The Guardsman, Vol. 173, Issue 7, City College of San Francisco by The Guardsman

Death by a Thousand Cuts:

City College’s Slashing of Programs Undermining School’s Mission and Future By Julie Zigoris

jzigoris@mail.ccsf.edu Fifty-eight full-time City College faculty members have received pink slips, with a total of 219 personnel lost out of a total of 458 in the impacted departments. The near 50% reduction in selected departments comes after years of course cuts that have left some programs on life support or shut down entirely. Some of the hardest hit departments include: English as a Second Language (ESL), Architecture, Music, Theater Arts, Environmental Horticulture and Floristry, Automotive Construction, Business, Counseling, Physics, French and Aircraft Maintenance Technology. The massive shrinking of some of the most successful — and important — programs at the school is driving an enrollment crisis that prompts further cuts, fueling what some instructors are calling a death spiral. ESL is withstanding some of the most severe reductions, despite their essential service in training citizens of San Francisco to contribute to the workforce. Débora Radaic, an ESL student from Brazil who started City College in 2017, gave an emotional appeal to a crowd gathered for a March 15 rally protesting the massive program cuts across the school. “City College made me feel that I’m someone,” Radiac said, recounting how she didn’t know how to say hello or shop for groceries before she began her ESL education. “City College gave my voice back,” she said, with tears in her eyes. At an April 13 rally at the North Beach/Chinatown City College campus, the ESL Department Chair spoke of the importance of non-native English speakers to the fabric of the City. “We’re Baghdad by the Bay,” said Jessica Buchsbaum. “Immigrants built this city.” Buchsbaum contends that when residents speak better English, they can participate more in life, which brings in more tax revenue and creates a more engaged

citizenry. In short, it’s good for everyone. With all the program cuts, it has been increasingly difficult to run a viable program, according to Buchsbaum. She noted the loss of vocational ESL classes, important programs that help new citizens of San Francisco move into positions in healthcare and other industries. The cuts are disproportionately hurting low-income and BIPOC students, according to Buchsbaum. “It’s been really

How the Dismantling of a Public Workforce Program Led to the Crash Landing of Aeronautics at City College By Emily Margaretten

margarettene@gmail.com Military veteran Corey Iwanski hoped his career would take off after completing City College’s Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT) program. But his dream of becoming an aircraft technician was grounded when the program abruptly shut down in March 2020. “They knew this was coming,” said Iwanski. “And they had no plan to do anything

about it.” The AMT program was under a lease extension at San

“They knew this was coming, and they had no plan to do anything about it.” Francisco International Airport (SFO) for three years. The COVID-19 pandemic hastened

the closure of the program, but as Iwanski said, “Covid was just the match. There was an underlying problem the entire time.” The problem was threefold. It was the failure of the airport to support a public workforce program. It was the failure of the Mayor’s Office to make this happen. And it was the failure of City College to find an alternative location before the lease ended. Aeronautics continues on pg 3

A sign for the AFT2121 Rally. San Francisco. March 15. Karem Rodriguez/The Guardsman devastating.” While the administration often cites budget woes as a reason for the cuts, Buchsbaum claims she has enough budget to schedule all of her full-time faculty. “It’s the most maddening piece,” she said. “Why are they laying them off when I have all these classes I need to staff?” Other organizations, like the AFT 2121, have pointed to the budget surplus projected for fiscal year 2023 when asking why such extreme cuts are necessary at this time. Kate Frei, a citizenship Cuts continues on page 2

Student Employment Budget Cuts and the Endangerment of International Students By Onyx Hunter onyxhunter@gmail.com Student employment at City College is necessary for many students to make ends meet while completing their education. However with budget cuts the availability of these jobs is becoming fickle. International students are especially affected by this because of heavy restrictions on what sort of jobs they are allowed to take. International

students are allowed to have jobs on campus and only after a year can they seek employment off campus. However their job prospects are further limited by factors like employer biases, language barriers, fears that the student may leave within the year and the complexity of visa paperwork for the employer. Stephanie Tang, a City College international student voiced some of these concerns when she said, “If further

budget cuts happen I could be one of the lab aides cut from my department.” Tang continued, “I know an international student who lost her financial help. It’s tough, these students need those jobs and positions to keep enrollment.” International students pay higher tuition and need jobs to maintain their education and keep a roof over their Budget continues on page 3

