 |
The deep-throated rumble of motorcycle engines announces the beginning of the new motorcyle maintenance Course at Evans Campus every Saturday morning. story Parking has Lots of Hazards Finding parking at City College's Phelan Campus is challenging; according to data drawn from the San Francisco Community College District Police Depart-ment Log, parking in areas around the main campus can also be dangerous, particularly to your car and valuables. story Students Opt for Online Learning City College's Speech and Debate Team competed against teams from 22 other colleges and universities, and placed well in the Northern California Forensics Association's Championship Tournament, held at Chico State University, Feb. 8-10. story
|
 Etc. Magazine on Newstands Now! March is Women's History Month It is a time for special recognition of the lives and achievements of women from a variety of fields, inc-luding literature, activism, politics and sports. storySelf Study Committee Hot on Student Success Issues City College's Enhanced Self Study project, which began last fall, has moved from the ad hoc discussion committees to the Academic Senate for review through the shared governance process. story
|
Students Opt for Online Learning
Online courses increase nationwide stirring debate over detached learning environment
By Daniel Jenkins
Guardsman Staff Writer
Amidst a debate regarding their educational benefit, offerings of online courses by universities are increasing nationwide.
 Illustration by Hung Van Lam |
The trend is evident at City College, where online classes have more than doubled over the past year. City College began offering eight online credit courses in Fall 2000. Nineteen courses were made available for Spring 2002.
Student enrollment in online courses at City College has increased from 380 in Fall 2001 to 703 this semester, according to the Online Office.
Distance learning is still a relatively new phenomenon in education. Much debate goes on in academia over the usefulness of online courses.
Traditionalists raise concerns that online classes remove the human touch necessary for educating students. They are concerned that instructors may not be able to gauge student progress adequately.
While most traditionalists focus largely on the educational value of online education, historian David F. Noble has raised larger concerns about privacy.
Noble, a professor at York University in Toronto, argues that online class discussions can be monitored by not only the college administration, but also the federal government.
In his book "Digital Diploma Mills," Noble warns that the growth of government surveillance following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks raises an alarm about online privacy in the classroom.
Proponents of distance learning argue that online classes add to the existing education structure and provide convenience for students with tight schedules. Online education is also viewed as an alternative for people with disabilities who may be unable to attend classes on campus.
Elizabeth Stewart, a City College faculty member who teaches College Success, said comparing online classes with a classroom atmosphere is "like comparing apples and oranges."
"I oppose the concept of comparing the two," said Stewart, "especially because of those who are threatened by or opposed to this mode (of teaching)."
Stewart feels that online classes serve as a complement, rather than a replacement, to the traditional college classroom environment.
"It serves another function as an alternative choice," said Stewart.
Self Study Committee Hot on Student Success Issues
By John Davis
Guardsman Staff Writer
City College's Enhanced Self Study project, which began last fall, has moved from the ad hoc discussion committees to the Academic Senate for review through the shared governance process.
According to Kathie Ger-man, Enhanced Self Study coordinator, 34 recommendations have been generated with faculty, staff, and student input to "examine our policies and practices relating to the success of our students."
She said her committee is on track to accomplish the project's original mission to discover what is needed, to recommend vital changes that can transform the level of student success, to increase student achievement and improve institutional performance.
German said she is very encouraged with the pro-gress of the self study program.
"It's clear to me that the levels of conversation with students and faculty are excellent," she said. "The dialogues are rich, initiatives are sustained, and just talking (about these improvements) has been dramatic."
Academic Senate Presid-ent Ophelia Clark also echoed that sentiment of anticipation.
"By Wednesday (Mar. 6) we look forward to receiving for review the first two recommendations."
Once the recommendations are approved, the Chancellor will make final recommendations to be implemented through the organizational structure of the college.
The recommendations are organized into five major areas: pre-registration and matriculation, pre-college learning, college-level learning, enrollment management tools and student outcomes.
