The Guardsman, Vol. 175, Issue 1, City College of San Francisco

The Guardsman

Newly-elected Trustees Sworn in at City College; Alan Wong Elected Board President During Special Meeting

By Ann Marie Galvan agalvan1@mail.ccsf.edu

The three new City College board of trustees members Anita Martinez, Vick Chung and Susan Solomon were sworn in during a hybrid meeting on Jan. 11. Alan Wong was also elected board president during a special meeting on Jan. 19, along with Anita Martinez as board vice president. The three new trustees ran on a laborbacked slate in November, and their election unseated the three long-time incumbents, John Rizzo, Brigitte Davila and Thea Selby.

All three new trustees have roots in San Francisco. Martinez is a former instructor and past president of the City College faculty union AFT 2121; Chung is a San Francisco-native and served as the City College student trustee from 2020-2021; and Solomon is an educator who served with the San Francisco Labor Council and United Educators of San Francisco.

Newly elected president Wong has been on the board since November 2020, where he has worked as chair of the budget and audit committee and spearheaded City College’s Cantonese-language certificate to preserve the college’s program. He was also the only trustee to vote against wclass cuts and faculty layoffs in 2022.

“It’s good to be home,” said Martinez. “I think that this will be a very good board. We will learn from your experience; you may learn from our experience. I look forward to discussions because discussions are how we make the best policy.”

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The Guardsman and Etc. Magazine Win Big at San Francisco Press Club's 45th Annual Greater Bay Journalism Awards

By Gracia Hernandez Rovelo ghern140@mail.ccsf.edu

The San Francisco Press Club celebrated the 45th Annual Greater Bay Journalism Awards on Thursday, Dec. 8, hosting nearly 200 attendees at the San Francisco Airport Bayfront.

Honoring both professional and student journalists, the Press Club handed out awards for published work that fell into categories that included Magazine/ Trade Publications, Newspapers-Daily, Digital Media, Television/Video, Newspapers-Non-Daily, Radio/Audio, College Media and Overall Excellence.

In the College Media category, The Guardsman was named Best College Newspaper, while Etc. Magazine won Best College Magazine.

Juan Gonzales, faculty advisor of the newspaper who attended that night, said, “This is the first public event since the pandemic. Many people showed up and there were over 400 Journalism awards presented.”

Broadcasters Wendy Tokuda and Reed Cowman co-hoted with an upbeat

presentation, along with keynote speaker and journalist Phil Matier.

The Guardsman took home 20 awards and Etc. Magazine won seven under the College Media category, including Best College Magazine, Blog/ Commentary, Breaking News, Columns-News/ Political, Cover Design, Editorial Cartoon, Environment/Nature Report, Feature Layout Design, Feature Story/Light Nature, Feature Story/Serious Nature, Front Page Design, General News, Headline, Investigative Reporting, Photography/News, Photography/Photo Series and Photography/Sports.

“I was really happy to see that our students were honored for their tireless

City College Eases COVID-19 Restrictions, Lifts Mask Mandate, Effective Feb. 6, and Proof of Vaccination Requirement

for spring 2023.

By Ann Marie Galvan agalvan1@mail.ccsf.edu

During the board meeting on Jan. 26, the City College Board of Trustees approved the removal of the mask mandate, effective Monday, Feb. 6. They also approved the removal of the proof of vaccination mandate for the upcoming summer 2023 registration cycle.

work and dedication and the continuing reputation that we have for producing award-winning journalists as a department,” Gonzales said.

Continued on page 3

While the board approved the removal of the mask mandate starting in February, masks will still be “strongly recommended,” with the Student Health Center the only exception, said Chancellor David Martin during the meeting, because it is a health facility. He added that staff “uncomfortable” with the change in policy can request accommodations.

In fall 2021, the board passed a resolution requiring that proof of COVID-19 vaccinations be provided prior to enrollment, and students who want to enroll for in-person classes must either provide proof of vaccination or an allowable exemption. This policy is still in place

“The recommendation to suspend the vaccine mandate for the summer 2023 registration cycle was approved by the Health and Safety Committee and the PGC [Participatory Governance Council],” said Martin. “As well as the removal of the mask mandate and transitioning to mask being strongly preferred.”

Mario Vazquez, police chief and chair of City College’s Health and Safety Committee, said that by November 2022 the committee had “unanimously recomwmended” moving forward with the repeal of the mask and vaccination mandates.

The California Department of Public Health strongly recommends masking indoors, but it is not required.

City College Seeks to Strengthen Mental Health Services

By Danny Roberts drober47@mail.ccsf.edu

Withmental health issues among U.S. college students on the rise, City College Student Health Services (SHS) conducted a survey on Dec. 2 requesting student feedback for the college’s Mental Health Services.

“We are committed to strengthening our mental health services for our students, ensuring that our mental health services are welcoming and accessible to students from all circumstances and backgrounds, and reducing any barriers that may prevent students from accessing them,” said the SHS email, with the electronic survey link.

Mental health is a rising concern for college campuses. More than 60% of U.S. college students met

the criteria for one or more mental health problems for the 2020-2021 school year, a nearly 50% increase from 2013, according to a 2022 Healthy Minds research study of 373 college campuses.

