THE GUARDSMAN
VOL. 158, ISSUE 4, OCT. 1 - OCT. 14, 2014 | CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO | SINCE 1935 | WWW.THEGUARDSMAN.COM | @SFBREAKINGNEWS | IG: THEGUARDSMAN | FREE
INSIDE
People of California vs. ACCJC
Commission violates law
Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow agrees with U.S. Department of Education that the commission failed to form a complete evaluation team during City College investigation By Santiago Mejia
@santiagomejia santiago@theguardsman.com
The Guardsman
New bike law Automobiles must leave space for passing bicyclists » Story on page 3
Campus artwork Masterpieces at Ocean campus right under your nose » Story on page 5
Ferguson shooting Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Alejandro Nieto... police brutality is nothing new » Story on page 6
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges violated federal law, ruled Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow on Sept. 19. The 40-page ruling was made following a Sept. 10 hearing requested by both parties for summary adjudication. Karnow stated he has the power to restore the status of City College’s accreditation prior to the challenged issues, but any relief the People of California are entitled to will have to wait for the scheduled Oct. 27 trial. “Trials are usually needed only when there are important disputes about the facts. If there aren’t any, parties may ask the court to decide issues without a trial,” Karnow said. “So these parties brought motions for summary adjudication, by which they hope to show that (1) there are no disputed facts for a trial, and (2) the law requires me to find in their favor.” Out of the 22 issues presented by both parties, Karnow found one undisputable issue by the People that fulfills the motion for summary adjudication. The issue was the commission failed to have more than one academic on the 2013 evaluation team, violating federal law. The other 21 issues will be battled out in the Oct. juryless trial in front of Karnow. The 2013 evaluation team members were hand picked by the commission, was in charge of evaluating City College’s progress towards reaching accrediting standards. The team reported their findings and sent recommendations to the commission. The commission’s policy states it will “include educators, academics, administrators and members of the public on evaluation teams.” But it does not state how many of each are required on a team. At first, Karnow was uncertain if the commission broke the law. “What’s enough academics? 1, 2, 3, 5? I don’t know, nobody’s addressed this,” Karnow said. Karnow decided the commission broke the law after Deputy City Attorney Tom Lakritz, representing the People, brought Karnow’s attention to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education sent last year to the commission’s president. The DOE said one academic was not enough. Additionally, the DOE noted that the evaluation teams sent to City College included a “large number of administrators in comparison to the number
Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow deliberates during a Sept.9 hearing. (Illustration by Olivia Wise/Contributor)
of faculty members.” Additionally, commission members were found participating in the evaluation teams, but the commission’s policy does not state its own members may serve on the teams.
Karnow filed an injunction earlier this year preventing the commission from terminating City College’s accreditation pending the outcome of the trial. City Attorney Dennis Herrera,
representing the People of California, filed the lawsuit against the commission in Aug. 2013. Herrera claimed the commission unlawfully decided to terminate City College’s accreditation.
Campus News Briefs Arming campus officers surfaces once again Arming City College police to ensure campus safety is seriously being considered, college officials said. Currently, City College is one of two community colleges that don’t arm their officers, reported the San Francisco Examiner. The other college is Pasadena Community College. The idea to arm officers surfaced at a listening session on Sept. 5 when the discussion turned to public safety and whether campus police were well trained and equipped to respond to criminals with weapons on campus. At that point, Chancellor Art Tyler said it might be time for a conversation about whether to arm campus police, reported the Examiner. “One of the things that perhaps we should do is have a discussion through the participatory governance process to determine whether or not we should continue the way we are and whether or not that unarmed
status for our police officers is satisfactory,” he said. Although trained and licensed by state law to use firearms, City College police instead carry two types of batons and pepper spray, which has been the case at least since the agency transitioned from a security department in 2001, the Examiner reported. If arming City College police gets the green light, Police Chief Andre Barnes told the San Francisco Examiner, it will involve 28 sworn officers.