One of the most important initiatives to be recommended is to change City College's academic calendar to add a winter term. The recommendation would also lengthen the summer term and shorten the spring and fall terms. The class lengths for the shortened fall and spring terms would be left unchanged under the recommendation.
Terry Hall, dean of instruction and co-chair of the Enrollment Management Tools Committee, said the quarter system has worked well for other community colleges.
"Some Southern Califor-nia community colleges have tried this calendar and (have found) that students do better," she said. "It increases retention."
This recommendation is currently under discussion in various study groups and the San Francisco Commun-ity College Federation of Teachers.
German cited several other key recommendations still under review: an
outreach and recruitment program to increase awareness of City College
in the neighborhoods, a comprehensive student orientation program delivered
over the course of a student's first semester, a transfer associate degree
to help students chart their course to the State University and University
of California systems with general education requirements, and a greater
access to information, instruction and learning resources on-line, through
the college's website.
Foreign Language Classes Surge in Spring Semester
By Kevin Davis
Guardsman Staff Writer
Whether it's for a love of the culture, to improve employment and promotion ability, or to communicate better with a partner, City College foreign language classes are flourishing.
Foreign Languages Chair Jacquelyn Green confirmed that class sizes are up across the board. She pointed to the United Nations environment of the city and career development concerns, "whether it's working at McDonald's or in a big law firm," as explanations for students streaming into Russian, Spanish and German.
"We live in an area that's so multicultural, English is not the first language for 60 percent of the students here," she said. "Who's purely one race or culture anymore?"
Russian Instructor Georges Tchikovani said that in the 40-year history of Russian night courses, since even before Adult Education became annexed by City College, enrollment has thrived and waned.
"In the late '60s, with Sputnik, classes were booming," Tchikovani said.
"During the Cold War it was down. But with perestroika it went up again."
Tchikovani said 35 people showed up on the first day of class at the Castro/Valencia
campus.
Green concurred, saying, "Classes at Castro/Valencia are huge. They can put almost any class at Castro/Valencia and it does well. Eighty people might show up for Spanish," she said.
Tchikovani clarified his perception of the current surge by noting a recent and strong change in attitudes toward the Russian language.
"We have a (dispersion) of Russians in the city and people are in contact with the Russian community," he said. "With perestroika, people traveled and met a partner. This semester, a third of the class is taking (Russian) because they met a Russian."
Tchikovani added that some students have Russian backgrounds and spoke it as children, but forgot it.
"They're all here to start from scratch," he said.
German Instructor Leslie Pahl said she usually has about 20 students sign up for her 1A class.
"This semester, there were 40," Pahl said. "One speculation is that when the economy goes down, people go back to school. Maybe people are thinking more globally, that we as Americans aren't isolated."
Italian student Ann Woodward, who retired after teaching ESL after 20 years, said the student population is often driven to learn a second language by the travel bug.
"I have friends in Italy," she said. "I'd like to be able to talk to them beyond the tourist level."
Another demonstration of increased interest in foreign languages is the activity seen on a smart collection of websites created by foreign language instructors.
Dr. Carol Reitan, French instructor and assistant coordinator of the Language Center in the Rosenberg Library, said the Language Center website has received 40,000 hits so far this semester. The site has digital and audio materials with lessons and exercises in grammar and pronunciation, dictionaries, and links to foreign language newspapers and cultural sites.
Italian instructor Giorgio Spano created a site named Centro Studi Italiano E Classroom, which Oxford University has linked to. French teacher Francoise Navarro's online French quizzes show students what they need to brush up on before a test. His website has received 90,000 hits.
"It's kind of amazing that other sites in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Thailand have made links to us (City College Language Lab websites)," Reitan said.
Motorcycle Maintenance Class Offered at Evans
By Ben Macri
Special to The Guardsman
The deep-throated rumble of motorcycle engines announces the beginning of the new motorcyle maintenance Course at Evans Campus every Saturday morning.
|
Photo by Ben Macri |
Nearly 30 eager "gear heads" converge upon the class with bikes that include everything from custom race bikes to dirt bikes to the ubiquitous Harley Davidson.
