacramento at the board’s meeting chambers in the Capitol building to testify for and against the adop-
tion of what the State Chancellor’s Office described as an historic set of reforms for community colleges in California. Chancellor Jack Scott commended the work by the Task Force which was established in January 2011 by SB 1143 and entrusted with the responsibility of assessing “student success” in California in order to develop a plan for increasing transfer, graduation and degree completion rates for community college students. The Task Force was also charged with examining ways to prioritize funding for students to achieve their stated goals. “I can’t tell you how hard and
how wonderfully the Task Force worked and how much discussion they engendered,” said Scott, though he acknowledged, “there’s no claim for perfection.” Opposing viewpoints Opponents of the decision worry that the Task Force’s recommendations will lead to the explicit rationing of education, increased student debt via loans, decreased access and equity for the most vulnerable students, and reduced local autonomy for colleges. “The report does not provide evidence-based examinations of the issues, nor does it explore the probable consequences from
the major changes it proposes,” claims City College Academic Senate President Karen Saginor. Saginor foresees that recommendation 8.3 will lead to test preparation in lieu of actual instruction and recommendations 3.1 and 7.3 will lead to skewed statistics regarding completion rates if students are forced to indicate long-term goals that they have no intention of completing. Saginor explains that by tying unit caps to BOG Fee Waiver eligibility, as laid out in recommendation 3.2, poorer students who reach the 110 unit limit TASK FORCE Page 3
2 | January 25- February 7, 2012 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
NEWS
HOW MUCH INFORMATION WAS STOLEN? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER TO FIND OUT! Follow us on Twitter @SFBreakingNews and Twitter. com/sSFbreakingnewsfor live coverage of the Jan. 26 Board of Trustees meeting to get the whole scoop.
Reporting by Joe Fitzgerald, Art by Jessica Kwan
A BUG IN THE SYSTEM
a hand drawn news story
Viruses, spyware and malware have been stealing students’ private data from City College computers for close to a decade says the school’s Chief Technology Officer Dr. David Hotchkiss. He revealed the breach at a Thursday, Jan. 12 City College Facilities, Infrastructure and Technology committee meeting attended by members of the college Board of Trustees. The computer breach was then reported to the public by the San Francisco Chronicle the day after that meeting. The viruses made their home in an Ocean Campus Cloud Hall computer lab. That room, C247, was closed off last semester after Thanksgiving to prevent students from falling prey to identity theft, said City College Student Trustee Jeffrey Fang. “What is confirmed is that the lab C247 is infected,” Fang said. “What we got on Thursday’s meeting was preliminary at best.” What little is known could have tremendous impact on anyone who has ever logged onto a City College computer. According to Dr. Hotchkiss’ testimony from the FIT meeting, the viruses may have been systematically stealing banking and other data from City College students and faculty for close to a decade.
(part 1)
High-tech robbery
City College Board of Trustee’s President John Rizzo said whenever a computer user logged into a banking website, the virus would take a snapshot of the screen. It may have also recorded the keystrokes of a user’s password. The virus would hold onto the snapshot for a day, and at 10 p.m. each night the virus would send out the collected information to data thieves in Russia, China, and parts of the United States. Dr. Hotchkiss traced at least 723 Internet protocol addresses to the Russian Business Network, “A notorious gang in the business of stealing and selling personal information,” according to the Chronicle’s report on the viruses. According to Trustee Fang and other sources, the only viruses found and verified so far are from room C247 in Cloud Hall. The sheer volume of IP addresses tied to the data theft imply that many more computers have been breached. In the same way an address identifies a house or apartment, IP addresses identify specific computers whenever they access the Internet. If over 700 of them were recorded sending transmissions to Russia from City College, the implication is that more computers by the malicious viruses than initial reports have claimed. While City College officials have yet to determine the full extent of the security breach, they were able to confirm that the Gough Street business office, which houses sensitive data concerning student financial records and grades, is secure. Offices among the 12 City College campuses and satellites are currently under investigation. An email was sent Jan. 13 from college Chancellor Don Griffin informing the college community at large of the possible identity thefts. The email claims network security firm USDN Inc. will have a full report on the extent of the information stolen in three weeks. The email raises an important question: if the college new of attacks on school computers as early as Thanksgiving of 2011, why is it only notifying students in mid-January?
Students go unwarned
The virus infestation was reported to the committee on Thursday, Jan. 12, by Dr. Hotchkiss. However the Chronicle report, interviews conducted by The Guardsman and the date of the computer lab closure confirm that City College officials were aware of the security breach from as far back as Thanksgiving. Despite this, no email warnings were given to students about possible security breaches until mid-January. Unaware of the danger, students continued to use the college’s computer system through the end of finals. With a student body of over 90,000, the potential for thousands of students to be affected by the viral infection grew. When asked why the student body wasn’t notified of the dangers of logging into school computers, Trustee Rizzo said, “The first thing we saw was a gap in the data log.” He was referring to City College’s network log for transmissions in and out of the school. “We only issued a warning when we had enough data to issue a warning,” Rizzo said.