2 | NEWS Cuts continued from page 1 coordinator in the ESL department, noted that of her eight teachers, six are slated to be laid off, and three-quarters of them are Chinese bilingual speakers. “Citizenship is unique in ESL in that the content is dictated by a test,” Frei said. “Having support for this test in your first language is super important.” There are more than 50,000 residents eligible for naturalization in San Francisco, according to Frei. Lynn Tan, one of the teachers who received a pink slip, has taught at City College for 20 years and has up to 150 students in her citizenship classes. Buchsbaum also noted that the cuts violate the idea of tenure, according to California’s Educational Code Laws. “They will have a much bigger fight than just at our college,” she said.

Course Reductions at City College Fall 2018-Spring 2022. Julie Zigoris/The Guardsman “There’s no incentive to increase enrollment,” said Ronald Richardson, an instructor in the English department. “So that’s why it’s okay to continue to cut classes, which causes enrollment to fall, which causes us to cut more classes, which causes enrollment to fall, leading us into a death spiral that is going to jeopardize all of our jobs,” Richardson continued at a Feb. 17 budget forum. Similar to Tabarracci, Richardson had the dizzying experience of receiving tenure and a pink slip in the same academic year. Journalism Department Chair Juan Gonzales is also concerned the massive cuts are driving away students, who have to take longer to complete degrees or certificates because classes aren’t offered as frequently. It ends up reflecting poorly on the department, since fewer students are completing the program. “There have been cuts and cuts and cuts. And the college cuts across the board. Even if you're a small department you have to share the burden,” Gonzales said. The cuts are felt more by a smaller department, according to Gonzales, since the loss of only one or two courses can have a dramatic

Vol. 173, Issue 7 | April 25 – May 7

impact. “When students don't see as many options, they look elsewhere. That causes enrollment to go down. It starts this cycle that is really getting deep now,” said Richardson. Shana Lesch, a student in the Environmental Horticulture and Floristry Department, is devastated by the loss of her teacher Tabarracci, who received a pink slip — and tenure — in the same year. “The department is slowly going to disintegrate, and I know that it's been around for more than 60 years,” Lesch said. She looked around for other programs where she might be able to study what City College offers. Her dream is to start her own floristry business, which the school has made happen for other students, but she has found nothing similar. “It's really the last school of its kind,” she continued. With these program cuts, her dreams disappear, too. “They’re discontinuing programs illegally,” said Environmental Horticulture and Floristry Department Chair Steven Brown. “People become disinterested because they can’t finish what they started.” According to Brown, there is not enough support from the school to promote programs. He has paid out of his own pocket to advertise courses, because the school hasn’t sent out postcards or course schedules — any promotional materials — to try and drive enrollment.

“They’re discontinuing programs illegally,” Some students, like journalism major Katherine Castillo, have been advised to take classes elsewhere to close the gap in offerings at City College. Castillo was also able to secure a note from her counselor for a class substitution in addition to covering various gaps in City College’s offerings by taking classes at Marin College. Without these two strategies, she would have had to wait an entire extra year to graduate. “It's very stressful for us students to know what to do when they can’t find the class that they're looking for,” Castillo said. She credits her counselor Anastasia Fiandaca for getting her through her City College experience. “I couldn’t have made it without her. She has been my angel,” she said. Yet even such counselors, so vital to a student’s success especially in light of the dizzying cuts, are on the chopping block.