The Bay Area's only college motorcycle maintenance course is offered 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, at Evans Campus which houses much of the College's trade and industry classes, including auto and auto body.
Dave Miller, instructor and former racer, said the motorcycle industry is booming, not only in the Bay Area, but all over the country.
"Shops are crying for qualified people in service and sales," Miller said. "The salary and benefits are excellent and the beautiful thing is, we are learning critical job skills while working on the objects of our affections -- our bikes!"
Annette Herveling, a member of the San Francisco Harley Owner's Group, said "hands-on videos" and a patient instructor has allowed her to understand the basics of motorcycles.
"After four weeks of class and learning to take apart motorcycles, I haven't broken any of my fingernails!" Herveling said.
Miller uses demonstrations and lectures, while bringing in several examples of motorcycle frames and suspensions from over the past 30 years.
"This is a great class to take, no matter what level of experience you have with motorcycles," said motorcycle maintenance student Ed Abriam.
Call the Evans Campus at 550-4409 for more information.
.
Parking has Lots of Hazards
By Deeann Mathews
Guardsman Staff Writer
Finding parking at City College's Phelan Campus is challenging; according to data drawn from the San Francisco Community Col-lege District Police Depart-ment Log, parking in areas around the main campus can also be dangerous, particularly to your car and valuables.
 Photos by Christian Zea The Balboa Reservoir, with a capacity in the thousands, remains a haven for opportunistic thieves. |
According to the SFCCPD Log, which is a synopsis of reported incidents, 47 incidents occurred between March 2001 and January 2002 in parking areas on and around Phelan Campus. Of these, 29 took place in the Balboa Reservoir, with 13 incidents in the North Reservoir and 16 in the South Reservoir.
Among these incidents, there were four cases of hit and run on vehicles, four car thefts, one attempted kidnapping, two batteries, and one armed robbery.
But by far, the most serious problems were thefts, 11 total, and burglaries, 15 total.
Crime in major parking areas is by no means unique to City College. Officer Christian Smith of the Phelan Campus SFCCPD said that "in big cities, you're going get this problem wherever you have highly congested areas."
Smith also pointed out that the kinds of crime in City College parking lots are very typical for the college demographic, and added that the ease with which criminals can blend into the college population makes City College parking lots an attractive target.
"Criminals are opportunists, and parking lots are opportunities," he said.
Sgt. Michael J. Seligsohn, supervisor of Shift III (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.) at the Phelan Campus, added that incidents of crime in City College parking lots are probably low compared to major local parking areas. As it turns out, data drawn from SFPD crime statistics shows that while the total criminal incidents in Stonestown Mall parking areas are a little lower than those reported from City College parking areas, incidents of serious crime are substantially higher.
Forty criminal incidents were reported to the SFPD from Stonestown parking areas; of these, there were 14 grand thefts from automobiles, two grand theft pickpockets, one grand theft of a bicycle, three grand thefts of persons, two grand thefts of property, 10 robberies of persons, two assaults with a deadly weapon, and one kidnapping and rape. In addition, there were four at-tempted robberies, and one attempted grand theft.
When asked what methods the campus police are taking to reduce crime in City College parking areas, Seligsohn answered, "Patrol is the magic recipe. The more time we spend roaming around out there, the less problems we have."
But both he and Smith pointed out that the Phelan Campus only has two patrol officers out of a total of four on both the day and swing shifts, and those two officers also have to respond to calls for backup on other City College campuses as well as calls on Phelan Campus. Both officers agreed that the addition of one more officer would increase the ability of the campus police to do regular patrols.
When asked what students can do reduce their risk of being victims of theft and burglaries in City College parking areas, Seligsohn responded em-phatically: "There is no reason for anyone to be a victim of a theft. Don't carry stuff that would be appealing to a thief in your car."
He continued on, pointing out cases reported to police where cars had been broken into for change in the center cup holder, as well as for City College parking stickers that had not been affixed to windows.