City College hires big guns
Security firm USDN Inc. is now investigating the scope of the damage done to the college’s networks and firewalls. According to its website, the company has worked on network security for businesses, national defense agencies, and financial institutions. USDN Inc. was previously paid $40,000 for network security consulting for the college in April 2011, according to Board of Trustees funding reports obtained by The Guardsman. Trustee Rizzo was quick to note that USDN inc.’s reputation for it’s data security makes them “big players,” and that it was Dr. Hotchkiss’ decision to hire them “Before he was here no one was taking [computer] security at this school seriously,” Rizzo said. UDSN Inc.consulted City College in securing it’s network systems, and now is investigating the breach. City College officials were unable to comment however on the full price tag for the additional consulting by USDN Inc., or if it is included in the initial consulting contract. All officials The Guardsman contacted for that information said simply, “I don’t know.” The Guardsman was unable to obtain records of USDN’s contract with
the college before press time. The school has its own IT Security department defending against hacking intrusions and security breaches. When called for comment, IT department employees refused to be interviewed. Dr. Hotchkiss is under orders to refer all media inquiries to the Chancellor’s office, and the Chancellor has ignored all interview requests. Many unanswered questions linger: the extent of the breach, the number of students and faculty affected by data theft, the true cost of hiring USDN inc. to investigate the vulnerability, and the rationale of Dr. Hotchkiss and college officials who withheld evidence of hacking for more than a month after the problem was discovered. Dr. Hotchkiss is due to give his full report on the extent of the damage at the Jan. 26 Board of Trustees meeting. Pick up the next issue of The Guardsman for part two of “A Bug in the System.” You can also follow our twitter feed “@sfbreakingnews” or “Twitter. com/sfbreakingnews” for a live update of Dr. Hotchkiss’ report on Jan. 26. email: jfitzgerald@theguardsman.com
News
The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | January 25- February 7, 2012 | 3
CA Community Colleges to ration education TASK FORCE from front
could loose access to classes because they can’t afford the costs previously covered by the Fee Waiver. Conversely, wealthier students who reach the unit cap and can still afford to pay their fees will be able to continue their education. A more nuanced approach “This is not a consensus document. This is a controversial document,” said City College ESL instructor Susan Lopez, echoing the sentiment that many voices were left out of the Task Force’s discussions, particularly student voices. Students had only one representative on the twenty-two member Task Force, namely Student Senate for California Community Colleges President Kevin Feliciano. “We hope that the Board of Governors will ensure that students are at the table,” said Feliciano, referring to the implementation phase of the Task Force’s recommendations. The Student Senate, a body of elected representatives from all 112 community colleges across the state, supports 11 of the 22 recommendations and raised concerns about the rest but stopped short of asking the board not to endorse the recommendations. “We didn’t reject the proposal as a whole but there are parts we have conflicts with,” said Student Senator Eddie Triste of Allan Hancock College in Santa Barbara.
One of the concerns outlined by the Student Senate regards the Task Force’s narrow definition of student success, which they say fails to acknowledge varied paths of student success. City College student Fly Benzo addressed this when he told the board, “As an African American, just being in college is successful.” Two of the recommendations are particularly worrisome to the Student Senators. The first being Recommendation 3.2, which stipulates
its entirety and not item by item, which could explain the Student Senate’s diplomatic approach to the final report. Student Senator and City College Student Trustee Jeffrey Fang asked the board to look beyond the emotions of that afternoon and to listen to all the speakers’ concerns. The final vote Superintendent-President of the Long Beach Community College District Eloy Oakley supported the Board’s decision. “The system is trying to deal
“Do I love every recommendation in it? No, but I support the report. ”
-West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon
attaching unit caps to BOG Fee Waiver eligibility, and the second being Recommendation 4.1, which removes state funding for “courses not in support of student educational plans”, also known as enrichment classes, such as dance, music, art and foreign languages. However, recognizing that there are many students who do need additional support, the Student Senate agrees that more needs to be done to address basic skills deficiencies that begin at the K-12 level and that these deficiencies should be addressed in the first year of enrollment at a community college, as explained in Recommendations 1.1 and 3.4. It had long been understood that the board would vote on the Task Force’s final report in
with funding in California. How do you prioritize the resources you have?” said Oakley, referring to budget cuts. Thirteen members of the Task Force were present that day, including Chancellor Scott, Feliciano and West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon. Cabaldon defended the Task Force’s work. “Do I love every recommendation in it?” he said. “No, but I support the report.” Board Vice President Alice Perez allowed Cabaldon to speak over his allotted two minutes, without interrupting or warning him as she had done to several speakers before. The audience noticed. Somebody shouted, “Nobody
City College News in Brief
Armed robberies reported near campus Three armed robberies were reported to have occurred near City College during the 2011 fall semester. In October a man was robbed at gunpoint near the intersection of Gennessee Street and Staples Avenue. In November two more armed robberies were reported near the Phelan Loop.