The study also found that students of color had the lowest rates of mental health service utilization with the highest annual rate of treatment for Asian, Black, and Latinx students at or below the lowest annual rate for white students.

“In 2021-2022 we served 287 students (with 1525 appointments) and reached approximately 209 additional students through outreach events,” said the City College mental health staff when contacted via email.

“We are also working on doing more outreach. Because studies are showing

that a greater percentage of people are experiencing some level of depression and anxiety, we are working on ways to reach more students.”

With the stigma around mental health issues, cost barriers to care, and uncertainty about where to seek help, the path to receiving mental help can be challenging. At City College, Mental Health Services seek to offer a safe space for students to discuss their concerns

C ity College Mental Health Services provide counseling and support for a variety of issues that affect students. “All students who are taking credit classes are eligible for services and do not need to pay anything beyond the student health fee,” said City College mental health staff

From Monday-Tuesday 9 a.m.-5:45 p.m. and

Wednesday-Thursday 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m. students can access counseling through the Student Health Services virtual help center via Zoom or by phone call.

Students can receive confidential counseling to talk about whatever issues they’re struggling with. The staff provides short-term counseling to assess each student's current situation and can refer them to appropriate community services if needed.

These support groups vary by semester but are listed on the student health services website

According to the mental health staff, these services benefit students in a number of ways. “It enables students to verbalize and attenuate their distresses and students typically express that they get some relief.” In the support groups, “students

validate each other and share empathy. They also learn ways of coping with their elevated or increased number of concerns.”. The need for mental help is higher than ever, but despite this increasing ease of access to care, many students don’t take the first step toward help.

“Everyone can use supstaff. Take that first step towards help.

“Everyone can use support at one time or another and it takes a lot of strength and courage to ask for that help,” said the City College mental health staff. Take that first step towards help. Mental Health Services can be reached by phone at 415-239-3110 or virtually on the City College Student Health Services website at: https://www. ccsf.edu/student-services/ student-health-services.

“As well as the removal of the mask mandate and transitioning to mask being strongly preferred.”

The Guardsman and Etc. Magazine Win Big continued on page 3

UC Davis Body Donation Program Moves to Water Cremations to Protect Environment

By Fiona Raymond-Cox frc@mahfan.net

As part of its Body Donation Program, the University of California, Davis is building a water cremation facility to sustainably dispose of bodies that are received by the School of Medicine. The new fit-for-purpose facility is part of the university’s $620 million Aggie Square development proposed to open on Dec. 15, 2024. Expected to be fully operational in the Summer of 2025, the facility and the whole development are targeted to be LEED Silver-certified following the UC system standards.

Water cremation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis and green cremation, “falls right into that environmentally sensitive, forward-thinking aspect that the UC system brings,” said Aron R. Davis, director of the UC Davis Body Donation Program.

UC Davis is one of six UC campuses where the public can sign up to leave their bodies to science when they die. These body donation programs allow first-year medical students the opportunity to dissect and learn from the bodies donated as part of their early education to become doctors. Mr. Davis expects the program to receive 600 bodies per year, but noted that they could add worker shifts to accommodate more. Once the bodies are no longer needed, they require disposal.

“Our bodies are full of plastic, metals and think of some of the dental work with mercury and other toxic chemicals that if burned can enter the atmosphere,” Mr. Davis said.

Reducing its environmental impact has been the key driver in

the evolution of the UC Davis Body Donation Program. Currently the program contracts with an outside agency to transport the donor bodies for cremation.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8,887 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2). According to National Geographic, one single-flame cremation creates an estimated 534 lbs of CO2. Reuters puts this number at 800lbs.

In contrast, water cremation is carbon neutral. Further, the likes of metal and breast implants, joints, hernia mesh, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) (also known as bone cement used to hold implants in place), and mercury

Mr. Davis, who learned about the “amazing” technology of natural water cremations 10 years ago, proposed the method for the Body Donation Program. But UC Davis is not alone. University of California, Los Angeles has been operating a similar facility since 2010. Travis G. Seims, assistant director of the UCLA Donated Body Program, said that when they wanted their own form of body disposition, “This was really the only viable option, particularly since UCLA has a green initiative,” he said. “Our footprint is about four times less than that of flame cremation.”

Working with Mr. Seims and his other counterparts at UCLA, Mr. Davis has been able to leverage the lessons learned, including statistics and research.

know all that is going into the same treatment area. The funny thing is,

nothing was found,” said Dean Fisher, retired director of both the

found in teeth – all of which are harmful to the environment – can be recovered and recycled or sent to a refinery. Prosthetics made from poly carbons will need to be disposed of as biohazardous waste and taken off campus with other medical waste by a licensed disposal company.

“We use about 400 gallons of water depending on the size of the body,” Mr. Seims said. Once used, the water is returned to the wastewater treatment facility. When the original equipment was installed, the City of Los Angeles needed to be satisfied that pathogens would be destroyed and the water safe for use before it entered the wastewater system.

“We all get up in the morning. We go to the bathroom. We cut ourselves shaving,” Mr. Seims said. Any one of us might have “an infectious disease such as Covid, Tuberculosis, Hep C, HIV. You

that what we’re sending there is sterile,” he continued, referring to the quality of the wastewater once the donated bodies have been treated via the water cremation process.

