Carnaval SF Mardi Gras Celebration Hosted in the Mission

Rams Fail to Capture Second Straight State Titlecontinued from page 1

Semifinal Play

Leading up to the championship game CCSF, the No. 1 Northern California seed, showed their resiliency and never-say-die mentality against Citrus College.

In that game they pulled-off a miraculous comeback to force overtime play. They quickly rallied in the closing minutes of the game to capture a 90-84 win that thrust them into the grand finale against the Hornets.

In the Citrus game, Te'Jon Sawyer (32) scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds. EJ Neal (04) and CJ Hardy (00) also contributed 18 points and 16 points respectively.

In Sunday's championship game, the Rams showed a notable lack of energy and drive against the Hornets, who took a 16-point lead at halftime. The exhausting battle during a weekend of competition was visible as the Rams continued to turn the ball over -- 16 times against Fullerton and 32 against Citrus.

The Rams showed a little life in the second half. After trailing 43-27, the Rams offense, led by Neil, Sawyer and Mezziah Oakman (34), took over the game to narrow the Hornets' lead to six points.

Close But Not Close Enough

The decisive City College attack forced the Hornets to muster a strong defense to slow down the charging Rams. The Rams could only chop the Hornets' lead down to two points.

After minutes of exchanging baskets, the Rams made its final push, narrowing the score gap to 76-73 thanks to a Jamir Thomas three pointer with 2:23 remaining. However, the Rams would get no closer.

At this point, Hornets' scoring leaders Kobe Newton (22) with 25 points, and Shaquil Bender (10) with 23 points, took over by scoring the game's final seven points to secure a 10-point lead and an 83-73 win.

For the Rams, the game was about limited drives to the basket and continued turnovers. Additionally, the 73 points scored equaled the lowest points this season against a team; back on Dec. 10 the Rams beat West Valley 73-72 in a coast conference crossover game.

In the end, four Rams players scored in double digits, led by Oakman with 15.

Teammates Neal and Sawyer added 14 apiece, and Kadeem Nelson (20) chipped in 11 off the bench.

Sawyer and Oakman also grabbed seven rebounds apiece, helping the Rams to out rebound Fullerton, 33 to 27.

Sawyer and Neal earned CCCMBCA all-tournament team honors.

Despite the season-ending loss, the Rams had a successful run with a 29-4 overall record and 13-1 in conference play. They were the No. 1 seed in Northern California and will likely remain so when the new season opens again.

Continue on page 8 for more photos of the game by Franchon Smith, The Guardsman.

Dancers from the group Asociacion Mayab perform during the Mardi Gras celebration at the 24th Street and Mission Plaza. This was part of a multi-venue event held in the Mission District on Feb. 21 2023.

Active Minds at City College for mental health

By Lolie Mahe mahelolie@gmail.com

Active Minds is a nonprofit organization committed to changing the conversation around mental health and is currently starting a chapter here at City College!

The organization was founded by Alison Malmon in 2003 after she lost her brother, Brian Malmon, who ended his life after struggling with depression back in 2000.

As a student at the University of Pennsylvania, Alison saw that no one was talking about mental health issues. Alison couldn’t find any existing groups on campus geared toward changing the culture, so she took it upon herself to create a group of her own.

With a student-to-student model, Alison’s group known as Open Minds (at the time) made it a goal of spreading the word that seeking help is a sign of strength, and not something to be ashamed of. Alison’s friend, Kate Hard, started the student-led group at Georgetown University and the program has progressed immensely since then— working in K-12 schools, alongside colleges and universities.

Mental health has grown to become an important part of our society today after we citizens have lived through rude awakenings like the COVID pandemic, climate change, and advancement in technology all in our everchanging world.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regards mental health as one’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental health affects the way we think, how we feel, how we act, as well as how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.

The Student Health Center at City College acknowledges the club will “…work to increase mental health awareness on campus, raise funds for critical mental health education and resources through the Active Minds national office, promote positive mental health, educate their peers about the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders, and encourage students to reach out for help when needed.”

The club meets every Monday virtually through Zoom. In these meetings, those who join are welcomed by other students and a mental health counselor of City College in which matters of the club and ways to improve mental health are discussed.In the meeting of February 27, students were able to engage in a breathing exercise where one student walked others through deeply and intentionally inhaling through the nose and exhaling out of the mouth. While breathing, we were encouraged to close our eyes, breathe calmly, and to think of one thing that makes us happy.

The breathing exercise enables students to focus on the sensation of happiness and transmit that energy into oneself. More information about Active Minds can be obtained from the Student Health Center of CCSF.