Editor-in-Chief Joe Fitzgerald Managing Editor Elliot Owen News Editor Sara Bloomberg Culture Editor Lulu Orozco Opinion Editor Kevin Brown
cut him off!” Board President Scott Himelstein asked the audience several times during the three hours of testimony to refrain from disruptions such as clapping or hissing and even threatened to end the public comment period if further disruptions occurred. Several board members implored the audience to get involved with the implementation process, saying that the Task Force’s final report was just a “recommendation”, effectively downplaying the weight that such a recommendation will have during implementation and negating the fact that many parts are exempt from legislative approval. As the board concluded announcing their votes one by one, a group of students interrupted with an Occupy-style mike check, raised a banner stating “Education is a right, not a privilege” and chanted, “Our voices have not been heard!” and “We’ll be back!” Students fight back Over 20 California community college newspapers have recently published articles challenging the Task Force, as part of a coordinated effort spearheaded by The Guardsman staff. In December 2011, The Guardsman published an editorial denouncing the Task Force as an assault on public education in California and calling for students across the state to fight back. email: sbloomberg@theguardsman.com
By Thomas Figg-Hoblyn | THE GUARDSMAN
City College teachers support the ‘Millionaires tax’ Faculty from the American Faculty Teachers Union, local 2121 are backing the California Funding Restoration Act, or “millionaires’ tax” ballot initiative. Proposed by a coalition of educators, unions and community groups, the initiative is designed to restore education and essential services in California.
Occupy CCSF joins ‘Wall Street West Occupation’ Occupy CCSF joined forces with Occupy SFSU on Friday, Jan. 20, and occupied the state building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue. The Occupiers voiced their disapproval of rising education costs and put Gov. Jerry Brown on notice, promising action in Sacramento March 1-5.
Over 100 thefts occurred on campus in 2011 According to statistics from crime monitoring sources there were almost 120 thefts on campus in 2011. Most of the thefts took place at the Ocean Wellness Center, the Rosenberg Library and in the parking lots.
Sports Editor Taylor Clayton
Social Media Editor Peter Hernandez
Al Gutierrez Vincent Palmier
Online Editor Jon Bechtol
Advertising Editor Peter Ho
Multimedia Editor Clarivel Fong
Staff Writers Lance Kramer Catherine Lee Thomas Figg-Hoblyn Lucas Pontes de Almeida Peter Hernandez Oz Litvac Alex Schmaus David Pan Jon Bechtol Anthony Fusaro
Staff Photographers Clarivel Fong Vincent Palmier Augustine Wittkower
Photo Editor Beth LaBerge Copy Chief Susan Boeckmann Calendar Editor Catherine Lee
email: tfigghoblyn@theguardsman.com
Illustrator Jessica Kwan Multimedia Sergio Berreno Augustine Wittkower Network Manager Phillip Ng
Dueling tax plans claim to save ed funds By Alexander Schmaus THE GUARDSMAN
Governor Jerry Brown proposed heavy budget cuts to public health and welfare in his 2012-13 budget plan released January 5. If Brown gets his way, there will be $450 million cut from childcare subsidies, $678 million from Medi-Cal, $168 million from in-home supportive services and $1 billion from CalWORKs. “These are painful reductions,” Brown said. “But that’s what it takes to balance the budget.” Brown seeks to address rest of the state’s $9-$13 billion deficit with an initiative asking California voters to support some temporary tax increases. The tax package includes a .5% increase in the sales tax and an increase of up to 2% on taxes paid on income above $250,000. If voters reject his proposal in November, Brown threatens more budget cuts, including $5 billion in “trigger” cuts to education: $4.8 billion from schools and $400 million from higher education. The California Federation of Teachers is proposing a progressive alternative called “The Millionaire’s Tax”. They propose a permanent tax increase of 3% on income between $1-2 million and 5% on income over $2 million. It would raise about $6 billion to begin re-hiring laid-off teachers, rolling back college tuition increases and restoring funding to essential social services. City College English instructor and American Federation of Teachers Local 2121 President Alisa Messer says, “This is common sense to most Californians, if we are going to raise taxes, they should not be on the 99%, they should be on those that can afford to pay.” Messer estimates the initiative would raise about $13 million a year for City College and hopes students, faculty and staff will participate in a grassroots movement of support for “The Millionaire’s Tax.” email: aschmaus@theguardsman.com
Faculty Adviser Juan Gonzales
Mail: 50 Phelan Ave Box V-67 San Francisco, CA 94112 Phone: (415) 239-3446 Email: email@theguardsman.com
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4 | January 25- February 7, 2012 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.
OPINIONS Remember when the first day of school used to be exciting? You’d show up, fresh from break, backpack full of shiny new school supplies, blank notebooks full of potential. If you were exceptionally dorky you’d have carefully written your name on each and every item. Your schedule would be set, and you’d be
totally prepared to tackle the next semester of classes. Now, it’s a panic-inducing frenzy of fighting to get into the packed classes you NEED in order to graduate/transfer/ whatever. That English class? It’s got a full enrollment of 32, plus a wait list of 15, and you’re not on either. The teacher basically
VIDEO - OCCUPY “MIKE CHECKS” KEY VOTE Occupy protesters interrupt board of governers on student success task force recomendations. Sheriffs seeking arrests. youtube.com/TheGuardsmanOnline
kicks you out of her class; she needs that floor space for registered students. And I do mean floor space — fat chance there are enough desks. With these odds, we could be stuck at City College FOREVER. Nothing feels safe without that precious add code in your hands. Students with priority registration could probably make a killing on the black market, weaseling their way into high-demand classes and redistributing those precious stickers for profit. Every teacher starts the school year with a spiel on coursework, attendance policies, exams, reading materials, etc. It all starts to blend together by the end of the day… or maybe that’s because it’s
practically the same lecture from every teacher. Sitting through that monotony and then finding out you’re STILL not accepted is enough to send you into a weeklong coma where the only sound is your brain screaming. Each semester there’s that teacher who lays down that “school is like a job” speech. You know what I mean: “If you don’t do your work, and don’t show up, you’re going to get dropped. They wouldn’t put up with that in the real world, when you have a job.” You know what’s actually different about having a job? They PAY you, and don’t give you work to do at home (most of the time). Now shut up and teach me something so I can go GET a job, or at
least get close to finding one. All those eager students are crawling with diseases they’ve collected over break doing who knows what. I’ve only had two days of school and I’m already a sniffly, sore-throated bedridden mess. Please, do the rest of us a favor and at least cover your damned mouths. So here’s what we do: For people trying to add, always email the teacher beforehand. I once got into a class solely because of that, despite my registration date. Bring plenty of pens, so you can doodle on those syllabuses during the first day drone. And if you still feel the urge to write your name on everything, bring a marker for the bathroom stall.