Staff Editor-in-Chief Casey Michie T: @jtwildfeuer

Editor-in-Chief JohnTaylor Wildfeuer T: @casey_michie

News Editor Emily Margaretten T: @e_margaretten

Culture Editor Julie Zigoris T: @jzigoris IG: @jusudra

Michael D’Lalosio, a counselor who works specifically with students who are veterans, had his position cut this year, according to student Laura Cohen. “There’s a lot of people who will have nowhere to go without him,” she said of D’Lalosio’s loss. Cohen, a Japanese major, is also concerned her program will be cut entirely. She notes other losses for the school: a restaurant in the Mission where Culinary Arts students would train that closed and the loss of senior programs. “I don’t think people in the city understand enough about the services at the college,” Cohen said. She found Environmental Horticulture and Floristry Department Chair Steven a part-time job as a florist thanks Brown. Julie Zigoris/The Guardsman to a connection she made in a City College course. The massive course cuts impacted Eric Nyeste, a student in the biology department, when he realized he could not take the accompanying lab for his environmental science course. The scheduling threatened to put into limbo his University of California college application. “It's probably the most topically appropriate discipline at City College,” Nyeste said of the environmental science program. “And it's going away because of budget restrictions. But they're going to continue to teach environmental economics, which is a class that’s so irrelevant to what Raena Frohlich hands over equipment for the darkroom to photogwe're going through right now.” raphy student James Tong. Frohlich is a student who works as a lab “It's just mind boggling. How assistant in the photography lab of City College main campus. April 14. Karem Rodriguez/The Guardsman departments are getting funded. And who's keeping their jobs,” Budget continued from page 1 Nyeste continued. A cacophony of issues have Another City College emerged because of it, but the student, Ainslee Tilbrook, lost head. San Francisco is one of long and short of it is that lower her job as a teacher’s aid when the most expensive cities to student enrollment has lowered her class —upholstery — was live in anywhere in the world. state funding. The high maincut, despite its overwhelming International students need the tenance cost of 10 locations, popularity. The single section of income to support themselves, especially since all of them did the course had grown to five due and this is made more difficult not serve the students during a to intense demand. There were by the cuts large portion of the pandemic, always at least 60 to 100 people The jobs held by students also has compounded its budget on the waitlist for the course, are also important to the City crisis. according to Tilbrook. College community at large. Although the damage of “This was the most bizarre Project SURVIVE, a peer-led the 2021-2022 year has already thing ever, in my mind, why program devoted to the promobeen sowed, Project SURVIVE would they cut a class that tion of healthy relationships and has demanded that the original always had a waitlist?” Tilbrook preventing domestic violence budget student employment said. is a program at risk because it budget be reinstated and that The class was a perfect cannot take any more student there is dedicated commitment microcosm of what City College employees. Project SURVIVE to ensuring students can be is meant to be, an institution needs at least $20,856.64 per granted employment. serving the learning needs of its academic year to function. To Tang made demands as diverse community. “It was for be fully funded the program well. She said,“We need to keep students who were serious about needs three lab aides at a cost of lab aide positions. These are upholstery, quite a few of them $25,704. dependable jobs for internastill do upholstery and some The budget cuts affecting tional students. We are returning have their own little businesses,” student employment are not to in-person and we should Tilbrook said. “We had a woman new either, as they were heavily be reopening positions too. who was 85 and it was the one slashed in 2020 at the beginning Scholarships are just so limited, thing that got her out every of the COVID-19 pandemic. especially to international week. It was something that The budget as of 2020 $1.6 students, they need these jobs.” made her feel alive,” she continmillion is now $130k this year. Tang added, “Please find a ued. “There were all ages, all In 2012 the school faced way so that students can have races, all professions. Straight, an accreditation crisis and has job security to support their gay. Full-time.” been deficit spending since then. education.”