New law requires more transparency of ACCJC California’s 112 community colleges must be more transparent, thanks to legislation recently signed into law. Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1942 on Sept. 24 that require an accrediting agency to report accreditation decisions to the Legislature, such as last summer’s vote by the Accrediting Commission for Community and
Junior Colleges to revoke City College of San Francisco’s accreditation. Additionally, the Board of Governors will be required to review the accreditation status of community colleges within a particular district to determine if the district is meeting the minimum conditions mandated by the board for accreditation, reported the San Francisco Examiner. Authored by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, and co-authored by San Francisco’s Democratic assemblymen Tom Ammiano and Phil Ting, AB 1942 was unanimously supported by both the Senate and Assembly. “In signing my AB 1942, Governor Brown has reinforced the importance of having a transparent and fair accreditation process for community colleges in California,” Bonta said in a statement to the San Francisco Examiner. “These new requirements will help guarantee access to affordable, high-quality education for millions of California students.” Briefs continued on page 2
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news
Briefs continued from front page
Campus News Briefs continued
Editor-in-Chief Santiago Mejia Managing Editor Alex Lamp News Editor Samantha Dennis Culture Editor Elisabetta Silvestro Sports Editor Patrick Cochran Photo Editor Nathaniel Y. Downes Multimedia Editor Elisa Parrino Production Manager Madeline Collins Online Content Manager Ekevara Kitpowsong Advertising Manager Calindra Revier Design and Layout Santiago Mejia Staff Writers Patrick Cochran Samantha Dennis Patrick Fitzgerald Charles Innis Calindra Revier Elisabetta Silvestro Staff Photographers Ekevara Kitpowsong Elisa Parrino Khaled Sayed Niko Plagakis Natasha Dangond
T MILLS COLLEGE.
New law enforces voter control of community colleges
Voter-elected Board of Trustee for California community colleges are now fully protected from being disbanded when Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 2087 on Sept. 19. The bill, authored by Tom Ammiano, would rein in the ability of the appointed Community College Board of Governors to wrest control of California community colleges from properly elected public trustees. It would still allow the Board of Governors to appoint a special trustee to temporarily run a college, but only in cases of “severe fiscal mismanagement.” It would also require a plan for returning control to the elected Board of Trustees and require meaningful consultation with those trustees. In 2012, under a vague section of California code, the appointed Community Colleges Board of Governors took over faltering community colleges and effectively deposed the elected trustees of those colleges. City College of San Francisco was the most recent victim of such a takeover. The Governors’ actions against City College followed a highly controversial move to revoke the college’s accreditation. That
accreditation process is being challenged in court by the San Francisco City Attorney and has been the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. “The actions of the Board of Governors have been undemocratic – taking away the powers of properly elected public officials who have done nothing illegal, nothing wrong,” Ammiano said. “You don’t have to agree with everything the trustees have done to recognize that this is basically telling the people of San Francisco that their votes don’t count.” Ammiano’s AB 2087 would still allow the Board of Governors to appoint a special trustee to temporarily run a college, but only in cases of “severe fiscal mismanagement.” It would also require a plan for returning control to the elected Board of Trustees and require meaningful consultation with those trustees.
Petition seeks to protect lifelong learning courses A petition has emerged to protect lifelong learning community college curriculum by eliminating the repeatability regulation that prevents anyone from taking a course more than once. The petition, created by City
College Trustee Anita Grier, seeks to restore the student option on repeating a course for skill development or his/her fulfillment. It asserts “the lives of thousands of low-income seniors for whom engaging with others in a class in the arts—painting, drawing, pottery, writing, dance, or aerobics or other physical disciplines has always been a source of fulfillment. Depriving citizens of the right to learn also deprives younger students from learning to live active and constructive lives, and the value of learning from others’ life experiences.” Since the ‘repeatability’ regulation took effect, City College enrollment is down 23 percent, according to the petition. While the accreditation threat has contributed to the problem, the repeatability rule has exacerbated the enrollment losses. The petition is directed to the California Colleges Board of Governors, the California State House, and Governor Jerry Brown.
BA’s at two-year colleges get greenlight In an unprecedented opportunity, 15 state community colleges may be able to offer one bachelor degree under a pilot program signed into law by Gov.
REALIZE YOUR DREAM AT MILLS COLLEGE.