email: editor@theguardsman.com
Veterans
Corner
By Tyler Dylan Brown CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A 17-year-old Asian American male from Chicago was beaten up by six teenagers—the majority of them wore hoods to conceal their identities–on January 17th. This viral video portrayed the victim as a passive teenager unable to defend himself, but he was not passive. He was, instead, actively defending himself — more specifically, his life — by acknowledging the consequences of fighting back. Had he fought back, he would have been outnumbered by these six teenage thugs. Had he fought back, he could have been beaten more severely, causing more bruises and lacerations. But more importantly, had he fought, he could have been the victim of excess hemorrhage caused by excess traumatic forces. This 17-year-old Asian American, in other words, could have died had he impulsively chosen to resist. But he did not. He laid on the ground in selfdefense, absorbing these ruthless blows by these
ruthless, teenage thugs to avoid more ruthless blows. Good call. I am not praising the 17-year-old because he chose to take a brutal beating. Instead, I am applauding his decision because he was being realistic about his options. Think about it: If you’d had to make a choice between a brutal beating versus an even more brutal beating resulting from a futile attempt to fight back, which one would you have chosen? I would have chosen the first, because I value my life more than my pride. The 17-year-old could have felt the same way, when he knew his life was in jeopardy. In the end, this self-defense had him seeking medical treatment. But he lived to see another day, a day where he could seek justice for this raciallymotivated crime. Once again, Good call. email: editor@theguardsman.com
Editor’s Notes
The CA Community College Board of Governors voted to approve the Student Success Task Force’s damaging recommendations. The Guardsman led a letter writing, petitionsigning, state capitol busting campaign this past winter against them. So we lost, you’d think. Not at all. We won many concessions along the way: we restored non-credit classes, the right for fee waivers in classes outside our education plans, and much more. We had an impact. Now the laws are written to meet those recommendations, and we can have a say in how that happens. We can still fight. Follow The Guardsman this semester, and we’ll show you how to continue making a difference. email: editor@theguardsman.com
When Bobby Hollingsworth announced he was leaving for SFSU at the end of last semester, it was inspiring to hear the news. Bobby, a great contributor to The Guardsman, had bridged the gap that so challenges the CCSF student body; managing to transfer to a four-year university to finish his bachelor’s degree. The baton has been passed, and it’s time to introduce myself: my name is Tyler Dylan. Originally from Tucson, Arizona, I joined the Army when I was a senior in high school, and served in 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. I am a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom with three deployments. I recently moved to San Francisco and am pursuing a degree in engineering with plans to transfer to SFSU. I will be sharing the challenges faced by veterans stemming from the recent and current Global War on Terror. In my first column of the semester, I want to speak on the chronic physical ailments affecting veterans. Many who served have been left with injuries that they have never fully recovered from. They must seek continuous treatment in order to see results. From leg injuries, bullet and shrapnel wounds, back injuries, and many other ailments; seeking therapy has become a large part of their lives. But the limited options for seeking physical therapy while
attending school full time leave many students in a Catch-22 situation. When using public transportation the three main options are the Fort Miley VA Clinic, the downtown San Francisco Clinic, and the San Bruno Clinic. To get from CCSF to any of these VA clinics takes at best 40 minutes and at worst over an hour. Also you need to factor in the time of the appointment, and whether or not you must wait around afterwards to have labs conducted or to pick up any therapy-related items. In my experiences with physical therapy at the VA, three-to-five appointments a week for several months is not uncommon, with each appointment lasting half an hour to a full hour. When you add it all up you are looking at losing 6-15 hours a week. It would be a great service to the student veteran community if the Veterans Resource Center in Cloud Hall bring in a VA physical therapist. No one who served their country deserves to be in pain or discomfort simply because they have to choose between getting physical therapy and working toward their personal potential. This semester I will be spearheading a movement to bring a physical therapist from the VA to CCSF. It would be an amazing investment in our student veteran body by bringing everyone back to the fullest health they can have, and by freeing up time in the week for us to apply ourselves to the fullest of our abilities. email: editor@theguardsman.com
Letters to the editor - Will return next issue Letters to the editor must be under 250 words and may be edited for content. Send letters to: editor@theguardsman.com
CULTURE
The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | January 25-February 7, 2012 | 5 Let the Guardsman Lead the way! City College news, stuff that’s important. Now on YouTube
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City College
Student Spotlight Are you an artist, writer, and a student? Trying to impress that cute guy or girl in class? Submit your sketches, photography, songs, poetry and recipes... any original pieces to entice your desired paramore. Two students will be featured per issue. Submit your work to gorozco@theguardsman.com or drop off your submissions at Bungalo 615
Left, “Weathered Body” by Matthew Ronan Currently showing at 33 Gough, CCSF Administrative Building, until Feb 10th. These 4 mixed media photographs incorporate wood-burning, sculpture, found objects, and digital manipulation and are part of my “Weathered Body” series. I’m drawn to driftwood, because I too have felt like a weathered scrap, tossed aside, over time and trial (like wind and wave to a derelict piece of wood) my rough corners are shaped smooth by a source much greater than myself.