Opinion Editor Skylar Wildfeuer

Layout Editors Skylar Wildfeuer

Photography Editors Bob Kinoshita

Illustrators Sarah Clayson

Sports Editor Seamus Geoghegan

Lauren Murphy

Janna Velasquez

Yuchen Xiao

Social Media Editor Derek Chartrand Wallace

Onyx Hunter

T: @seamoose415

Illustration Editor Max Hollinger

Chief Copy Editor Colton Webster

NEWS | 3

Vol. 173, Issue 7 | April 25 – May 7

Aeronautic continued from pg 1 The padlocked facility now serves as an overflow parking lot for support vehicles, portable ramps and a landscape trailer. The airport plans to construct more maintenance buildings on the site. “However, this work has yet to be funded or scheduled, so still many years away,” said SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel. The airport’s long-term plans also could include a $30 million investment for a SFO Academy, said Airport Director Ivar Satero at a meeting in 2021. A private aeronautics academy, which typically costs between $20,000 to $50,000, would not help students like Iwanski though. “The program bankrupted my GI Bill from the military,” he said. “So, there’s no money left.” Losing the lease at SFO Since 1969 SFO has accommodated various iterations of the AMT program, first at the Pan American cafeteria and then at its old terminal building before it eventually relocated to the airport’s North Field facilities. In 1977 the City and County of San Francisco and the Community College District entered into a 40-year lease agreement that allowed the AMT program to reside at SFO for $1 a year. The agreement revealed a shared political commitment to support a workforce training program that served an ethnically diverse, working-class population. But as the airport expanded, its priorities changed. A year before the lease was set to expire, Chief Operating Officer Ivar Satero informed City College’s Chancellor that the airport would not renew it in 2017. “With unprecedented passenger growth, the Airport has had to undertake various capital projects to ensure that we continue to meet both current and forecasted demands,” Satero said. “The leasehold area currently occupied by City College,” he continued, “is an important component to the Airport’s redevelopment and must be recaptured.” A United Partnership The Chancellor and Board of Trustees took action and requested a joint meeting with the Mayor’s Office and Satero who, by now, was promoted

to Airport Director. With the Mayor’s involvement, Satero professed an interest in maintaining an aeronautics program at SFO. He suggested City College partner with United Airlines to develop an internship program for students, “giving them real-world exposure to the job requirements, with the potential of permanent employment.” Partnering with United made sense for another reason as well. It was the largest lease-holder at SFO. “United is a tenant of SFO,” AMT Instructor Michael Tadelle said. “But they have the lease majority, almost three quarters of the area, so they control everything.” And indeed, United dominates the ground and air space at SFO, occupying 117 acres of land while holding 48% of the airline market share, far surpassing all other carriers.

"They [United] have the lease majority ... so they control everything.” United was the obvious choice to accommodate the AMT program, said AMT Instructor Richard Harris who has worked at SFO for 47 years. United has the space, facilities and technology. “And if you can’t connect those dots together,” he added, “Something is wrong.” A Short Reprieve The airport agreed to extend the college’s lease until 2019 with the expectation that the AMT program would find an alternative site by then. Despite its precarious lease holding, City College continued to enroll students in the program. Johann Cruz was one of those students. He was attracted by the program’s tuition and location at SFO where he could attend classes in between working shifts at United. But as Cruz progressed through the program, he noticed some things were amiss, like the absence of City College’s Fire Academy, which used to share their facilities. “And that's when we said, ‘Oh, it's getting serious now. We're going to vacate this place sooner or later.’ But we were

Staff Staff Writers David Chin

Anderew Segala

David Sharma

Karem Rodriguez

Failed Negotiations Fred Wood, a United mechanic and Teamster representative, recounted some of the internal discussions that stymied efforts to relocate the AMT program to United. One of United’s buildings could have supported the program, Wood said. But the proposal fell apart when United raised concerns about security clearance and students’ access to the rest of its facilities. When a separate entrance was suggested, United came back with new concerns. “You know,” Wood continued, “The building was built in the 1970s so restroom doors might not be up to code, sockets might not be up to code. I know there's asbestos throughout this property. Whether they used it on the floor, I don't know. “But that's what I meant by the political part of it,” Wood added.