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Jerry Brown. However, the bill authored by Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego, forbids taking the same courses already offered at the University of California or California State University. Under the pilot program, reported the San Francisco Chronicle, students will pay $84 per upper division credit unit, but lower division credit courses will remain at $46 per unit. Local community colleges considering offering bachelor’s degrees include Skyline College, College of San Mateo, and Cañada College. The plan calls for students taking courses in Fall 2017 with a completion date of Fall 2023. Before a community college offers the new bachelor’s degree, the state chancellor’s office will review proposals and consult with UC and CSU, the Chronicle reported. Also, the degree program must meet standards established by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The community college Board of Governors has until March 31, 2015 to come up with a plan to finance the pilot program. To date, 21 other states offer bachelor’s degrees at community colleges.
THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | OCT. 1 - OCT. 14, 2014| 3
news
Bicycle safety
Three-foot gap required when passing cyclists More than 150 bicycle deaths reported statewide in 2012; new state law to help reduce bicycle deaths By Patrick Fitzgerald
@sfbreakingnews pfitzgerald@theguardsman.com
The Guardsman
Just in time for school, California’s “Three Feet for Safety Act” requiring motorists to provide at least three feet of clearance before passing a cyclist on any road became effective Sept. 16. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported 153 bicycle deaths statewide in 2012, a 7 percent increase from 2011. Three feet is about the length of an open car door. ”I think it is detrimental to the safety of pedestrians, bikers and motorists because it is just not safe what is going on these days,” cyclist and student Seth Finki said. “On my way over here today, riding to school, I (was) passed with(in) maybe a foot of space and it’s just not conducive to safe travel.” Violators will be fined $35 for passing a cyclist proceeding in the same direction within the threefoot zone. The fine plus court cost of $200 makes the total $235 per offense, a significant wake-up call to motorists to pay attention.
A cyclist rides past the City College Mission Center, Thursday, September 25. (Photo by Niko Plagakis)
If road conditions do not allow a three-feet-safety zone, then a motorist must slow down and can only pass the cyclist if the act “will not endanger” the bicyclist. The new law raises the burden of proof on motorists in an accident. An accident resulting in an injury increases the base fine from $35 to $220. “I think it is a great thing,” student Benazir Sardar said . “I know quite a few people who have actually been in pretty horrible
collisions and mainly because cars aren’t giving them enough space so I don’t see it as a bad thing.“ San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (SFMTA) 2013 Bicycle Report recorded an average of 2,000 cyclists daily on San Francisco streets, a 96 percent increase between 2006 and 2013. Technically, a motorist cannot cross a double-yellow line to pass a cyclist. Yet a bicyclist pulling beside a motorist at an intersec-
tion would not cause the motorist to violate this law until the cyclist was ahead of the vehicle. “I don’t think we should really enforce more of a law towards traffic, but enforce more laws toward the bicyclists,” student Douglas Orzynski said. “I have always seen them cross and completely cutting off cars. I even have seen them cutting off buses.” Police will have the same discretion as before in applying the law, taking into account the circumstances of the situation. California joins 32 other states, of which only 22 define the distance, as well as the District of Columbia in providing such protection for cyclists. Wisconsin was the first state to enact such a law with a distance of three feet in 1973. The SFMTA 2013 – 2018 Draft Bicycle Strategy Plan targets increasing cycling from 3.5 percent to up to 10 percent of all trips within the city to meet a 50 percent auto, 50 percent other modes of transportation city-wide commuting share goal by 2018. Two new, two-staged left turn bike boxes were just installed in mid-September at the intersections of 8th and Folsom, and
11th and Howard Streets to make turning across multiple-traffic lanes safer and less stressful. More planned cycling improvement information is available on SFMTA’s website. “I believe that, just (like) the law that cars have over driver’s licenses, bicyclists should have a bicycling license,” student Felipe Sanchez said. “They should be trained bicyclists.” Cyclists can use a full lane on California roads but also must obey the rules of the road including stopping at red lights and stop signs. In 2013, SFMTA reported that 76 percent of bicyclists were wearing helmets and 95 percent were using the proper lanes for transit by proceeding with the direction of traffic. Since 2000, cycling has increased by 50 percent according to the California Household Transportation Survey with about 2 million bicycle trips daily in the Golden state. The California Bike Coalition is working with the CHP to develop signage to heighten awareness of the new law.
