Vol. 162, Issue 8 | November 30-December 14 , 2016 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
By David Horowitz dhorowitz@theguardsman.com
Hillary Clinton’s 1.5 percent lead in the national popular vote against Donald Trump is greater than any American president who has lost an election since 1876. However, it pales in comparison to her dominant popularity according to a survey taken by 129 City College students. Seventy-seven percent (62) of student voters chose Clinton, while 8 percent (10) voted Donald Trump. Gary Johnson was the third most popular candidate, receiving 5 percent (4) of the student vote. Nationwide, Clinton won 48 percent (64.7 million) of the popular vote versus Trump’s 46.5 percent (62.4 million). Comparing the two, City College students were 29 percent more likely to vote for Clinton and 34 percent less likely to vote for Trump than the average U.S. citizen. Forty-two percent (26) of students who voted for Clinton directly mentioned Trump as the main reason for their vote. Seven others said they voted for Clinton because she was the lesser of two evils, while another seven voted for Clinton due to her being the
“best,” “better” or “only” choice. Only one participant mentioned Bernie Sanders, and that person voted for Clinton. Seventeen (27 percent) of those who voted for her gave a reason that supported her without referring to other candidates. Seven of Clinton’s voters chose her because they supported her values, beliefs or policies, and five of referred to Clinton’s gender as the reason for their vote. Other reasons included Clinton’s qualifications, experience, views on education and stance in regards to oil. Meanwhile, three of the 10 voters who elected Trump cited Clinton as the reason for their vote; three others agreed with Trump’s values, beliefs or policies. Other reasons for voting Trump differed depending on the individual, and included “making America great again,” “giving the country what it needs,” his “being an outsider,” and because the person’s family voted conservative. Of the 91 surveyed registered to vote, 69 percent (63) were Democrats and 13 percent (12) Republicans. Nine were Independent, one was Green and two were
Pie chart by David Horowitz
Libertarian. Four did not identify with one of the 10 party options provided. In comparison, a Gallup poll from October found that 27 percent of participants identified as Republicans, 32 percent as Democrats and 36 percent as Independents. Seventy-one percent of those surveyed at City College were registered to vote, compared to 67 percent of eligible voters nationwide according to research institute
Statistic Brain. Taking into account all 129 participants, approximately 64 percent of those surveyed voted. However, that figure increases to 69 percent when excluding those legally unable to vote; 55 percent of voting age American citizens voted for a presidential candidate. Twenty-nine percent (38) of participants were not registered to vote. Among them, ten were legally prevented from voting due to factors like age and being
international students. Fourteen, however, said they did not register to vote because they were lazy, apathetic, procrastinated or forgot to register. Four students said they didn’t have time to register, while another said she did not vote because the system was rigged. Only two of the 38 students who did not register to vote did so because they believed it was pointless.
Congresswoman reassures City College despite internal issues By Cassie Ordonio cordonio@theguardsman.com
Congresswoman Jackie Speier reaffirmed her commitment to the City College community on Nov. 28 as its accrediting body’s final judgement looms. “You have been a true and long-lasting friend to City College,” Board of Trustees President Rafael Mandelman said to Speier. “You were our champion through the accreditation crisis.” After October’s visit from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College’s (ACCJC) visiting team, the college is on edge of what the outcome will be. The commission will meet in January to discuss their final decision, which will be made the following month. This year, Speier wrote two letters regarding the ACCJC’s “unfair” actions and practices— one for the Secretary of Education
Congresswoman, Jackie Speier meets with students, faculty and administration at City College's Public Forum held in the Diego Rivera Theatre on Nov. 28, 2016. (Photo by Cassie Ordonio/The Guardsman)
on Sept. 9, and the other for the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity on Nov. 10. Over 150 students, faculty and members of the college administration attended the public forum at the Diego Rivera Theatre to
tune into the two-panel discussions between Speier, California State Senator-elect Scott Wiener, Assemblyman Phil Ting and several college representatives. The college’s status and the ACCJC were the main topics of discussion. City College has been battling
internal problems since its accreditation crisis; in a five year period, it went from serving approximately 100,000 students to 60,000, according to the data on the college website. “Our full-time equivalent students, which is the basis for our state funding, for five years was above 35,000,” Mandelman said. “Today, it is 22,000. It’s not dropping at the rate it was dropping, but it is not recovering and is continuing to dip.” City College is on its last year of the state’s stability funding, and Mandelman added that the college will lose $35 million of its $200 million budget. “We will be living on reserves for the next four years until our budget meets the money coming in,” interim Chancellor Susan Lamb said in an interview. Additionally, tensions are rising between the administration and faculty due to the anticipation 26
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percent in class cuts. While there is no data or study that explains precisely why enrollment is decreasing, students and faculty stress their frustration at nearly every Board of Trustees meeting. “Departments are going to be affected with different percentages, but the fact is they lose classes that are critical to a sequence,” biotechnology program counselor Li Lovett told The Guardsman at a Board of Trustees meeting. “It could affect students’ ability to transfer to competitive programs, along with important classes that are needed to build skills appropriate for a job environment.” Tim Killikelly, president of the faculty union AFT 2121, believes the ACCJC played a huge roll in the drop in enrollment. “All we really ask here from Public forum continues on page 3