Senate Bill 24 Offers Reproductive Protection to Some College Students in California

By Emma Pratt Email espratt8@mail.ccsf.edu

By Jan. 1, University of California and California State University student health clinics will provide abortion medication on campuses, as mandated by Senate Bill 24.

The bill further protects the right to abortion in California, a timely measure as the constitutional right to abortion was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

“On a federal level, there's a lot of movement to try to make it [abortion] illegal everywhere, you can never be too safe,” said Angelica Campos, a City College student who works at the Women’s Resource Center and is a student member of the college’s Participatory Governance Council. “Even in Orange County, there are already attacks against reproductive rights there, so you never know,” she added.

City of San Clemente Councilmember, Steve Knoblock, of Orange County, proposed a resolution which would limit access to abortion in San Clemente. The resolution never made it to the city council agenda, according to an Aug. 7 article published in The Mercury News on Aug. 7..

Campos and Shella Cervantes, Women’s Resource Center advisor, recently distributed abortion information cards at student support centers on the Ocean Campus. The cards come from Plan C, a campaign that advocates for access to abortion medication in the United States.

Campos took the initiative to suggest having the cards on SB24 continues on page 2

DSPS Accessible Theater Arts Teacher Sparks Creativity, SelfConfidence and Self-Expression

By Beth Lederer bethlyn2020@gmail.com

Judy Goodman teaches with a purpose and is making a difference in the lives of the disability community in San Francisco. A long-time teacher for the Accessible Theater Arts class in the Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) department at City College, Goodman is preparing her students at the Mission Campus for the highly anticipated end of semester performance, “In the Heights.”

Goodman has adapted and directed Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical for the Accessible Theater Arts class. The two performances are scheduled for December 16 at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. in room 109.

Goodman’s accessible theater arts class was in jeopardy of being eliminated when budget cuts threatened the DSPS department in the academic year of 2009-2010. Twelve years later the class is still going strong with many of the same students in attendance.

Goodman was hired by DSPS in 2006 and became a full time instructor in 2017. She received her masters in theater education from Emerson College. Her training is in theater, dance and visual arts.

The joy that manifests in Goodman’s theater arts classes is contagious. Goodman estimates around 75-80% of her students have participated in her classes for over ten years.

Goodman believes in building community and a sense of trust. “That's the most important thing to me is their self confidence, their personal growth, their enthusiasm for art-form as they are learning theater techniques,” Goodman said.

She wants her students to feel encouraged and to feel safe to try new things. “Self

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Enrollment continued from page 1 educational institutions weren’t prepared and moved into a rough transition into online learning where not all students had reliable computers or internet access. In-person learning may have its benefits, but having a dependent and a career can deeply affect whether or not a student decides to continue with their education.

In a recent study conducted in 2021 by the University of Florida, 33% of students reported having issues with their schedules regarding work and family obligations. A

“I have a friend who applied for an internship at Google or one of those tech companies. He kind of found his own job and once he got the internship, he dropped out.” number of students lived far away from campus, making it difficult for them to attend classes.

As there are many individuals who’ve become successful without a college degree, teenagers and young adults are willing to take a risk to become an entrepreneur or find online learning resources to learn skills to apply for a major firm. A nursing student named Martell Coleman said, “I have a friend who applied for an internship at Google or one of those tech companies. He kind of found his own job and once he got the internship, he dropped out.”

Students also struggle with tuition costs. Residents of San Francisco are eligible for “Free City” or free tuition at City College, but not all students may qualify. Many students find the cost of living expenses in San Francisco very high and struggle to pay rent, utility costs, healthcare, child care, and food expenses. The financial aid provided may not provide an adequate amount to support them to continue school.

Many students find the cost of living expenses in San Francisco very high and struggle to pay rent, utility costs, healthcare, child care, and food expenses.

Textbooks are one huge cost factor when selecting courses for any college, costing hundreds of dollars in some cases. However, City College's program, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, offers vouchers for textbooks, transportation, and counselor meetings. City College and other colleges provide resources for obtaining financial aid that you can find in the financial aid office along with scholarships; however, there are certain issues that students have with City College.