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culture
Spotlight
Cattle play leading role in latest photo exhibit By Elisabetta Silvestro
@sfbreakingnews esilvestro@theguardsman.com
The Guardsman
Brian Churchwell was hiking in the East Bay utility district when he noticed a herd of cattle pasturing the hills above Orinda. It was winter and there was a fire. He just took one photo that turned out to be a picture of five cows, forming a V, surrounded by smoke, looking straight at the camera. Churchwell was intrigued and decided to go back in the Spring, when the hills where green, to look for the cattle. He decided to photograph them as a project for his Spring 2014 intermediate digital photography class. “I just wanted to make pictures that are nice to look at,” Churchwell said. He also wanted to do a project close to home, Orinda. Churchwell went back again and again to watch the cattle, study it and, eventually, shoot it.
For two or three weeks he went up on the hills, looked for them, and when he would find them, he would wait, and watch. “They are curious, they come toward you,” he said. But never too close, he added. They are also shy. Every time, Churchwell would stay for about four hours, shooting and waiting for the cattle to notice him and approach him. “One cow came close enough and licked my shoe,” he said. But that has been the closest encounter. At the end of the project, Churchwell wound up with hundreds of photos of cattle. He submitted some of them to win the coveted $500 Yefim Cherkis Scholarship. He didn’t win, but he was proposed to exhibit his work at City College’s Gallery Obscura. “I was looking through the student submissions and saw Brian’s, Orinda Cattle,” Gallery Obscura curator Renee Tung wrote in an email. “I was drawn to it immediately, I think because
Brian Churchwell’s photo from the Orinda Cattle exhibit. (Courtesy of Brian Churchwell)
of the mutual respect that is very apparent between the photographer and the subject. This is not something you see very often with
animal photography, let alone cows … Brian has made them individuals and thus powerful.” The collection of photos is
displaying at the space until Oct. 8 and comprises portraits of 10 different cattle, all looking straight at the camera.
City sponsored fest
Streets burst with community and cultural pride An estimated 8,000 people spill onto the streets for Excelsior District’s own Sunday Streets festival By Calindra Revier
@sfbreakingnews crevier@theguardsman.com
The Guardsman
Brian Belknap arranged his multi-instrumental set on the side of the street where families from all bikes of life were enjoying the day’s festivities. Belknap is just one of the many street musicians and performers who participated in the onemile length of Mission Street shut down for Sunday Streets in the Excelsior this year. “You play bigger rooms and it gets kind of weird, you can’t see people’s faces,” he said as he began to unpack his guitar and placed his accordion beside himself, next to a banjo and a foot drum while kids and families rode by on an assortment of bikes. “This is kind of a literal leveling.” Sunday Streets is an allages event run by Livable City, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to encourage healthy and active living. “You’re going to find plenty of activities like yoga, dance, music and acrobatics,” Scott Reinstein, development and communications director for Livable City, said. Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Gavin Newsom, who wanted, in a quick and cost-effective way, to address the issues relating to open space and chronic health disease, Livable City launched its all-ages event in 2008, focusing on communities that have low access to open space (with few excep-
tions) and healthy, active living. Aerial dancing, bike riding, bike maintenance and a green bookmobile complete with solar panels and a hybrid system focused on delivering part of the San Francisco Public Library to needy citizens anywhere, were just some of the highlighted events of the day. “It’s a movement away from sedimentary lifestyles as well as transit by car and not by bike, or mass transit or walking,” Reinstein said. Working close with city agencies coordinating routes
and street closures, police officers and volunteers, make this event possible. “The goal is to get people out and get people moving and having fun. It’s also a great place if you are nervous about walking in the street or riding in the street or in the city,” Reinstein said. “This is a safe place to do it because you don’t have to worry about car traffic.” Rosario Cervantes has been the music coordinator for the Excelsior Sunday Streets for 12 years and has really enjoyed
bringing the community together. “It’s all about building relationships,” Cervantes said, smiling. “It’s a wonderful way of bringing the different neighborhoods into the Excelsior.” Different acoustic bands and artists lined the 12 blocks of Mission Street, between Avalon and Theresa streets to Geneva Street, with promises of dance that ranged from Latin, to rock ’n’ roll, to hip-hop. A City College business graduate, Cervantes emphasizes the importance of her education.