The SFCCPD also has an escort service available for those who might feel unsafe going to and fro on the campus, including into parking areas.
This service is available by calling the campus police at 239-3200, and
requesting an officer to provide escort.
City College Debate Team Voices Victory in Northern Tournament
Team's Impromptu Speakers Make Finals
By Sami Kudsi
Special to The Guardsman
City College's Speech and Debate Team competed against teams from 22 other colleges and universities, and placed well in the Northern California For-ensics Association's Champ-ionship Tournament, held at Chico State University, Feb. 8-10.
|
Photo by Sami Kudsi |
Vincent Chandler and Philip Nails tied for second place in the category of impromptu speaking, and Joseph Trumbo was a finalist. Vincent Chandler and Philip Nails also advanced to octo-finals in parliamentary debate, while Bobby Frazier earned a 10th place Speaker Award.
The NCFA Champion-ships was Michelle Gorthy's first tournament. Gorthy is the forensics team's newest coach, and previously coach-ed the forensics squad at Cuyamaca College in southern California.
City College's Speech and Debate Team at the tournament consisted of eight students and two coaches. Speakers included Marlon Reynolds, Daryl Michael, Bobby Frazier, Joseph Trumbo, Vincent Chandler, Philip Nails, Jud Fox, and Nixon Hazard. The team was coached by Michelle Gorthy, forensics coach, and Sami Kudsi, assistant forensics coach.
Kudsi said the team's success depended largely on the members' well-rounded knowledge, as well as their thirst for more knowledge.
"Most of them are very up to date on their current events and have a thorough understanding of argumentation theory, which makes them, if nothing else, a challenge to every debate team they meet," said Kudsi.
The team's spirit and sportsmanship is a product of each member's hard work, according to Kudsi.
"When we lose, we never go down easy, and that's all that matters to me," he said. "When we win, well, everyone loves winning, so I have little to say about that. The Rams are more about education than collecting trophies, but we have earned our share of awards over the years."
Kudsi said the Speech and Debate Team looks forward to the State Championship, held Mar. 13-18 in Concord.
"Southern California is very tough, so we have our work cut out for us,"
he said.
March is Women's History
By James Winburn
Special to The Guardsman
March is Women's History Month. It is a time for special recognition of the lives and achievements of women from a variety of fields, inc-luding literature, activism, politics and sports.
Such notable names include that of feminist writer Gloria Steinem; 1993 Nobel Prize winner in literature Toni Morrison; former Pakistani political leader Benazir Bhutto; Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, a gold medalist at the 1976 Olympics in Montréal, Canada.
In celebrating local women's achievements, the Women's Resource Center at City College, along with Women United, celebrated Women's History Month with its eighth annual Women of Color Gathering. Held in the Student Union on Feb. 27, the event celebrated the achievements of women of color, while linking Black History Month to Women's History Month, according to Debra Gallegos, a peer advisor at the Women's Resource Center.
"I feel that it is an empowering event for wo-men to unite on campus," said Gallegos, who also applauds the event's function in "recognizing student leaders and faculty members on campus."
Women's history events coming up this month include a speaking engagement with Andrea Dworkin, author of "Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant." Dworkin will speak at The Commonwealth Club of California 6 p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 26. Speaking on "Defending Women's Rights," Dworkin will talk about her development from a college activist to being a spokeswoman fighting for social justice. The Commonwealth Club is at 595 Market Street, second floor. Admission is $12 for non-members. Call (415) 597-6705 for reservations.
Also, the Women's Studies Program invites students to submit their entry for a $150 scholarship to be awarded at the end of this semester. Please submit a brief essay or poem (limited to one page) explaining: "How a Women's Studies course has benefited me." Three instructors will read the entries and select a winner. Deadline for submissions is Friday, Apr. 5.
Pick up a Women's Studies Scholarship Appli-cation at the Scholarship Office, complete and return it to Leslie Simon, Women's Studies Chair, Cloud Hall, room 402. Call (415) 239-3899 for more information.