UCLA undertook stringent testing to satisfy the state water authority and City of Los Angeles.

“We tested 30 times in 30 months before the permit was issued and

Mayo Clinic’s Anatomical Bequest Program in Rochester, Minnesota (1988-2008) and the UCLA Donated Body Program (20082021). UCLA is still required to submit regular test data to the California Department of Public Health. Mr. Davis expects to go

Body Donation continued on page 3

Carbon footprint slide – Denotes the carbon footprint for different cremation processes

Carbon footprint for different cremation processes

Ballard boiler – A photograph taken in Ballard, WA of their steam generator

Flame cremated remains versus alkaline hydrolysis (water) cremated remains, taken at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, NY. Both were males with the same bone density and about the same weight (175lbs). Photo provided by Dean Fisher, Resomation consultant.

through similar testing to demonstrate to the City of Sacramento that the UC Davis equipment runs appropriately, and pathogens are destroyed.

Several companies supply alkaline hydrolysis machines.

Mr. Fisher worked with scientists, engineers, doctors, infection control and water specialists to select and implement Resomation LTD’s Resomator – the machine used to facilitate water cremations – at both locations. Originally concerned about having control over how to appropriately care for and ultimately dispose of the donated body, he said, “All of these wonderful attributes came along as we started to run,” referring to the environmental benefits.

Mr. Davis visited the Mayo Clinic and UCLA as well as an operation in Kent, Washington to help inform the layout of the UC Davis facility. The campus Facilities and Planning Department is working with a Resomation LTD engineer to plan the UC Davis facil-

known as caustic potash).

“We describe it like a whirlpool bath,” Mr. Seims said. A recirculation pump runs throughout the process to keep the fluids circulating around the body to break up the molecules. Steam is run through the Resomator to heat it up to above 300 degrees for over an hour. Mr. Seims said, “Pathogen destruction inside the unit is 60,000 times greater than an autoclave,” which is used to sterilize medical and other instruments.

When the unit needs to be cooled, cold water is run through a coil mechanism to bring the temperature down. That water can be retained in a storage tank for reuse. However, the water inside the unit is safe to be discharged into the public utility waste stream once it has cooled. The solid remains are rinsed and dried before being removed from the Resomator.

“The way we’ve described it before is if you died out in the middle of the desert versus died up in the Sierra mountains, the decomposition of your body would

The new equipment can be run by a single person. “A dishwasher is harder to run,” Mr. Seims said.

The UC Davis Body Donation Program was created in 1969 along with the School of Medicine to supply specimens for the Anatomy program but it now falls under the School of Medicine. In addition to serving anatomy course students, it has grown to serve the School of Nursing and other groups within the UC system that include Surgery, Emergency Medicine and Orthopedics. Whole cadavers or body parts are loaned for education research at California State University Sacramento, Chico and Cal Poly Humboldt, as well as to community colleges, the US military, Air Force, Fire Department, Office of Emergency Services and paramedic groups, and they are returned after use.

UC Davis will be the second UC campus to have an alkaline hydrolysis machine. It will serve both UC Davis and University of California, San Francisco due to space constraints at the urban campus. There are no plans to change University of California, San Diego and University of California, Irvine’s flame cremation process.

UCLA’s annual memorial service for body donors’ families is funded by its water cremation recycling efforts. UC Davis and UCSF expect to do the same.

Regardless of water or flame cremation, the UC Body Donation Program does not return the remains of its body donors. Instead, they are broken down to create ash. Water cremation creates a pure white calcium phosphate ash. All ashes are scattered at sea.

“For me it’s a dream,” Mr. Davis said of the forthcoming water cremation facility at UC Davis. “Having a lab but also to be on the cutting edge of technology. With climate change this is a better way going forward.”

his experience as a deaf athlete.

Erin Blackwell, Editorial Cartoonist at The Guardsman during the spring and fall semesters of 2021, won under two categories — College Media: Editorial Cartoon for her piece titled “Budget Cuts” and College Media: Photography/Sports for “Rams’ Reign Continues with Strong Performances Versus Las Positas and Santa Rosa.” “I had a fantastic experience drawing cartoons for The Guardsman and feel honored to win these awards,” she said.

Parking Rate Increase Near Multi-Use Building

By Renée Bartlett-Webber rbartle8@mail.ccsf.edu

As of Jan. 17, the lower Balboa Reservoir parking area (behind the Multi-Use Building) has changed management from City College to Douglas Parking. It now costs $6.50 to park and student and staff permits are not honored. The lot is open Monday to Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There are QR codes posted to pay electronically or an attendant will be present to accept payments. All other campus parking lots will remain at $5 and continue to honor valid student and staff permits.

In December 2022, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) officially sold the 17-acre property to BHC Balboa Builders LLC. Plans for the reservoir consist of 1,100 housing units, half of which are planned to be affordable units at 55% to 120% of average median income (currently $53,350 to $116,400 for a one-person household.)

the privatization of public lands and advocated for the land ownership to be transferred to City College. One instructor argued that losing 2,000 spaces would be detrimental to the commuter college’s future and would greatly impact the community. There was even an allegation that the 2017 proposal violated the California Environmental Quality Act. While the debate may continue, the ownership has been officially transferred and plans to go forward with construction are underway. In a letter to the City College community, campus police said, “CCSF will start to work collaboratively with the landowners and hopefully develop a long-term agreement at consistent parking rates.”

