Volume 136, Issue 7
Student's Failure to Present ID Results in Marijuana Arrest
by
Miles Harwell
Guardsman
Staff Writer
On Wednesday Oct. 22, Gustavo Fernandez, a student at City College was arrested on Ocean Campus.
Fernandez, 19, came to school on Wednesday to attend English 90 class. He was standing in front of Batmale Hall talking to another student, when five police officers came from behind and asked him for his school ID.
Students at City College are required to have their ID at all times. When Fernandez failed to present his school ID, police searched his backpack. Inside a CD case, they found 60 empty baggies and a small amount of marijuana, which was considered enough to take him in. He was placed in handcuffs, which bruised his wrists to the point that Fernandez claims he "couldn't feel his arms anymore". Police also found three grams of marijuana in the inside pocket of his jacket. Fernandez says during this time he wanted to punch one of the police officers. "I wanted to make them pay," says Fernandez.
He was taken to the Ingleside police station before getting booked at the 850 Bryant precinct. When he was checked in he claims he was harassed. "They threw my shoes at me and told me to keep my mouth shut," says Fernandez. They brought up two prior felonies, one for possession of marijuana and another for assault and battery. For this, he feels that he won't be getting out any time soon.
Fernandez thinks that people of his nationality are definitely treated unfairly by authorities. "If it was another race, Chinese or White, they would get treated better," says Fernandez, "I was treated like nothing, like they wanted to see this happen to me." While at 850 Bryant, he described his experience as the worst possible. "The environment is crazy," says Fernandez, "People in here have nothing to lose." He recalls everything from being harassed to being treated like garbage. "I would rather live in the street," says Fernandez, who claims he was afflicted with severe stomach flu from eating the food served to him in jail.
As Fernandez predicted, his crime is being taken seriously by the judicial system, due to his background and previous record. "At this point, I might be looking at 6 to 8 months in the pen or one year in the county jail," says Fernandez.
Fernandez feels that what happened to him may help students at City College to realize that their freedom could be taken away for committing a small crime. "Anything they do could be made bigger just because of the color of their skin," says Fernandez.
"What happened to me has affected my opinion of City College to the point that I say forget school," says Fernandez. "I'd rather stay in the streets." Even if he is allowed back at City College Fernandez says he wouldn't because his name is out there, as he feels that he will be watched by authorities. "I want to go to school in peace," says Fernandez, "not to be watched."
According to Chancellor Day, campus police are allowed to search people on campus failing to present proper school identification. "We've had problems with trespassers before," says Day.
Gustavo Fernandez was recently signed to the Fillmore based, Feddy Eddy Records, rapping under the name of Skeem, and planned to release his debut album, "Son of the Streets," but now finds himself confined to a jail cell.
"It's messed up that we minorities have to go through this and have to lose in the end," says Fernandez.
Campus police declined to comment on the arrest.
Murder Charge in Parking Lot Shooting
by
Jerome Steegmans
Guest
Writer
Philip Sands, 24, has been charged with the murder of his childhood friend in a parking lot at City College's Ocean Campus. He was arrested Oct. 17, three months after the fatal shooting took place.
Sands stands accused of slaying Robert Ramirez, also 24, his best friend with whom he attended Sacred Heart High School. Ramire z was killed shortly before 4 a.m. on July 12 when someone fired 30 bullets into the vehicle he and his friend Brendan Burke were sitting in. Burke, son of a San Francisco police officer, was hit with 17 rounds, but miraculously survived.
Police apprehended Sands last month at a café across from the Hall of Justice, where he was sitting with his father, a retired San Francisco sheriff's deputy, and his attorney. The three were drinking coffee and preparing his testimony for an upcoming grand jury looking into the case.
The conflict between Sands and Ramirez is believed to have begun because of a screwdriver stabbing that occurred in September 2001. Police reports indicate that Ramirez became involved in a scuffle near Pacific Bell Park after making some anti-Arab remarks, and Sands jumped in on his friend's behalf.
Ramirez, on parole for a previous offense, was receiving pressure from the authorities: he could testify against Sands, his childhood friend, implicating him in the stabbing; or face time in jail.
"This is about a combination of two things," said homicide inspector Dennis Maffei, "anger for somebody testifying, and a broken trust of a certain code of friendship."
James Crowley, Ramirez's uncle insists, "Robert would not have testified against Philip... they knew each other since third grade." When the case went to court, he said that Ramirez "took the fall," refusing to testify against anyone.