Negotiations between United and City College faltered numerous times before it failed altogether in May 2020. United proposed a three-year lease, and the college countered with a request for a 50 to 99-year lease. The college planned on investing $20 million into a new facility and wanted the assurance of a long-term holding. Three months later, the college received a letter from the airport stating that it would not extend the college’s lease again, and the aeronautics program needed to vacate the premises by December 2020. Nearly 50 years of history and equipment were packed into 21 trailers that cost $150,000 in transport and storage. The trailers sit at Ocean Campus today, waiting to be inventoried before the Board of Trustees ultimately votes on whether to revitalize the AMT program at City College.

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Airlines at San Francisco International Airport. Emily Margaretten/ The Guardsman

Map of AMT program site at SFO. Emily Margaretten/The Guardsman

Final Eviction

Photographers Katherine Castillo IG: @andrew_segala

told that they were negotiating the statute of the school, and that kept us hopeful that we could complete the class before it ended,” Cruz said. Chancellor Mark Rocha held a meeting with students on May 1, 2019. He assured them that the program was a permanent fixture at SFO, and the college was working with the airport to find an alternative site. A new site never materialized despite the chancellor’s promises.

Fred Wood at United Maintenance Operations. Emily Margaretten/ The Guardsman

Trailers Filled with AMT Equipment at Ocean Campus. Emily Margaretten/The Guardsman

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4 | CULTURE

Vol. 173, Issue 7 | April 25 – May 7

Andrew Segala/The Guardsman

On Earth Day, San Francisco Rallies Against Environmental Pollution By Janna Velasquez Andrew Segala/The Guardsman

Andrew Segala/The Guardsman

jvelas42@mail.ccsf.com April 22 is known throughout the nation as Earth Day, which is a day where many would voice concerns of the deteriorating health of the Planet Earth. Air pollution from fossil fuels, water pollution from oil spills and dumping of waste, to simply dropping a plastic cup on the ground after use — all further degrade the environment people live in. All of this is what started Earth Day in 1970, to bring attention to the public the environmental crisis the world is facing, and with it brings rallies. The U.N. Plaza was the starting point for this year’s Earth Day demonstrations in San Francisco, as many demonstrators young and old with signs showing support for environmental change with sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, gathered to march down Market Street. With a fairly large number of about 100 people attending, they marched down Market Street in an organized fashion with help of bright green vested volunteers that took the responsibility of traffic control, a position meant for police in these situations. Many shouted “climate justice” and “this is what democracy looks like,” as people marched down Market Street with rally leaders motivating the crowd and controlling the pace. The rally on Earth Day is a tradition every year throughout the nation as a way to bring awareness to the environmental issues we face today.

Andrew Segala/The Guardsman

CULTURE | 5

Vol. 173, Issue 7 | April 25 – May 7

Two Shows at the de Young

People Come First By Max Hollinger

maxwelltothemaximum@gmail.com Alice Neel lived 1900-1984 and declared in 1950, "I have tried to assert the dignity and eternal importance of the human being." "People Come First" is a new book of essays in response to her humanism, political commitment, preocupations and artistry. The new show currently on display at the de Young shares name and focus with the book and frames Neel as one of the last century's most radical painters. Lauren Palmor, assistant curator of American art at the de Young Museum, said, "We want to remind visitors she wasn't just painting protests. In my mind she waas a radical who painted radicals, a protestor who painted protestors. That's what made them so powerful." They are powerful. Alice Neel showcases the artist’s commanding portraiture amidst the rise and reign of the Abstract movement. Neel’s color, line, and perspective show a master draftsperson. Her slight anatomical inconsistencies are perfectly awkward and intuitive. Together these elements create images overflowing with character. The show runs through July 10, 2022.

The San Francisco Film Festival founded in 1957, is the longest-running film festival in the Americas, and it would be presenting several films at the Castro Theatre after three years ob absence because of the COVID-19 restrictions. April 26. Kat Castillo/The Guardsman

Entrance to "People Come First". April 30. Skylar Wildfeuer/The Guardsman.