Continued from The New Trustees on page 1

The new trustees ran on a shared platform, and some of their values include developing a balanced and transparent budget, enhancing workforce training, increasing green practices on campus and supporting immigrant, BIPOC, and LGBTQ communities.

“Change is possible,” said Harry Bernstein, music faculty at City College, during public comment. “You have voiced opposition to the systemic downsizing of the college. This should be the community college for all San Francisco, not just those favored by policies designed by, enforced by, Sacramento.” He expressed hope that the new trustees will listen to the concerns of faculty and students.

ity. Mindful of its carbon footprint, UC Davis will install an electric generator to create the steam necessary to operate the Resomator. Given its size, the facility’s walls cannot go up until the Resomator is installed.

UC Davis’ bio cremation room will have a single Resomator plus a supporting sled of equipment to hold chemicals. The machine is like a tube; it is cylindrical in shape. The donor body is wrapped in organic material, either cornstarch or silk, so the material breaks down in the process. The donated body is placed on a tray that slides into the Resomator, which weighs the body and adds the right mixture of water and chemical (approximately 95% water to 5-8% of an alkaline solution (potassium hydroxide also

be different depending on the elements, but decomposition will take place,” Mr. Seims said. “All we’re doing is taking the body’s natural decomposition process and we’re speeding it up from, you know, days, weeks and months or years to a matter of hours.”

Safety has been a major consideration in planning and operating the Resomator. The latest Resomation LTD technology allows for remote monitoring and will send alerts if a problem arises. This means that the UC Davis team and Resomation LTD staff can be informed of a problem, and a technician can be dispatched as necessary. Retaining chemicals in the same room avoids the need to pump them from another floor.

Continued from The Guardsman and Etc. Magazine Win Big on page 1

Derek Chartrand Wallace, who has been with The Guardsman for two years and runs the paper’s social media accounts, won the College Media: Feature Story/Serious Nature award for his story “Calel Olicia-Aramboles: Reading the Signs Leading to Rams’ Success.”

“It was a very interesting story to cover for me. I got in touch with the football player Calel, scheduled the meeting in Zoom with a translator and framed the experience from his teammates who shared their testimony on having a player with hearing disabilities.”

The piece is about the running back football player for the Rams and

Proposals to build a housing development on the Balboa Reservoir date back to the 1960s and have failed consistently every decade, until the city resurfaced the idea in 2017 and it was approved in 2020.

There has been perpetual opposition to such proposals that has continued to the present day. Neighbors and City College faculty have spoken out against

“I can’t say how truly thrilled the labor council is to have these new members join the City College trustees,” said Kim Tavaglione, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council. She added that she wants to help bring funds for “real job training” back to City College. “I’m talking automotive repair and vocational things that have been lost.”

Chung thanked the crowd for all the support. “All of you have been incredibly supportive, not only of us as newly elected trustees, but of our college and it's been a long fight.”

UCLA installation – A photograph of the UCLA Resomator, widely available on the internet

Body Donation continued from page 3

“Amplifying Sanctuary Voices” Exhibit Opens in the Rosenberg Library

By Beth Lederer bethlyn2020@gmail.com

“Amplified Sanctuary Voices” (ASV) is the newest exhibit that opened up at City College, Ocean Campus in the Rosenberg Library’s second-floor atrium on January 25. This multimedia exhibit highlights the history of the Sanctuary Movement, Climate Migration and amplifies the voices of migrants in the Bay Area by telling their own individual harrowing stories. English Professor Steven Mayers is calling on the City College community to view this all important multimedia exhibit and to participate in solution-focused conversations on migration and climate change.

For opening day festivities, in attendance were two City College English classes and teacher Daphne Morgan (cofounder of Youth UnMuted) who brought her middle school class from Brightworks School to view the exhibit, listen to the panelists and participate in meaningful discussions.

The ASV exhibit is a collaborative effort between various groups and organizations. The guest curators are Lisa Hoffman and Rebecca Genry from East Bay Sanctuary Covenant. City College English Professor Steven Mayers, part of the ASV project and Michelle McKenzie, a City College media librarian in charge of exhibits, were instrumental in bringing the exhibit to City College. The ASV exhibit was sponsored by the Rosenberg Library, Amplifying Sanctuary Voices, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, City College Puente Program, City College City Dream.

Gerny, who is Special Projects Coordinator at East Bay Sanctuary Covenant

said,”migration is beautiful and natural. Humans have been moving around the planet for as long as we’ve been on it. Just migration policy must preserve the right for everyone to seek safety and sanctuary.”

The panelists, Deyci Carrillo Lopez, Manuel de Paz and Brianna Adia Davis amplified their voices by reciting poetry, telling their harrowing stories of escape and resistance and presenting their poignant artwork for the opening exhibit. The exhibit will be on display for the Spring semester and closes on May 25.