Crowley does admit to a certain relief since the arrest has been made. "This is a huge weight that has been lifted from our family's shoulders. The reality is that Robert's friend, who we did not believe had any part in this killing, is now a suspect."
On the night of the shooting, Ramirez's cousin, who had been driving the car, was arrested for drunk driving. The California Highway Patrol left Ramirez and Blake in the City College parking lot after the two arranged for another ride home. By the time that ride arrived, Ramirez was dead.
It is suspected that the shooter used a silencer, as no one in the area heard any sounds of gunfire. Police found a gun, believed to be the murder weapon, at the home of a relative of Philip Sands, but have not completely ruled out other arrests in the case.
Classes to be Taught Live on T.V.
A new type of interactive distancelearning class is in the works for students of City College via Cable
by
Raquel A. Galzote
Guest Writer
|
Artwork
by Rosalind Kwan |
A new type of distance learning, Tele classes/ Inter-active Television (ITV), is in the planning stages for City College. Janet Willet, Coordinator of Educational Te-chnology, is very optimistic about this project, which will extend the classroom into the student's home.
An instructor would teach a class, which would then be broadcast live on cable. St-udents could ask questions through the use of telephone lines.
Willet is hopeful that by fall 2004 the new learning system will be wired and all renovations completed.
The classes that will be offered are undecided at the moment but she says that at least two to four classes wo-uld be offered. According to her, it really depends on how many students sign up for the classes and how many instructors are willing to teach this course. In addition, they would still have to train teachers for this new type of learning.
According to Willet, the Broadcasting Department, the Educational Technology Office and the Teaching and Learning Resources are discussing the possibility of a new delivery system for campus-to-campus courses. This delivery would involve using a cable feed via the City College educational access channel.
Channel 27 would televise classes taught on the Ocean campus. The feed could pick up on other campuses or directly in student homes within San Francisco.
"Most of the infrastructure is already in place and this would allow for synchronous interaction between the instructor and the student via the phone system," said Willet.
Unfortunately, students living outside San Francisco would not able to pick up Channel 27 signals.
Students have access to education in many different ways. The Tele Class is another way to learn and it will make education easily accessable through a new approach.
The War on Terror In Numbers...
432 US deaths since the invasion of Iraq
70 US deaths in this month alone
$166 billion spent so far on war in Iraq
17 US soldiers have committed suicide in Iraq since April.
680 prisoners have been held at Guantanamo Bay for 18 months without being charged.
6000 Muslims are being held across the US and Europe for alleged terrorist connections.
President Bush's job approval rating: 52%
Unseen Collector: Asian elders keep college grounds clean
by
Aaron Ko
Guest Writer
Commonly seen in San Francisco's Chinatown, elderly Asian collectors have been moving about on campus grounds hoisting enormous bags full of recyclables picked up from our students who are less than environmentally savvy. Occasionally seen around the campus, these collectors go about their business without so much as a second glance by the students or the faculty, but their help is welcome by the custodial staff and tolerated by the campus police.
City College Campus is considered a public thoroughfare, meaning that it is open to the public at large, not only to students and faculty. Sergeant Darryl Low says that the campus police hardly ever have contact with the elusive collectors. There are only a few of them, and no complaints had ever been received about them. In other words, they are welcome as long as they don't cause trouble.
The school custodial staff appreciates the extra hand their work provides in keeping the grounds clear of carelessly discarded recyclables. Custodial supervisor Nathan Lieaeia says that they are pretty efficient, cleaning out the outer areas of the school grounds in addition to separating recyclables from regular trash in the refuse bins. Campus rules are well respected as they never leave a mess behind in their work, and they make it a point not to bother anyone else, so no one bothers them either.
They get along well with the custodial staff and usually work the grounds solo.
Colmes
Defends Liberal Views in New Book
Liberal half of Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes" calls
leftwing books that point out rightwing lies "mean-spirited."
by
Jim Powel
Guardsman Copy Editor
Alan Colmes, the left-leaning half of Fox News's political duo Hannity and Colmes, was at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club on Nov. 7 to promote his book "Red, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right & Right Is Wrong." Colmes was affable and engaged the audience as he discussed the war between left and right and touched on many of the points in between.
Fox News pundit Alan Colmes of "Hannity and Colmes" at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club on Nov. 7, 2003. Photo by Abbey Hayward |
"Liberals are afraid of being called liberal," said Colmes, who wrote the book to give hope to left-wingers reeling from a long series of political misfortunes since Bill Clinton left office. "Conservatives don't own God, family, and country!"