“I want to highlight City College because it’s an important institution for higher learning. I hope to God they can keep it open because it’s very valuable.” This humble event has grown from two events a year to producing as many as 10 a year, fueled mainly by over 400 volunteers who donate thousands of hours every year. Sunday Streets will host its final event in the Mission District Oct. 19, expecting to draw out close to 75,000 people with a little less than 2 miles shutdown.
A music band ‘Adelante’ performs live salsa and Latin jazz for the audience in front of Mama’ Art Cafe on Mission Street during Sunday Streets Festival in Excelsior Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 (Photo by Ekevara Kitpowsong)
THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | OCT. 1 - OCT. 14, 2014 | 5
culture Diego Rivera’s mural
Historic artworks are in plain sight By Charles Innis
@subculturez cinnis@theguardsman.com
The Guardsman
Students walk by historic artwork everyday on campus, but many may not realize it. Over 23 pieces are scattered throughout Ocean Campus itself and more can be found dispersed among City College’s satellite centers. City College’s archive of campus artwork holds over 90 folders of documents and a breadth of history lies within its content. Julia Bergman, City College Works of Arts Committee chair and retired librarian, said many students are unaware of the campus art, yet she believes it’s important to include artwork somehow in college life.
“I think that for many students today, a visual image is more stimulating or more impactful than a book,” Bergman said. Most of the artworks touch on topics relating to multiculturalism, innovations in science and social injustice. Some are homages to indigenous people of the Americas. Bergman said Diego Rivera’s mural, “Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on this Continent” (better known as “Pan-American Unity”,) is often the focal point of City College’s artwork. The mammoth 22-by-75-foot mural resides within the Diego Rivera Theatre, occupying an entire wall of space. The mural spans five centuries of artistic and scientific evolution in the cultural landscape of America from early indigenous people to colonization to modernization.
Diego Rivera’s mural, Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on this Continent, located inside the Diego Rivera Theatre. (All photos by Natasha Dangond)
Sundial
Sundial
Theory and Science The Sundial, created by August Tisselinck, is located at the south size closest to Ram Plaza at Cloud Hall Plaza.
Organic/Inorganic Science
The mosaic titled Theory and Science is located between the west entrance stairs of Science Hall.
Two marble mosaics titled “Organic and Inorganic Science” inhabit the entire north and south exteriors of the Science Hall. Initially completed by Herman Volz in 1968 and restored in 2005, these mosaics depict large figures engaged in scientific domains such as physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. Images of micrometers, compasses, engines, grasshoppers, bats and beavers make up
the mosaics details, intended to convey the different elements of organic and inorganic science. Bergman said their inception is largely in debt to architect Timothy Pfluegar, who designed City College’s Science Hall and regularly employed a team of artists in his projects. “Because these two pieces are mosaic, it took three years to install these piece by piece by piece,” Bergman said. “It was a labor of love.”
This copper sundial rests on a pedestal on the south side of Cloud Hall Plaza, facing the stairs leading to Ram Plaza and Conlan Hall. August Tiesselinck, a copper and silver smith who designed in the arts and crafts style of the early 20th-century, constructed the sundial in 1972. His wife and former member of the nursing department at City College donated the piece to Ocean Campus. The sundial was damaged for an unknown period of time until 2011, when student Morgan Wilson noticed something peculiar about it. “A student walked up and down those stairs everyday, looked at the sundial, and saw that the gnomon was broken, that’s the piece that points as the sun rotates around,” Bergman said. Wilson contacted the Work of Arts Committee and began arranging for its repair, a task he would undertake himself.