Students at the exhibit were introduced to a timeline showing the history of the Sanctuary movement, and how extreme climates are forcing migration throughout the world. They also viewed meaningful artwork, watched a multimedia presentation, listened to the panelists and divided up into small groups to have thoughtful discussions about what this exhibit means to them and how they can find their own solutions to the worldwide problem of the refugee crisis and forced migration.

Lisa Hoffman, one of the curators of the exhibit from East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC), hoped the exhibit would “increase the dialogue, deepen empathy and inspire action towards more compassionate immigration policies.” She would also like to see people get engaged and more motivated to take action and find solutions.

The ASV multimedia exhibit highlights stories of migrants who were forced to flee their countries due to unmitigated circumstances and the hardships they faced trying to receive refuge. It also brings to light climate induced displacement by introducing six areas of the

world; the Northern Triangle of Central America, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Syria, Pakistan, and the plight of Rohingya people. People in these areas have been displaced and forced to migrate due to the destruction of their homes and land due to conflict, poverty, persecution and increasingly extreme climate conditions.

In one of the informational displays, ASV has shown that by 2050 an estimated 200 million people will have been displaced due to environmental changes such as drought, floods, famine, sea level rise, biodiversity loss, wildfires and other environmental factors.

It’s not easy for refugees to tell these very personal stories, how individuals or families have been forced to migrate sometimes due to mass killings, drugs, gang violence, poverty or climate change.

Each person’s story is personal and the panelists told their stories through many different artforms either through painting, poetry, collage, oral storytelling or using various types of multimedia.

One of the panelists, Manuel de Paz’s story, was gut wrenching. When he was just 13, he saw his beloved El Salvador ravaged by war. The military came into his village and massacred nine of his relatives including 3 of his brothers on March 21, 1980. During the 12 years of Civil War in El Salvador he saw 21 of his relatives killed.

de Paz is passionate to tell his story to educate and to inform communities that his story is not isolated and millions of people live through Civil Wars and become refugees.

It took him years of living in many different towns throughout El Salvador and still experiencing danger that he made the decision to leave El Salvador for good. He talked about his journey and finally making it safely into the United States on the third try.

East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC) helped him gain asylum and then citizenship. de Paz was hired by EBSC in 2006 where he does community outreach work. He was instrumental in helping California become a Sanctuary state and passing the legislation that gives a CA drivers license for undocumented workers, CA AB 60 license. de Paz's journey as a refugee is both harrowing and hopeful, showing us what hard work and perseverance can lead to.

Lopez is from Guanajuato, Mexico and came to the United States at three years old. At 13 she found out that she was undocumented. Lopez said she turned to writing and poetry, “Poetry has helped me find my voice in this country that’s constantly screaming to tell me I don’t have one.”

Lopez recited two beautiful poems from her first book of poetry paying homage to her mother. The first poem was called, “ Today My Heart Feels Warm,”and her Poetry book is called Entre la Miel y el Fuego.

Lopez gave credit to the artist who did the attractive cover of her book, whose name is Eddie. He was in immigration detention when the cover was created. Lopez also sent me an excerpt from her book thanking him, where she includes a beautiful quote from him, “ All I ever wanted to do is draw. To make paint or ink flow, to be able to portray or inspire, to make my daughter proud.”

Lopez is now working on her second book of poetry.

Davis uses visual arts to tell her stories, painting and making thought provoking collages which are part of the ASV exhibit. Davis tells stories through this art form connecting to the stories of her mother and grandmother who left Mexico.

Hoffman believes that people can do more to take part in this movement. ”Reaching out to grandparents to learn about their family's story or whether it's participating and protesting unjust immigration policies or whether it's helping a neighbor with challenges integrating into this country,” she said.

After taking time to view the exhibit and listen to the panelists, the students broke up into small discussion groups to discuss what the exhibit meant to them. The exhibit allowed the students to ponder sanctuary cities, immigration policy, how extreme climate affects us all and what the term climate migrant means. The exhibit asks for the public to add their voice to the solution, support refugees and amplify migrant voices.

English Professor Steven Mayers said, “we are calling on the City College communitystudents, professors, librarians, staff- to engage in this crucial conversation: bring a class to the exhibit, create and share discussion questions and assignment ideas on migration and climate change in your field, from science to anthropology to art to language to literature. We hope to inspire classes from a variety of disciplines to engage in solutions-focused conversations and brainstorm about migration. To get involved email English Professor Steven Mayers (smayers@ccsf.edu) and ASV co-founder Rebecca Gerny (rebecca@eastbaysanctuary.org).”

Spring 2023 Welcome Day Brings City College Community Back to Campus

By Beth Lederer bethlyn2020@gmail.com

Welcome to Campus Day was well attended despite heavy rain, with 235 registered ticket check-ins.

Initially planned to be held in Ram Plaza at the Ocean Campus, the event was moved to the Smith Hall cafeteria to accommodate the poor weather. “With the rain, I wasn’t sure if we’d get a big turnout, but this is a big turnout I think. And it’s great we had it indoors,” said Rebecca Ancheta, sociology instructor and chair of the behavioral sciences department.

Outreach services and the student activities office collaborated to organize the event.

Many City College departments and services showcased their programs and offerings via tabling, and students participated in a campus-related bingo game.