"Golden Gate" by Hung Liu in the atrium at the de Young Museum. April 30. JohnTaylor Wildfeuer/The Guardsman

Golden Gate By Kelly Viss

skhollinger@gmail.com The artwork “Golden Gate” by the Chinese artist Hung Liu currently installed on the upper walls in the spacious entry of the De Young Museum provides a glimpse of the immigrant experience in transitioning to the west, as she did in 1984. Lui’s training as a social realist painter in her youth combines with the freedom she found in the United States to work in a different manner. The cutout figures are Liu's reference to the pop art movement, according to an interview with sfmoma. The scale and placement in the de Young aligns with the pop art reference to advertising, communicating a story, but from a distance and not for the purpose of marketing but for understanding. Hung Lui’s passing in 2021 lends even greater poignancy to these affecting images The show runs through August 7, 2022.

Detail of "Golden Gate". April 30. JohnTaylor Wildfeuer/The Guardsman

SFFILM Festival Delivers Diversity and Stunning Cinema By Julie Zigoris & Ayanna Mitchell

julie.zigoris@gmail.com, amitch95@mail.ccsf.edu Running for over 60 years, the annual San Francisco Film Festival makes its much anticipated return after a three-year absence, with 130 films featured from 56 different countries. The festival is the oldest of its kind in the Americas, and the lineup is diverse, with more than half of the directors spotlighted being female, non-binary and BIPOC. With San Francisco’s cultural diversity, the festival feels at home here. With marquees that read “Welcome Back,” theaters across the Bay Area — including the Roxie, the Castro, BAMPFA and CGV San Francisco, which replaced screenings at the Victoria after the projector there suffered a critical malfunction — welcome back audience members excited for in-person screenings. “I miss this sense of community and coming together,” said an audience member named Valeria after a screening of “Neptune Frost.” “I really enjoyed the film, and I love the way it illustrated life as poetry,” she continued. Many on-goers proclaimed their excitement, finally being able to gather post-covid, in such an intimate setting, where sightseers forge sentiments, experience a cathartic release and, if only for a moment - live vicariously through the movie screen. Other highlights included of the festival included the opening night screening of Jamie Sisley’s “Stay Awake,” the tribute to Michelle Yeoh hosted by Sandra Oh, Cooper Raiff’s closing film “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” and the centerpiece film “892” by Abi Damaris Corbin. “892,” a taut psychological thriller about a veteran who commits a bank heist to recuperate a missing disability check, explores one man’s search for dignity in a society that has forgotten those who have given the most. “It is dark,” said Corbin in pre-screening remarks. “But it is also filled with so much hope.” She also expressed her excitement at being able to share the film in the Castro Theater, claiming that “a film is not a film until it is shared with an audience.” The film includes the final performance of famed actor Michael K. Williams of “Wire” fame, who passed away last September after a drug overdose. “892” is based on the true story of former Marine Brian Brown-Easley, and Corbin noted that the first person to see the film was his widow Jessica. “She will always be our first audience,” Corbin said, going on to refer to her beauty both inside and out. The audience was completely silent during the tense thriller, and you could hear audience members audibly weeping at the end. Viewers’ comments in a post-screening Q&A included gratitude that the killing of Brown-Easley was not depicted on screen, given the over-saturation in our culture of images of violence committed on Black bodies. SFFILM Festival assembles creative minds in a captive medium, in which every reel is poetry in action. Known for its diversity and geographic scope, independent artists are being elevated and given a platform where they might otherwise be overlooked. In these narratives we experience stories we might not otherwise have the opportunity to see.