St. Francis of the Guns
St Francis of the Guns stands in front of the Science Hall facing Phelan Avenue. Italian-American sculptor Beniamino Bufano created the sculpture following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Following the slayings, the presiding mayor of San Francisco volunteered citizens to turn in handguns, which Bufano then converted into gunmetal for use in his sculpture. 2000 relinquished weapons went into the casting of St. Francis of the Guns. A mosaic commemorating slain leaders is set into the statue’s base—the faces of Abraham Lincoln, Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. float above a choir of multiethnic children. The St. Francis of the Guns sculpture can be found in front of the Science Hall.
“Although the origins of this piece are kind of grim, it very much has this joyful aspect to it,” Bergman said. Recent proposals have been made to relocate the statue to Alcatraz Island, she added, but such a move would diminish its prominence. “Here, facing Phelan Avenue, everyone driving on Phelan can see it. All the passengers on the 43 Muni bus can see it,” Bergman said. Like most of City College’s artwork, the statue is on permanent loan from the San Francisco Art Commission, so City College cannot object if the proposal is granted. However, Bergman said it will likely remain where it is.
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opinion
Have Your Say:
Should City College police have handguns, assault rifles?
Fran Smith
Photojournalism major
“I’m conflicted. I’m for it for the safety of the students. It’s a tough call. I’d rather have (the guns) be a last resort.”
Ferguson shooting, nothing new By Matthew Patton
@sfbreakingnews editor@theguardsman.com
Contributor
Ferguson is all over the place. Let’s just get that out there, front and center and out of the way. The events taking place in this town of 21,000 people are a microcosm of the country. Lost in much of the discussion of how and why it happened and why it keeps happening is that this is nothing new. Not at all. Ask just about anyone that has grown up as a minority citizen and they’ll tell you. Not due to any traumatic personal experiences, but in the confines of our own homes and communities the unspoken truth of American history is told. How this country came to be what it is and how it came to be seen as the pillar of strength the whole world should endeavor to be like. A beacon of moral integrity that has the cache to wag its finger at other nations with civil unrest while it stands tall upon the graves of Native Americans sacrificed to build it or the Chinese that built its railroads. I ‘d keep going, but look at that pillar of America: doesn’t it stand tall? Down here at the ground level, where American minorities have been perpetually held in check in a variety of ways, that pillar indeed looks tall.
The herculean climb that pillar represents to us seems to get even higher every time we think “we’re making progress,” each step marked by some sort of socioeconomic disturbance, many times accompanied by some sort of racial divide. Previous instances have been marked by names of victims like Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and City College student Alejandro Nieto. When heard, these names will likely invoke some negative feelings towards this government that has not done its job of protecting its citizens. These markers all have themes of the demonization of the dead, guns constantly aimed and fired at minorities for no readily apparent reason and the lack of punishment for the perpetuators of these deaths. One of the greatest rubs to all of this is you’ll have people tell us rioting, looting and lashing out (which I’m not endorsing) is unjustified. Unjustified? According to who? When a community has been systematically under attack for generations by the people that are supposed to protect them, what other recourse do you think they’ll take? And I don’t want to hear about Martin Luther King Jr. He benefited greatly from Malcom X, whose contrasting militant presence forced government to choose between him or MLK. And history has shown
which way the government went. No, look at what sparked the riots in Detroit and Los Angeles. It’s bad enough we hold all this in and carry on with our daily lives when markers like Mike Brown are etched into our history. It’s bad enough that we have to follow the adage of being twice as good to get half as much. But now we’re condemned for lashing out? Now we’re giving justification to the ignorant to call us “animals” for hitting our boiling point and collectively saying “to hell with this?” I don’t condone looting and rioting, but I don’t condemn it in these circumstances, either. And while that may come off like I’m straddling the fence on that (I am), let’s be clear. It hasn’t mattered one iota whether or not those citizens in Ferguson showed themselves to be peaceful protestors (which is what they’ve dominantly been), or violent instigators. Those Ferguson authorities were going to do what they had to do in order to facilitate the blatant cover up that’s been going on since Twitter brought this to mainstream America. And while it does make me happy on some level to see so many people in the media rightly outraged at the sheer volume of nonsense that’s taking place in little old Ferguson, it’s really nothing new. Tragic as it is, I just look at that shiny pillar and keep on trying to climb up.