“It's been exciting getting to meet new students and guiding them to a new path here

at City College,” said George Lin, program coordinator in the architecture department. “. . . I wasn’t expecting to see so many students here on such a rainy day,” he said. “. . .I truly appreciate the outreach department for getting to so many students, and parents too. Some of them are high school students and their parents are here trying to find out what's in store for them,” said Lin.

New student William Ford attended Welcome Day to learn more about the computer science department. “I’m actually a transfer student. I came from Central Texas College. I used to be in the military. Now that I’m out of the military, I decided to continue my education,” said Ford.

“I got an email from City College about the event. I decided to come here so I can know more about the programs the school has. I also wanted to know where the buildings are so I know where to go for class,”

said Ford. “It [Welcome Day] makes me feel comfortable because now I know there are more programs I can take,” he added.

Returning students also discovered programs outside of their already intended fields of study. “I spoke with the languages department which was great. I wasn’t signed up but now I am going to sign up for Chinese 1A,” said Mark Halesworth, a returning student and science major. “I'm hopeful this will be a successful semester,” Halesworth added.

“I hope the rest of the semester feels this collaborative and welcoming,” said Elena Alvardo-Strasser, a sociology faculty member, in a similar vein.

Guillermo Luzardo, the construction management program coordinator, felt optimistic about the return to campus, yet acknowledged that online learning better suits some students' needs. “It’ll be a little challenging, at least

for the construction management world. A lot of our students are working, they are working students, so coming in person may be a challenge. [We] are trying to have some remote, some in-person classes. Most of our classes are in person at this point,” said Luzardo. “I’m very excited about being once again back in

Rocky the Ram Mascot and City College Chancellor David Martin at Welcome Day on August 27, 2022 Photo by: Emma Pratt/The Guardsman the college environment. We look forward to having a great semester. This [Welcome Day] definitely brings back the energy we were missing,” he said. Welcome to Campus Day was held on Jan. 11 ahead of the Spring 2023 semester commencement on Jan. 17.

The Robots Are Not Taking Over or Are They?

By Jupiter Woolley iamjoopiter222@gmail.com

In November 2022, the startup OpenAI debuted ChatGPT, an AI-search tool that can answer any question in a conversational dialogue format. With just under two months since its release, ChatGPT has already been used by students to cheat on essays and written work, to converse with employers and apply for jobs, to chat with potential partners on dating apps, and has even been cited as the author on research papers.

This has reignited the fears held by many workers that there is an impending takeover of artificial intelligence in the workplace, with the potential to mitigate the need for human workers altogether in some fields. ChatGPT is undoubtedly a mindblowing piece of technology, but it leaves much to be desired in terms of eloquence, empathy, reliability, and autonomy.

According to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report 2020, it’s predicted that I will replace 85 million jobs worldwide by 2025, but it will create 97 million new jobs. “The number of people that are necessary to deliver better and better technology grows massively,” said Sean Chou, the CEO of the AI startup Catalytic. “When you look at AI, there's this nonstop need for training, for data, for maintenance, for taking care of all the exceptions that are happening. How do we monitor AI? How do we train it? Those are all going to become new jobs.”

some cause for concern. And now, with ChatGPT, it is clear that AI is developing towards human function, perhaps less gradually than coverage would have you believe.

Illustration by Tyler Lyn Sorrow/The Guardsman

Since the Industrial Revolution, automation has gradually eliminated a substantial chunk of blue-collar jobs, but it will be a long time before AI is able to completely supplant human workers. Many professionals and researchers believe that AI will end up creating more jobs and may actually increase productivity in the workplace.

Indeed, humans and human jobs will be needed to continue the advancement of AI, and to implement it in workplaces that deem it necessary. But this implementation should not necessarily be seen as a bad thing. One of the primary roles of AI in the workplace will be to complete the repetitive tasks that may normally keep human workers from focusing on the parts of their job that simply cannot be done by a machine or a program. The human can focus on anything from customer relations to strategic planning, and the AI can work on training new employees.

Although AI still lacks the emotion and creativity deemed essential in many professions with human-to-human contact, its efficiency and novelty does create

If AI can engage in conversation, it may soon be able to assist with tasks that many thought would always require humans, such as customer relations. AI now has this capability, and it will continue to develop and advance. It will be a long time before AI can perform these tasks as well as a human can, and it will certainly take some time for clients to accept customer service from a computer rather than a person.

In “Robots and AI Taking Over Jobs: What to Know

About the Future of Jobs,” Mike Thomas lists professions that will always require humans; we will always need human teachers, writers, lawyers, medical professionals, social workers, and therapists. “These fields may still be aided by the advancement of AI in the future, but AI and robots can’t replicate the empathy and social intelligence that these fields require,” said Thomas. Going forward, it is important to consider AI to be a tool that can aid the workplace and increase productivity, while also creating more jobs. AI will replace some jobs, but it will create many more.

Please Stop Saying You “Look Like a Homeless Person”

By Jade Leonardo charlottejadeleonardo@gmail.com

TikTok and other social media platforms can be fun ways to waste time, or even occasionally, a convenient place to pick up a new fact or two. But we all know that social media also has its drawbacks; people compare their entire lives to a thirty second highlight reel and many of us can only go a couple of minutes between checking our phone for notifications. One drawback that is not discussed enough, is how social media can unintentionally perpetuate stereotypes through sound bites and actions that are meant to seem fun and light hearted.