“Tail End of the Day” -24th St is “Our Street” project by Beth LaBerge
“Our Street” began as a project to capture the slow and constant changes of a neighborhood. During my many travels up and down the Mission District’s 24th Street, I stopped and said hello to my neighbors and in doing so found a longing to connect the diverse communities that exist on the street. This collection of photographs bears witness to 24th Street, and the people and places that make it unique.
Techno-Files : Apple challenges texbooks with iBooks2 and iTunes U By Lulu Orozco THE GUARDSMAN
Backpacks might soon become lighter with Apple’s newest launch for the iPad. On Thursday, Jan. 20 Apple launched its newest trend on iBooks: textbooks made to revolutionize the way we have been taught to learn. Elementary and high school students will now have the ability to work with interactive images, 3wD graphics and engaging layouts using the iBooks app, while the updated iBooks 2 will display books with video and other interactive features. Major textbook companies are starting to think in terms of cheaper digital textbooks. McGrawHill, Pearson Education and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are already creating iBooks textbooks for the iPad. According to Forrester Research e-books accounted for 2.8 percent of the $8 billion U.S textbook market in 2010. However with the popularity of digital that percentage is PHOTO BY BETH LABERGE/ THE GUARDSMAN sure to grow.
Schools will be able to buy the iBooks for their student, issuing vouchers to allow them to download their textbooks from the iBookstore. “Textbooks will cost $15 dollars or less,” said Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Philip Schiller, to the Atlanta Journal. However, with the cost of iPads generally starting at $499 dollars, the question whether all school districts can really afford them seems to be the real issue. “The digital divide could be very embarrassing, because if you don’t have the iPad, you can’t do the quiz and you don’t get instant feedback,” says Albert Greco a former high-school principal and Marketing Professor at New York’s Fordham University. “That is an invitation for a lawsuit. I would be shocked if any principal or superintendent let that system go forward.” Educational Apps Reinvented for Universities Apple also released a powerful new app called iTunes U, with more than 500,000 free college-level lectures, videos, books and other resources on thousands of subjects. The app makes it easy for educators to design and distribute complete courses that are made available through the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Professors will have the ability to present outlines,
post notes and communicate with students more effectively. Hundreds of universities, colleges, and K-12 school districts have already began contributing content through iTunes U. More than nine different language level books and lectures are accessible in Chinese, Dutch, French, German and Italian to name a few. Colleges and universities like Stanford, Yale, MIT, Oxford and UC Berkeley have already begun making their interactive textbooks available. Other distinguished publications such as, MoMA, the New York Public Library and Public Radio International are also featured in the app. Textbooks such as Introduction to Linear Dynamical Systems by Stephen Boyd from Stanford University, and American Revolution by Joanne Freeman from Yale University are some of the free college-level titles available. Another app in the educational family includes the iBook Author, which will allow instructors to write and publish their own electronic textbooks and then make them accessible through iTunes U. This project was a long-time ambition for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who believed that paper textbooks could be reinvented by the iPad. email: gorozoco@theguardsman.com
Culture
6 | January 25-February 7, 2012 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
Former City College Student creates a modern day planner
By Catherine Lee
By Lulu Orozco
THE GUARDSMAN
THE GUARDSMAN
The new year calls for extreme weight loss plans, free movie nights, free food and better organizing habits. Former City College student Stephen Kovacic has created a single reference book made up of fun, free and useful information about San Francisco. His new daily organizer and reference guide, The Poor Bastard’s SF Almanac, will help manage your 2012 needs, cravings and demands. The 108-page planner is a nifty little book filled with black and white pages that you can easily customize to your liking. It’s full of insightful knowledge and useful resources, including a list of free events and attractions at the Golden Gate Park, a need-to-know late night bus map, the times of the last BART trains, and just in case, a guide on what to do about an overdose. To keep your wallets happy and your hunger satisfied there is also a guide to $1 oyster happy hours (eight of them), free curry Tuesdays and various food truck meet-ups and locations. “I was compiling information for the LGBT center. My job ended and that’s when I started putting this together. I went through archives at the San Francisco Chronicle, made tons of phone calls and begged my friends to do art for me,” says Kovacic. The planner also comes with a CD compilation of 16 local bands such as the Dont’s, FpodBpod, the Jaunting Martyrs and Justine Lucas, who
City College Events Calendar
designed the front cover and contributed to the books inside design. Brendan O’Loughlin’s track titled Monkey Brains is from a previously unreleased solo project and is exclusive to this CD compilation. “I have lived in San Francisco for 10 years, within that time I’ve been collecting bands I’ve taken from my friends. I started to put together a bunch of songs I really loved. A lot of them are by my friends, they are all hidden San Francisco gems,” Kovacic said. While working on this project Kovacic expressed his idea of having people flip through the pages of his planner and finding useful information that they would actually use if they had it in their hands. His insight on the Perfect 5th and Frequencies of the notes (in Hertz) chart and explanation comes from former harmony classes taken at City College. The Poor Bastard’s SF Alamanac planner is available at the City College Bookstore Annex, Modern Times and Green Apple bookstores for $12 dollars. The book is also available for purchase at SFalmanac.org, where you can listen to a sneak peak of the CD compilation. Kovacic is taking art submissions for next year’s 2013 planner at SFalmanac.org email: gorozco@theguardsman.com
PHOTO EDITED BY BETH LABERGE/ THE GUARDSMAN
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Oakland, CA admission@mills.edu www.mills.edu/transfer RESERVE YOUR SPACE AT WWW.MILLS.EDU/VISITFORM.