As Coleman said, “I think it’s more of a management issue with CCSF. They cut a lot of the art classes and lost $7 million that no one knew where it went. To me, I think they need to be more transparent, more accountable, and make sure funds are being used properly.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions resorted to online activities, but that proved to be much more difficult. While there are benefits to working and learning from home, students found online learning difficult. A number of students, according to Coleman, had problems with their computers, which led City College to supply Chromebooks. “They ended up using Google Chromebooks that the school supplied them and they said those are pretty good.”

However, even with one’s computer and internet issues resolved, it is also the role of an instructor to motivate their students. Students of a biological psychology class expressed their concerns with online learning. Michelle Lam, a student at City College, said, “The professor isn’t on top of things. Takes too long to respond to the class, the due dates are confusing, and at the beginning of class, no one could access the textbook because the site was bugging out. We were stuck doing nothing essentially for two weeks.”

Other students mentioned unhelpful instructions and said it was difficult to be motivated. Guidance is an important factor to maintain motivation. Lawrence Lanahan from the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news organization, reported that Maricopa community colleges struggled with enrollment during the pandemic because students weren’t properly guided to resources that they needed such as financial aid, ID card obtainment, understanding the path toward a specific degree and other issues.

At City College, students felt informed to a certain degree. Jose Burgos, movies, so it was very different.

“The VA center here was a great help to spend time studying with other people who shared the same experiences as me,” Burgos continued. “They also helped me register with classes and others guided me to other resources.” Burgos said it was challenging to find a schedule of events though, such as athletic events and student recreational activities. “There’s no visualization of things to do, places to go, and other activities,” he added.

But other students provided a more positive outlook about City College.

“There’s a lot of gems within the school; the nursing, CNA, LVN, and EMT departments are amazing and I was always wellinformed about them,” Coleman said.

Elizabeth Hoang, another City College student, said, “I have established a nice relationship with faculty members and felt that I was supported here during my time here in person.”

In-person learning may have its benefits, but having a dependent and a career can deeply affect whether or not a student decides to continue with their education. In a recent study conducted in 2021 by the University of Florida, 33% of students reported having issues with their schedules regarding work and family obligations. A number of students lived far away from

In-person learning may have its benefits, a former veteran and now a City College student said, “When I graduated from high school, I joined the military so I never really had the college experience. All I had was what they showed on TV and in student decides to continue with their education. campus, making it difficult for them to attend classes.

Editor-in-Chief Casey Michie

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Editor-in-Chief JohnTaylor Wildfeuer

T: the Ocean Campus. “The way I see it is, just because it's not there, not to take a radical stance, but if the program is not already existing [at City College], it's kind of pushed off like, ‘oh, there's no need,’” Campos said. especially since they aren’t going to give us funding through the law.”

As a student and worker in the Women’s Resource Center, Campos has encountered the health needs of students. “A few times I’ve had students come and ask, ‘Do we have pregnancy testing?’ and those kinds of services, so I think in that general area, there are people looking for reproductive health-related treatment here at the college,” she said.

An estimated 865 to 1,109 community college students in California seek abortions each month, according to a 2021 study published in the Journal of American College Health. The number at UC and CSU campuses is about 500 students per month, according to the ACLU.

Since community colleges aren’t under the mandate, City College hasn’t been granted the funds that UC and CSU campuses have for abortion medicationrelated expenses. Senate Bill 24 grants each UC and CSU campus $200,000 for equipment and staffing, and another $200,000 for 24-hour telehealth services. The bill also provides funding for UC and CSU colleges through private donors, to be administered by the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.

“They [student health center] would have to access the funds because it comes with funds to make it happen, and in general, we do not have enough funds to serve all of our students, we need more,” said Maggie Harrison, chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies department. “The financial part would be the limitation,” she added.

City College’s Student Health Center declined to answer questions and said that all media requests must go to the Vice-Chancellor, who did not respond to questions by the time of this story’s publication.

Under the bill’s legislation, students will have to pay for the abortion medication itself. Senate Bill 24 only funds its availability on campuses.

The legislation text writes that the risks associated with traveling to get an abortion “negatively impact academic performance and mental health,” and by providing abortion medication on campuses, these risks can be mitigated.

“I think it’s good for supporting students who might not have as much access to it outside of campus, and just making it more accessible so people are really able to take advantage of the support. And I