One trend on TikTok includes a statement that the user, “looks like a homeless person.” This phrase has got to go. Already, there are many harmful stereotypes surrounding homelessness and what it means to be a person who is homeless. We do not need teens and twenty somethings thinking it is cute or funny to liken their lazy day outfits or fresh out of bed, no makeup faces, to the harsh reality that nearly 8,000 people face in San Francisco alone.

Besides being insensitive and out of touch with reality, this phrase also assumes that all people who are homeless look the same and that could not be farther from the truth. Yes, a lot of people have this idea that pops into their heads when they think of the word “homeless,” but that is exactly the problem. Homelessness does not have a certain look. It does not only affect a certain group of people.

Did you know according to the San Francisco Homeless Count and Survey, that in 2022, nearly approximately 1,000 of the total number of people who were homeless in San Francisco were youths? Or that 36 percent of the documented homeless population reported psychiatric or emotional conditions? Or that 23 percent of survey

respondents had been in foster care?

It is important to remember that these numbers represent real people; that homelessness is a real problem faced by so many real people. It is also important to remember that our words matter. Next time you plan to flippantly

new fact or two, the drawbacks are influential — people comparing their entire lives to a thirty second highlight reel and many of us able to go phoneless for a mere couple of minutes before checking our phone for notifications again. One drawback that is not discussed enough, though, is how social media can unintentionally perpetuate stereotypes through sound bites and actions online that are intended to appear fun and light hearted.

One trend on TikTok, a social media platform owned by a Chinese company where users can upload videos up to 10 minutes, involves a statement where a TikTok user concerns others as, “look[ing] like a homeless person.”

There are countless harmful stereotypes regarding homelessness and what it means to be someone who is homeless.

Besides being insensitive and out of touch with reality, the phrase assumes all people who are homeless appear the same. Surely, people have a domesticated idea in their minds at the thought of the word “homeless,” but that is exactly the problem. Homelessness does not have a certain look and it does not affect a single group of people.

Did you know according to the San Francisco Homeless Count and Survey, in 2022, nearly 2,000 of the total number of people who were homeless in San Francisco were youth? 36 percent of the documented homeless population reported psychiatric or emotional conditions. In addition, 23 percent of survey respondents had been in foster care.

post what you think is a cute or funny TikTok or Instagram story, stop and consider whether what you are saying or doing could be harmful to a person or group of diverse people.

While social media platforms, like TikTok, can be fun ways to waste time or occasionally conveniently pick up a

It is important to remember these numbers collected for data are representative of human beings living on Earth; homelessness is a real problem faced by so many real people. Furthermore, it is important to remember that our words matter. Next time you plan to flippantly post what you think is attractive or humorous on a TikTok or Instagram story, stop and consider whether what you are saying or doing could be harmful to a person or group of people.

Illustration by Tyler Lyn Sorrow/The Guardsman

No Field, No Problem; A Pre-Season Exclusive on CCSF Baseball

By Shane Stanley geogheganspg@gmail.com

City College of San Francisco has a variety of very competitive sports teams, whether it be football’s 10-time national championships, men's basketball’s four-time national championships, women's basketball and men’s soccer’s final four finishes. With this reputation for winning seasons, CCSF Baseball is left in the dust; not recording a winning season in this century. How are they shaping up this season? Let's have a look.

After another disappointing season last year where the Rams finished 5-31, questions must be asked about the program's facilities. City College baseball’s program has had its variety of issues in the past 10 years, the most prominent being they don’t have a field. “It’s hard some days, we’ll only have Fairmont for a couple of hours and then we have to go,” said captain and starting pitcher, Nevan Lee. “How are we supposed to get better without a field?” He is referring to Fairmont field in Pacifica where CCSF plays their home games and practices.

Saint Ignatius, a private high school in the city has an arrangement allowing City College to use the field for an allotted time. With such successful sports programs, is this the best City College can do? Well, in all honesty, yes. Real estate in San Francisco is very expensive and building a baseball field on top of it doesn't make it any cheaper. CCSF has had its budget cut recently so why build a field for an underperforming team?

Is the reason for the programs' success, or lack thereof solely due to the field or are there other reasons? “I mean last year... we were a decent team and all, we just had no pitching depth,” that was sophomore outfielder Kevin Meuller. “I’ve been at City through the Covid year and it’s hard to recruit players when you don’t have a nice facility to promote, I think with the guys we had last year and the new guys we got we can put together a good season,”

City College had 5 named all-conference players last year and keep 4 this year, 3 of those being named to the pre-season all-state team. Sophomore shortstop David Balague provides some more insight on the upcoming season, “Look last year we had a really young team; most of us were freshman. We can chalk up a lot of those losses to being a young team, now that we got the experience there are no excuses.” Besides having no field, City also has a coaching problem. “We had four coaches last season, and three of them were part time,”

Outfielder Cruz Costa says with a chuckle. “This year is different. We got a brandnew coaching staff with the passion and attitude to win.”