WED/JAN. 25 Free Jazz Evenings @ Yoshi’s Lounge – 6:30pm: Yoshi’s in SF is spreading the jazz love with free performances every evening thru Jan. 31 (http:// www.yoshis.com) THU/JAN. 26 CCSF Board of Trustees Meeting – 6:30pm @ Gough Offices SAT/JAN. 28 Social Justice Teaching – 10am @ Humanist Hall, Oakland : What California Can Learn from Latin America: People’s Movement Assembly (www.eastbaysocialforum.org) ($5-$10) SUN/JAN. 29 SF Film Noir Festival 10th Anniversary “All-Day Dashiell Hammet Marathon” – 12pm @ The Castro Theatre: 4 classic noir films for only $10 (http:// www.noircity.com/) MON/JAN. 30 Free Book Party for “Sunset District Then and Now” – 7pm @ Sunset Branch of SF Public Library: New Arcadia History book about the Sunset District (SFPL.org) WED/FEB. 1 Environmental Justice Research Training Academy – 9am @ Central Building, 436 14th St, Oakland: 2-day workshop for community organizations for environmental health and grassroots organizing (http://www.datacenter. org/announcing-the-2012-environmental-justice-researchtraining-academy/)
FRI/FEB. 3 CCSF Student Clubs: DEADLINE to apply for $300 Club Recognition Grant SAT/FEB. 4 CCSF Theatre Arts Auditions “Sweet Charity” – 10am @ Diego Rivera Theatre (http://www.ccsf. edu/Departments/Theatre_Arts/ auditions.html) SF Antiquarian Book, Print & Paper Fair – 10am @ Concourse Exhibition Center: Attention, crusty paper huffers and book lovers! ($8-10) SUN/FEB. 5 CCSF Theatre Arts Auditions “Sweet Charity” – 12pm @ Diego Rivera Theatre (http://www.ccsf. edu/Departments/Theatre_Arts/ auditions.html) Free University of SF (FUSF) – Spring 5-week courses begin @ Viracocha: Political Economy @ 10am; Outlaw Writers @ 12pm; Occupy Art @ 2:30pm (https:// www.facebook.com/groups/SFFREEUNIVERSITY/) TUE/FEB. 7 Free CCSF Lecture Series “Coloring Outside the Lines: Black Cartoonists as Social Commentators” – 11am @ Southeast Campus, 1pm @ Ocean Campus (http:// www.ccsf.edu/NEW/en/aboutcity-college/news-and-events/ cls_home.html) Free Literary Reading – 6pm @ SF Public Library: Radar Reading showcase hosted by Michelle Tea (SFPL.org)
SPORTS
January 25-February 7, 2012 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | 7 Congratulations to the 2011 National Champion Rams Football Team Read about how the Rams defeated the Mt. SAC Mounties in the CCCAA State Championship Game at theguardsman.com/category/sports
Women’s Badminton coaches return for another season By Lucas Almeida THE GUARDSMAN
What some feared would be the end of a long and successful coaching partnership between women’s badminton co-head coaches Coni Staff and Fred Glosser, has been delayed for one more year. They have both decided to come back for the upcoming 2012 women’s badminton season. Staff and Glosser had both planned to retire from their fulltime coaching positions with the City College women’s badminton program, but now Staff says she and Glosser would have to continue their involvement to some degree “in a transitional way.” Due to the state budget cuts, the college is does not have the funding to hire replacements for them. So Staff and Glosser have found themselves unable to take time off from coaching at this time. “The whole City College entity has a hiring freeze on that’s made it very challenging to bring on anybody who hasn’t already been employed at City College to coach the team,” Staff said. “That’s why for this season we’re going to be more involved than what we intended to be.” Despite their change of plans, Staff and Glosser will still have a transitional meeting in the coming weeks with new coach Maggie Ho, who will join the badminton coaching staff. Unfortunately due to budget cuts, Ho will not be offered a full coaching contract. “However there will be fundraisers and other methods to compensate Ho and make it clean cut,” Staff said. Staff also explained that their philosophy of work will not change and that their duties as coaches will not suffer major
PHOTO EDITED BY BETH LABERGE/ THE GUARDSMAN
Co-head coaches Coni Staff (left) and Fred Glosser (right) hold up their 2010 badminton state championship trophy.
