Vol. 154, Issue 7, Nov. 14- Dec. 4, 2012
Editor’s Note
City College
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San Francisco’s Student Run Newspaper
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1935 | TheGuardsman.com | @SfBreakingNews
Unsolved Murder
Obama won, now it’s time On June 28, a young black man was shot to fix the near his home in Ingleside and police system By Sara Bloomberg
THE GUARDSMAN / SBLOOMBERG@THEGUARDSMAN.COM / @BLOOMREPORTS
What an election! In California, both Proposition 30 and Proposition A passed, the worst parts of the Three Strikes law was repealed and voters rejected—for a second time—a deceptive car insurance law. Oh, yeah. And President Barack Obama was re-elected with just over 51 percent of the popular vote and 332 electoral votes—126 more than Mitt Romney pulled in. By contrast, George W. Bush won the 2000 election by only five electoral votes—after some nefarious political maneuvering—but Al Gore actually won the popular vote by more than half a million votes. Many people, including myself, feared a repeat of 2000. OBAMA: PAGE 9
say there are still no suspects By Carolina Orozco THE GUARDSMAN / CRINCON@THEGUARDSMAN.COM / @SFBREAKINGNEWS
Ermias Kassaye was shot dead around midnight on June 28 in San Francisco. It has been over four months since his murder and it’s still an unsolved case. His family and police have asked any witnesses to provide information to capture his killer and put an end to this tragic event. Kassaye, 26, was heading home from soccer practice in Oakland when he was shot execution style by a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun at the intersection of Mount Vernon Avenue and Howth Street, police said. Kassaye was a block away from his Ingleside neighborhood house. His mother, Sara Zer’ai, is pleading for help. “Who killed my son and why? What was the problem for killing
Organizers fear new center could close Despite funding for English Lab, budget crisis fuels worries By Dalton Amador THE GUARDSMAN / DAMADOR@THEGUARDSMAN.COM / @SFBREAKINGNEWS
English teachers and faculty celebrated with food, beverages and music Oct. 26 for the grand opening of the Rosenberg Library’s English Lab, a promising new resource center whose academic potential sits precariously on the decisions of fiscal overseers. Open since August, the lab integrates disparate English resource facilities such as computer lab Cyberia and tutoring centers. The idea was that doing so would increase voluntary attendance. At the lab, students enjoy study spaces, interactive programs designed to improve literacy, and tutoring. Hosting 125 computers, the lab also features tables for
group studying. Since opening, the lab has attracted 4,343 different students—more than half of all students currently enrolled in English classes at City College. Collectively, the lab has clocked 18,904 hours on computers and 17,528 visits. Despite these impressive statistics, the future of the lab is uncertain. The instructors and faculty who run the lab are concerned that administrators will close the lab as part of a series of sweeping budget cuts, even though the lab is relatively cheap to run. “We invited the higher administrators to the party, but they didn’t come,” Cynthia Slates, head of the tutor program, said with uneasy laughter. The lab’s annual cost is only about $200,000, with funding primarily focused on professors who exchange class time for working at the lab, which is called “released time.” The startup cost was only $1,500.
Photo of Ermias Kassaye courtesy of family.
my son?” Zer’ai said. “My family and I came seeking refuge from violence in Ethiopia to now find ourselves in this devastating situation.” The motive for his murder is still unknown. Investigators and Kassaye’s family believe it is a case of mistaken identity, but haven’t ruled out the possibility of a robbery that turned deadly.
However, police say that Kassaye was found with all of his belongings. Other signs suggest something was bothering Kassaye. Poems found in his journal had emotional words and titles like “Goodbye.” A classmate told his mother that Kassaye drew a crying eye on his desk several days before the shooting. His closest friends, however, said there was no suspicious behavior signaling that something was wrong. Kassaye was a part time student at City College since 2005 . His initial goal was to be a firefighter, but he later changed that to become a soccer coach. “He hoped to create a foundation to help orphan kids in Ethiopia through soccer,” his brother Hannibal Kassaye said. After his death, an Ermias MURDER: PAGE 3
Fall flavors served up with flare at The Educated Palate downtown: read the story on page 2
Swan cream puffs were one of the many desserts prepared by students in the Baking and Pastry program for the Fall Harvest Buffet held at Downtown Campus’ Educated Palate Restaurant on Thurdsay, Nov. 8. Photo by Shane Menez/The Guardsman
Classical music fills diners’ ears By Jandean Deocampo THE GUARDSMAN / JDEOCAMPO@THEGUARDSMAN.COM / @BANANAISAFRUIT
In the past two weeks, the Pierre Coste Room at Ocean campus, a student-operated fine dining restaurant, has heard Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Air” drifting from its grand piano over delicately-crafted napkins and a solo classical guitarist swooning restaurant patrons. It’s a hint of posh that is otherwise unseen at one of City College’s nine campuses. This relationship between the
music and culinary departments represents both a new strategy to increase patronage at the restaurant and tells of an unlikely collaboration between disparate school departments. Madeline Mueller, music department chair, was the lone pianist for the aptly titled Bach for Brunch Nov. 2. She is part of a weekly series of musicians, with scheduled performances by faculty and some students of the music department for the Pierre Coste Room every Friday. The performances are part of the wide array of things the Room does to
ENGLISH: PAGE 2
PIERRE COSTE: PAGE 5
Poetry provides outlet for abuse survivors By Michael Hall
THE GUARDSMAN / MHALL@THEGUARDSMAN.COM / @SFBREAKINGNEWS
Voices boomed through the air of Batmale Hall as students rapped, rhymed and retold personal struggles of the domestic violence and sexual abuse they experienced in their past. Project Survive and students from the Poetry for the People course sponsored the Oct. 25 poetry and storytelling event. Lauren Muller, department chair for interdisciplinary studies, founded Project Survive at City College in 1993 to empower survivors to be role models for each other. “We train students to be educators, and we get their work published,” Muller said. According to Project Survive’s website, “students deliver solutions to their peers in frank, open discussions. They approach the subject in a non-threatening, hopeful manner.” Collaborating with the Poetry for the People course allowed students to deliver their messages through poetry and song. “October is domestic violence awareness month and we’re happy to have our voices heard today,” Muller said. The event was emceed by Alan Herrera, a student and also president of the Poetry for the People course and co-hosted by Project Survive Coordinator Leslie Simon. The poetry readings were from a variety of authors, including famous authors such as Maya Angelou and June Jordan. Other poems were written by the poetry students, as well as audience members who chose to participate. The poems read ranged from haikus to group readings and classic poetry. Some authors chose to remain anonymous but had their work read by others. There was a hushed silence from the audience as Lisa Crippen, a member of Project Survive, read her poem entitled “A marriage takes three”—an analogy for her experience as a victim of rape and violence, while she also struggled with a Crystal Meth addiction. “I’ve been off of Meth for five years now,” Crippen said. “My kids are grateful for it every day. Once you deal with what troubles you, you know how to move on.” POETRY: PAGE 4
INSIDE: NEWS: Equity for high school students of color Pg. 2 NEWS: Bookloan bites back Pg. 2 NEWS: Excellence Awards ceremony Pg. 2
CULTURE: Festival of the Moving Image a success Pg. 4 CULTURE: “The Mouse Trap” hits the City College stage Pg.5
CULTURE: City College fashion: From the classroom to the catwalk Pg.6-7 SPORTS: Rams Football loses to Butte 31-21 Pg. 12