6 | OPINION

Vol. 173, Issue 7 | April 25 – May 7

Janna Velasquez/The Guardsman

Smoking and Kicking Back on 4/20 at Hippie Hill By Janna Velasquez

jvelas24@mail.ccsf.edu April 20 has become an international, almost formal, holiday celebrated all over the world, due to its correlation to one of the many street names for marijuana, 420. The code 420 is said to have begun, here in California, with a group of students agreeing to meet at that time after school to partake in then-illegal activities. Hippie Hill, now renamed Robin Williams Meadow, is and has

been a staple smoke spot in the progressive city of San Francisco since the time of the hippies before being renamed to honor the late, great comedian. This year’s 420 celebration was the first time there was regulated and tested cannabis products sold and distributed by approved vendors. There were periodic announcements to not buy street weed, as it could “be laced with fentanyl.” The baked cannabis goods being sold on the

pathways to the entrances were also prohibited at the event. The start was slow with not many attendees showing up at the opening of the event, as could be expected of stoners. There were dj’s and emcee’s promoting sales at various tents around the meadow. Comedians and rappers, including the famous Bay Area native, Too $hort provided short performances throughout the festivities.

This... was the first time there was regulated and tested cannabis.

Janna Velasquez/The Guardsman

The event also featured a food truck that was giving out free chicken wings to those meat-eaters with the munchies, a common side effect of cannabis use. Vendors were selling arts and crafts, promoters handing out packs of mini-pre-rolled

joints, large individual joints, and packets of stickers. The crowd was friendly, with most attendees engaging in the almost ceremonial weedsmoking throughout the event. Community organizers were also present, with United Playaz representing in their tent, as well as on stage, sharing stories about their community service work, and uplifting those who participate in the program. United Playaz is a community organization that addresses important needs of the community, such as in-school violence prevention, after school programs, community crisis and response services, case management, and workforce development. Special recognition was paid to a woman named Eve, who is a staple of that organization, commending her for her hard work and commitment to those in the program. Mike Tyson was present, promoting his own cannabis company, whose line was by far the longest for the duration of the event. After partaking in the on-stage promotion of his

Janna Velasquez/The Guardsman

company as well as uplifting the United Playaz, Tyson took a slow stroll around, up, and down the hill while surrounded by a crowd of fans trying to catch a shot of the boxing legend. At the peak-time of 4:20pm, participants collectively engaged in a community-wide smoke session, with a modest cloud of smoke rising like the fog San Francisco is known for.

At the peak-time of 4:20pm, particpants collectively engaged. Though the smoke cloud was not as dense and large as in previous years where people were packed in tightly, this year most participants were able to be comfortable on their blankets, with room for others to comfortably walk around, as they shared their moments of collective alteration of consciousness.

Vol. 173, Issue 7 | April 25 – May 7

COMMUNITY | 7

8 | SPORTS

Vol. 173, Issue 7 | April 25 – May 7

Rams Rip Crown from Tigers’ Teeth in Thrilling Finish to Perfect Football Season By Gene Thompson

offstage@earthlink.net On December 11, 2021, at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, Calif., City College of San Francisco Rams quarterback Jack Newman blasted his snap count to start the first scrimmage play of the most exciting game of their perfect season, the state championship. “Down set 78 78 12 hut hut.” While City College shuddered under the darkening clouds of the budget crisis, declining enrollment, layoffs of faculty and service workers, cut classes and pandemic anxiety, the Rams football squad rose from the COVID-19 shutdown of the 2020 season to an historic 12-0 record. Their fighting spirit may provide a model for coping with the trying times facing the college. Tension grew quickly in the first half of the championship game as the Riverside College Tigers defense controlled the line. Finally star quarterback Jack Newman unleashed a beautiful rainbow pass with 3:38 left in the first quarter; it fell through the arms of his receiver and rolled dead in the end zone. After an exchange of touchdowns, sorcery seemed at work when Ricardo Chavez’ record tying 59 yard field goal hit the crossbar and bounced over to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead with

The Rams defense held tough. But when Riverside punted, San Francisco fumbled again and the Tigers recovered five yards from the goal line. Running back Thomas Kinslow punched it in. A failed two point conversion left Riverside’s lead at 19-14 with 12:15 left to play. Another big rainbow from Newman, this time caught by Drummer near the 25. After catching a screen pass Walker literally flew across the end zone corner, magically reaching the ball over the goal line. A successful two point conversion put San Francisco back in the lead 22-19.