differences with the inclusion of Ho in the staff. According to Glosser, coach Ho is the one who will actually be mentoring and guiding this season’s team, sharing her experience as a State Singles Champion in 2008. “She will be a great asset to the players because she has competed at a very high level and knows what skills and attitude it takes to compete against other teams,” Glosser said. Staff and Glosser have been
coaching the women’s badminton team for the past four years, being undefeated in the coast conference since 2008 and winning the state championship in 2010. Together, the two coaches have helped lead the team to a streak of 28 consecutive conference wins. The women’s badminton team was the first women’s team at City College to win a State Championship in any sport. In the past couple of years since the two coaches took over, the team was the state runner-up
in 2009 and again in 2011. They lost last year’s state championship match to long-time rival Irvine Valley College. Sharing similar coaching philosophies, Staff said her experience working alongside Glosser has been terrific. She adds that the most important thing in any coaching atmosphere is to respect one another. “For some coaches winning or losing is the most important thing, but we don’t feel that way,” Staff said. “I love winning just as
much as anybody else, but I also know there’s something more important than that. What’s important is to give studentathletes the fullest experience they can have and to help them be better citizens, developing them to be wonderful people.” During Staff ’s coaching career, she also has coached volleyball, basketball and softball, all at the collegiate level, with stints at San Francisco State, the University of California and here at City College, either in the head coach or assistant coach position. Coach Glosser counts all 50 years of his coaching career as successful years. “Not every year has been a winning success, but the coaching of the teams has always been fun,” Glosser said. He has been the main badminton instructor at City College since 1984. Glosser suggested forming a badminton team in 1990, but could not coach it because he was the baseball coach at the time. The key returning players for the upcoming women’s badminton season are Yupar Khin, who was City College’s number one player in single’s competition last season, and Cecilia Ren, who also had an outstanding first season. Practices will start Feb. 8 and their first pre-season tournament will be held at noon on March 17 at DeAnza College. Email: lalmeida@theguardsman.com
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One-on-one : Profile Q & A with City College shooting guard Ivan Dorsey By Taylor Clayton THE GUARDSMAN
His coach calls him the best shooter in the state. Ivan Dorsey just considers himself very fortunate. Dorsey has had a long journey to get to where he is today, and that journey has enabled him to develop one of the smoothest shooting strokes in the conference. Dorsey is averaging 12.2 points per game this season while shooting over 50 percent from the field and over 47 percent from three-point range. The Guardsman was able to catch up with him and find out about the background that turned him into such a great shooter. Q: What neighborhood did you grow up in? How did you learn how to play basketball?
A: Well, I grew up around the City College area, like 5 minutes away from school. My dad played pro football, so he was the one that really got me into sports. Because of that I developed a love for basketball. He always had a love for basketball, but he never really pursued it, so he taught me and my brother the basic fundamentals. My brother and I were just in competition all the time and my motivation was just to beat him. That’s what just pushed me to work on my game. Q: What high school did you go to? How many points per game did you average and what was the most points you scored at any level? A: I went to Archbishop Riordan High School right across the street from City College. It was a
Catholic school. We played in the West Catholic Athlete League. The highest amount of points I’ve ever scored in a game was 38 and I left with the all-time best threepoint percentage and most threepointers made in school history. Q: Who is your favorite NBA player? A: Man, that’s a tough one. I might go with two guys. If I had to choose one player I would have to go with Gilbert Arenas, but Kobe [Bryant] and Gilbert are my two favorite players. Q: If you could get drafted today, what team do you think would best suit your style of play? Or what team would you want to go to? A: I would just be so grateful to get the opportunity. I would take anywhere.
Q: Do you have a favorite team? A: I would have to run with the LA Lakers. Q: Have you ever had any shooting competitions with anybody in practice or anything like that? How many three-pointer have you made in a row? A: Me and one of my coaches, there’s this drill that he made up that in 20 minutes you shoot as many three’s as you can. You get your own rebound then you spot up and shoot as many as you can. I think I have the record right now for 126 makes. The most three’s I’ve hit in a row is around 30. Q: When did you start falling in love with the game? A: It was when Kobe and Tracy McGrady first came into the league. I used to go out in the
backyard and lower the rim and try to do the same dunks they would (laughing). Q: Have you received any offers from any schools to transfer to? A: Nothing yet. It’s still pretty early in the season. I’m going to wait it out and hopefully we will get to the state championship. That’s where we would get a lot of looks. Q: If basketball for some reason didn’t work out, is there anything else you would want to do? A: I think I would get into law enforcement like my dad. He’s a lieutenant with the Sheriff ’s Department of San Francisco and I think I would try to follow in his footsteps. Email: tclayton@theguardsman.com
8 | January 25-February 7, 2012 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com
SPORTS
UPCOMING BASKETBALL GAMES:
WOMENS VS. SKYLINE DOUBLE-HEADER 5 P.M.