On paper they certainly have pieces, but is that enough when going up against programs who have historically been better?

Interviewing the group, I can certainly say the attitude they have is certainly what they need. Let's look at the competition and who the Rams have to beat to reach their goal.

The Rams(5-31) play in the Coast North conference with Skyline college(32-10), College of San Mateo(22-16-1), Cañada College(8-31), West Valley College(25-18), and Chabot College(24-14). As you can see City College finished dead last year, winning their only conference game against Cañada College on the last day of the year. While climbing a 4-game deficit is common and easily attainable.

The Rams will need to win 16 more games than they did last year to reach their goal of finishing the season above a .500 winning percentage. Isaiah Ramos, a sophomore pitcher says, “It shouldn't be as hard as last year, we just gotta win those pre conference games that we let slip..... there were some 10 plus games we only lost by one.” The Rams only had 6 one run losses that I could find, but 11 losses to a 3 run deficit. Yet, he does make a good point, last year the Rams went up against mostly sophomore stacked teams; while they were made up of mostly freshmen, having only one everyday sophomore starter. This year their team comes into the season with veteran experience.

Having interviewed the players, my last step was talking to the coaches. Newly instated assistant coach, Jet Trevino was more than happy to talk about this upcoming season. Before I asked my first question the assistant coach said, “I know what our record was last year, it's not ideal but I've seen worse. I think my perspective is unique, I know what I see and what I see is a group that's sick of losing, I think we have a lot of potential and I'm excited to see what we can do come spring.”

Coach Trevino is right, he is my one interviewee that was not part of last year's team. “I played in this conference for Chabot back in my day, I know what it takes to win here... it takes a lot, but these are the boys to do it.”

With my final interview I started off with the same question I had been asking. How is this team any different than it was last year? Head coach Mario Mendoza says, “We are very different. Firstly, I don't think we had a bad team last year, we had plenty of talent and heart and that's a great quality to have in a team. What makes us different this year is we have a far more well-rounded squad, these freshmen that we got in, they will provide the longevity our team needs to make a run this year.”

What kind of run? “a playoff run.”

And you think there's a good

chance of that? “This is the best team I've had here in a while, check back with me in a few months if you doubt it,” said Mario Mendoza. For the Rams to make the playoffs, they need to finish

top two in the conference. And a “playoff run” implies winning games in the playoffs as well if not winning it all. As a CCSF student I love to hear this, but a playoff run for the Rams would be unfounded with the program's success rate

over the past decade. Who am I to question the beliefs of this team, all we can do now is wait and see how they perform in the upcoming months.

Rams Continue March Toward State Title with 14-Game Win Streak

By Onyx Hunter onyxhunter@gmail.com

The men’s Rams basketball team continued their success in the young season at home with a 94-74 win on January 25 against the Foothill College Owls and a 97-82 win over the Las Positas Hawks on January 27.

The Rams extended their win streak to 14 and bolstered their conference record to 8-0. In overall play, the Rams are 20-2. In the Foothill game, City College kept the Eagles at bay and never relinguished its double-digit lead.

City College's fast-paced play and percison shooting, as well as three-point shooting by Kadeem Nelson (2), Nathna Illunga (44) and CJ Hardy (0) sememd to trouble the Owls all night. With a 20- point lead into the second half, Rams reserves took over and got plenty of

playing time on court.

With almost every Ram player contributing to the offensive attack, the night's point leaders were Te'Jon Sawyer (32) with 15, Mezziah Oakman (34) with 13, and Hardy with 13. The Eagles tried to match the Rams scoring punch with its own two-person scoring machine, but was not enough.

The Eagles were led by Alijah Washington (15) with 27 points and Jaylin Leslie with 16.

Against Las Positas, the Rams' aggressive play constantly kept the Hawks with a mindset to survive the Rams run, but it was challenging. The periodic scoring bursts that included spitfire scoring layups prevented the Eagles from secruing the lead at any point in the game.

The Rams opened the second half with three threepoint scoring plays, coupled with strong defense, would set the tempo of the game. With

10-minutes left in the game the Rams opened up a 20-point lead at 77-57. From then on it was catchup play for the Owls, but it would never be a enough.

Scoring leaders for the Rams were Mezziah Oakman (34) with 20 points, Jamir Thomas (11) with 18, and EJ Neal with 17. The game also earned the Rams their 68th straight Coast North Conference win.

Meanwhile, CCSF looks to capture its 12th consecutive Coast Conference championship. With an average of 97.6 points per game, that possibility certainly looks promising.

The next home games for the Rams on the Brad Duggan Court are Feb. 3 against Skyline, Feb. 10 againt San Mateo, and Feb. 15 against Ohlone. Tip-off time is 7 p.m.

Catcher Shane Stanley walks back to home plate with his head down after West Valley rallies 5 runs in the 9th inning. Photo by Seamus Geoghegan, April 9, 2022.

City College's Chadwick Plath pitches to a West Valley hitter during their game at San Francisco State's Maloney Field. Photo by Seamus Geoghegan, April 9, 2022.

Outfielder Ryan Anderson reaches up to make a catch during the Rams' bout with West Valley.

Photo by Seamus Geoghegan, April 9, 2022.