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“There’s no deer. There’s no game. How much brute force do you need. I don’t believe in guns. This is a place of learning, not a place of war.”
Reporting by Santiago Mejia. Photographs by Khaled Sayed.
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THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | OCT. 1 - OCT. 14, 2014 | 7
8 | THE GUARDSMAN & THEGUARDSMAN.COM | OCT. 1 - OCT. 14, 2014
sports
Perfect season hopes dashed
SPORTS
CALENDAR FOOTBALL: Oct. 4,1:00 pm vs Modesto @HOME
SOCCER: MEN Oct. 3, 2 p.m. vs Montgomery @AWAY Oct. 7, 4 p.m. vs West Valley @HOME Oct. 10, 4 p.m. vs Chabot @AWAY Oct. 14, 4 p.m. vs De Anza @AWAY WOMEN Oct. 3, 1:30 p.m. vs Ohlone @AWAY Oct. 7, 1 p.m. vs Skyline @AWAY Oct. 10, 4 p.m. vs Chabot @AWAY Oct. 14, 4 p.m. vs West Valley @AWAY
VOLLEYBALL: Oct. 3, 6:30 p.m. vs Cabrillio @HOME Oct. 8, 6:30 p.m. vs Monterey Peninsula @AWAY Oct. 10, 6:30 p.m. vs San Jose @AWAY
Beavers stun Rams American River College eeks out 13-0 win By Patrick Cochran
@sfbreakingnews pcochran@theguardsman.com
The Guardsman
It was a dark night for the Rams in Sacramento, the dream of a perfect season ruined with a stunning 13-0 loss to American River College. Starting the season 3-0, the Rams headed into the game on a winning streak. They were on their way to attaining two of their main goals: winning another championship and having an undefeated season. Now one of those goals is unattainable and the other will require perfection throughout the rest of the season to be in the position to play for another California state championship. In the Rams first three victories this season they won by relying heavily on their running game. Running back Jahray Hayes and his backups, including Elijah Dale who went 134 yards and four touchdowns in the Rams opening 52-14 win to start the season over Sierra, had up to this point been dominating opposing teams defenses. A major factor for the Ram’s loss was the offensive lines inability to open up holes for the running backs. The unit was unable to explode off the line as a cohesive unit and push back the defense, a key component of the offensive lines success during the first three game. “My blocking was iffy,” offensive tackle Dominic DeSouza said. “We usually run more, but we weren’t having much success, and then we got down so we had to pass block more, which we actually did alright, but our run blocking was not our best.” Jahray Hayes only gained 48 yards on 16 carries. All night long American River was able to stuff the Rams. The Rams longest plays of the night were a 15-yard run by backup running back DeShundrius Tribble and a 25-yard catch by Jamel Ross. The Beaver’s defense was led by defensive tackle Jordan Carrell. Carrell had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, and one sack. Carrell and his teammates on the Beaver’s front seven were able to win the battle in the trenches, causing fits for quarterback Anthony Rodriquez all night. With the Rams’ rushing attack being neutralized, the offensive load was forced on quarterback Anthony Rodriguez’s shoulders, who threw the
ball 37 times. Rodriguez struggled all game, throwing for only 113 yards and one interception, while only completing 12 passes. Unable to get in a rhythm with his receivers, the Rams ended up having a lethargic performance on offence. “We got complacent this week in practice,” said wide receiver Jermaine Berry. “A lot of things got in the way of us focusing on the game.” The Beaver’s quarterback Tanner Toslin had an above average performance, throwing for 166 yards and one touchdown. Toslin played an instrumental role in the only touchdown of the first half. At the beginning of the second quarter Toslin found wide receiver Jonathan Lopez open for a 17-yard touchdown. The play that sealed the Rams fate was a
game changing 71 yard run by Beaver’s running back Deon Ransom. Hitting the open field with an exceptional burst of speed, Ransom was able to light the afterburners racing all the way to the endzone. The Rams next game is at home versus Modesto Junior college on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. “This loss has gotten everyone focused,” said Berry. “We can’t be undefeated now and we know we have to play every game like it is our last if we
Right: Photo by Khaled Sayed
want to win the championship.”