MENS VS. SKYLINE 7 P.M. JAN 25
Rams continue winning streak Rams 73, Foothill 56 By Taylor Clayton THE GUARDSMAN
With City College riding a 12-game winning streak, and beating opponents by an average of 32 points per game during that streak, the Rams came into their game against Foothill College with a lot of confidence. That confidence might have gotten the better of them, as the Rams found themselves facing an early 9-0 deficit. They were able overcome their early struggles and responded with a strong showing for a 73-56 win against the Owls on Jan. 13 at the Wellness Center. The win extended the men’s basketball team’s winning streak to 13 and kept the team in first place in the North Coast Division. The victory also gave the them a No. 1 ranking in the California State Poll, the ranking the team held in November at the start of the season. Head coach Justin Labagh was heard screaming at his players in the locker room after the game, apparently not pleased with how his team started.
“I didn’t think that we came out intense, and that frustrates you as a coach,” said Labagh. “You know these guys, all of them respectively, were the best players on their high school team and they had a long leash, a lot of leeway. Now they are on a real high-performance team and they need to come in, either for one possession or ten possessions, and do their job.” After their slow start the Rams went on a 14-5 run to tie the game. The run was ignited by the hot shooting of sophomore Ivan Dorsey, who hit a couple of three’s and jump shots to bring his team back. On one jumper he was able to make the shot despite being hit on the arm. He was fouled and converted on the three-pointplay. “He is the best shooter in the state,” said Labagh. “It’s always a focus for us getting him the ball and that’s what he does. He’s a dynamic shooter.” Dorsey finished the first half with 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. The Rams went into halftime with a seven-point cushion, 38-31. “It was all the team. They just
BETH LABERGE / THE GUARDSMAN
City College Rams freshman point guard Delon Wright #55 dunks the ball in a game against Foothill that the Rams won 73-56, on Jan. 13 at the City College Ocean Campus in San Francisco.
found me, off screens, found me open,” said Dorsey. “The offense was kind of dead so we just kept swinging it around.” However the team’s success so far this season has been because of their depth, and it has been the main contributing factor during their winning streak. The Rams used a balanced offensive attack and good defense to eventually distance themselves from their opponent. After Foothill hit a threepointer to bring them within six, City College responded with a
9-2 run which saw an alley-opp conversion, as freshman point guard Delon Wright lobbed the ball up to sophomore forward Raysean Hariston for the tip in, putting their team up double digits for good. The Rams finished the game with four players in double figures, including sophomore Thomas Cooper with 12, Hariston and Wright both with 11 and Dorsey with 17 points to lead his team. Wright had a couple of big dunks in the game and was able
to drive to the basket often. “I just tried to attack. Their players were kind of slow, so it was easy to get to the rack,” he Wright. Recently, getting players to control their ego’s have been a concern for coach Labagh. Winning has not. The Rams will try to add to their winning streak when they take on Skyline College Jan. 25 at the Wellness Center. Tip-off is at 7:00 pm. Email: tclayton@theguardsman.com
Women’s basketball holds on for tough victory at home Rams 63 , Foothill 58 By Jonathan Bechtol THE GUARDSMAN
CLARIVEL FONG/ THE GUARDSMAN
Rams sophomore Janis Peterson #32 dribbles into the Foothill defense on Jan. 13 at the Wellness Center, they won 63-58.
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Needing a win to stay relevant in the conference race for first place, the City College women’s basketball team defeated Foothill College 63-58 on Jan. 13 at the Wellness Center in a game featuring three of the conference’s top five scorers. Rams freshman Olivia Overtone-Mayorga stood at the foul line with under a minute remaining, her team up by one, and the ball in her hands for the first and potentially last shot of the 1-1 penalty bonus free throw. The Rams needed her to make both to avoid the possibility of the Owl’s gaining possession on a rebound with a chance to win the game. She did. City College led 61-58 with 30 seconds left on the game clock and were able to hold on. Foothill had two chances to tie the game with the clock winding down but the Rams defense didn’t allow any open looks. “I’m happy with the team’s defensive performance,” said head coach Jamie Hayes. “We got them
out of sync and were able to play our game.” It hadn’t seemed like it would come down to a nail-biter midway through the second half when the Rams held a 12-point lead, their largest of the game. Foothill came charging on an 18-6 run to tie the game at 54 with four minutes remaining. Sophomore Janis Peterson made a free throw and on the ensuing possession, Peterson threw an upcourt pass to Rachelle Smith for a lay-up giving City College the lead again, 57-54. Peterson, averaging 18.2 points per game on the season, scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half. She had injured her knee with eight minutes left in the first half and remained on the sidelines being checked out by a trainer for the rest of the half. She had a bag of ice taped to her knee when she walked to the locker room at halftime. After the game Peterson spoke of her injury. “It was hurting the whole time in the second half, but I’m here for my team. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.” The Owls were down most
of the game yet seemed always within reach of the Rams, due in part to their full court pressing defense. Coach Hayes told her team “don’t let the pressure get to you...be confident.” The Rams turned the ball over 22 times, but when it came down to it they handled the pressure well and converted on several fast break lay-ups after shredding the press. Freshman forward Rachelle Smith contributed 16 points. She also had 13 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end giving City College extra opportunities to score. Sophomore Chiarra Duncan-Perry finished with a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Rams are half a game behind first-place San Mateo, who recently handed City College a loss. They are tied with Foothill and Skyline for second in the North Coast Conference. City College’s next two home games will be against Skyline College on Jan. 25. Tip off on the double-header will be at 5 p.m. Email: jbechtol@theguardsman.com