The fourth quarter is City College of San Francisco’s Aaron Espero, (#13), fumbles the kick off return against Riverside City College during the CCCAA state championship football game at Mt. San Antonio College, Saturday December 11, 2021. Photo and caption courtesy of The Press-Enterprise Contributing Photographer John Valenzuela. no time remaining in the first half. Playing from behind was unfamiliar territory for the 2021 Rams team. They were part of City College’s storied career that boasted ten national championships, eight state championships and myriad other accolades as advertised on a giant billboard above the home field bleachers.

City College of San Francisco’s Aaron Espero, (#13), fumbles the kick off return against Riverside City College during the CCCAA state championship football game at Mt. San Antonio College, Saturday December 11, 2021. Photo and caption courtesy of The PressEnterprise Contributing Photographer John Valenzuela.

College of San Francisco’s Jeffrey Weimer, (#80), reaches for a pass against Riverside City College’s Carlton Johnson,(#1), during the CCCAA state championship football game at Mt. San Antonio College, Saturday December 11, 2021. Photo and caption courtesy of The Press-Enterprise Contributing Photographer John Valenzuela.

The 2021 team was used to dominating. Through the 2020 pandemic shutdown they worked hard to keep their spirit strong, including Newman, who, recalling his shock at the field goal said: “It bounced through, it was amazing, bounced through, and that was the first time all year we were down at the half by three points.” “This year was special because there had been a few years in between championships,” Coach Collins remarked while talking about how COVID19 made the season a unique challenge. “So this one felt good, vindicating,” Collins said, adding, “But also rewarding because of what the entire team had gone through for two years.” Offensive lineman Nikko Pohahau said his favorite memory from the game actually was right before it started. “I knew it was my last game with the City College of San Francisco because I was moving on to the next level, so just being in that locker room and looking around and understanding that this is our last game, we're gonna win this game.” The Rams strode onto the field for the second half with a burning determination. They would not let their perfect 12-0 season end in defeat. That was not who they were. But Riverside struck again after San Francisco fumbled the kickoff and the Tigers recovered, turning it into a field goal for a 13-7 lead. Then Newman under pressure threw an interception and things were looking grim. The Ram’s defense stiffened and Riverside went three and out. But the Rams offense continued to sputter and the Tigers got the ball back on their 11 with under

four minutes left in the third quarter. Again the Rams held and got the ball back on their 40. Short runs by Devan Walker, two short completions and a penalty against Riverside brought San Francisco to Riverside’s doorstep with a chance to take the lead for the first time in the game.

After an exchange of touchdowns, sorcery seemed at work. A couple of pass plays went nowhere and it looked like more frustration for Newman. Then, with the clock ticking down to the fourth quarter Newman found Traivon Drummer wide open in the corner. The point after gave the Rams their first lead, 14-13. The fourth quarter is where this game became a classic.

where this game became a classic. But Riverside wasn’t done. With 4:43 left in the game a great drive brought them to the 10. The cheerleaders were jubilant. The Riverside fans were dancing. Quarterback Jordan Barton handed off. Nothing. He lofted one into the end zone. Too high. He drilled one over the center. Intercepted! Ripping victory from the Tigers’ jaws, defensive back D’Andre Greeley downed himself on the 15. The Rams ran out the clock and took home the state championship for the first time since 2015. Jack and Nikko are gone, off to their Division 1 assignments at UC Davis and University of Connecticut, along with many of the players that made this championship season one of the best in City College history. But Coach Collins says the new squad shows great promise and will be playing their spring intrasquad scrimmage on campus in George Rush Stadium on May 19 at 3:30.

Riverside City College’s Chris Ballard. (#93), tackles City College of San Francisco quarterback Jack Newman, (#12), for a sack during the CCCAA state championship football game at Mt. San Antonio College, Saturday December 11, 2021. Photo and caption courtesy of The Press-Enterprise Contributing Photographer John Valenzuela.