"Freedom is a liberal concept. To be liberal is to tolerate, to make progress," said Colmes. He also noted that the Pledge of Allegiance had been written by Edward Bellamy, a socialist, before being co-opted by the conservative movement.
Colmes was especially passionate about the issue of patriotism. "Opposing the war in Iraq is the most patriotic thing liberals could be doing, but we have been demonized and marginalized, and we need to stand up instead of cowering."
Although he is criticized by conservatives for being too liberal and by liberals for not being liberal enough, Colmes prefers to catch flies with honey rather than vinegar. He is proud that his is one of the few books by liberal writers currently on the market without the word "lie" in its title. "It's not a mean-spirited book," Colmes said.
Conservatives will still find plenty to dislike in Colmes's book, especially with chapter titles like "Bill Clinton: our greatest president", "Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal" and "Jesus was a liberal." Colmes even recalled receiving e-mails from watchers of his program who fantasized about killing him for his views.
"George Bush thinks he won the Lotto," said Colmes (who keeps a countdown clock to the end of the presidency at his web site Alan.com) of the current political situation. While Colmes wants the president to demand accountability from his administration over intelligence errors leading to the war in Iraq, his harshest criticism was for Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department. "The terrorists win when the government starts watching where we go and what we buy," said Colmes.
When asked about media bias, Colmes responded,"The dialogue from conservatives is very angry; that's why they are winning the war on the media." Colmes also believes that "conservatives communicate with a level of certainty because they see things in black and white, while liberals see shades of gray."
When the discussion turned to the 2004 presidential election, Colmes joked that his favorite Democratic candidate was Arnold Schwarzenegger and then outlined the California Governor's liberal positions on abortion, gay rights, and gun control. On a more serious note, Colmes thought that any of the Democratic candidates including Al Sharpton would make a better president than the one currently in office, though he was wary of Gen. Wesley Clark. "He's like that loony uncle you keep up in the attic because you never know what the hell will come out of his mouth," Colmes said.
When asked if the Democrats had a leg to stand on in 2004, Colmes replied, "Are you safer now than you were four years ago?"
Campus
Crime Log
11/11, John Adams Campus, 1147 hours- A fight started between two
students after one student accused the other of stealing his bottle
of alcohol. An officer ran a criminal records check on the subjects.
The person accused of stealing the bottle of alcohol from his fellow
student was wanted out of Alameda County on a "no-bail" warrant. The
suspected thief was booked at County Jail Nine for the theft and the
warrant.
11/11, Ocean Campus, 1515 hours- A student reported that her backpack was stolen at the library.
11/07, Phelan Campus, 1600 hours- A student reported his car vandalized while parked on Marston Avenue.
11/06, Phelan Campus, 1825 hours- A vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation and it was discovered that the driver was driving withot a lisence. The driver was issued a citation and the vehicle was impounded. While police waited for the tow truck, the owner of the vehicle arrived at the scene and attempted to get his car back. The owner of the vehicle continued to harass the police until he was arrested for obstructing justice.
11/06, Ocean Campus, 1250 hours- An employee of the college cafeteria reported a disturbance. He said a man did not pay for his meal and when confronted about this the man became irate and abusive, leaving the area prior to police arriving.
11/05, Mission Campus, 1030 hours- A student reported being stalked by another student. the report was forwarded to the San Francisco Police Departments General Work.
11/04, Southeast campus 1200 hours- An officer detained three students suspected of vandalizing a bathroom. The officer did a criminal history check of the students. One student had a "no-bail" warrant for his arrest out of San Mateo County. Two of the students were transported and booked at the Youth Guidance Center, one for the felony warrant and the other for violating his probation. The third student was released.
11/03, Ocean Campus, 1445 hours- A counter report was taken regarding a fraud. A student lost her ATM card on campus. The ATM card was later used to purchase several hundred dollars of merchandise at Stonestown Mall.
11/03, Ocean Campus, 1011 hours- An officer responded to the Creative Arts building on a reported battery. A student said she was shoved by another student. The suspect had already left the area and the student did not want to press charges.
10/30, Ocean Campus, 1515 hours- Officers responded to a disturbance on the second floor of Cloud Hall. Officers arrived and tried to talk to a suspect when he turned and ran. After a long foot chase the suspect was stopped on Judson Avenue near Gennessee Street. The suspect fought with the arresting officer and it took several officers to handcuff the suspect. The suspect was booked at County Jail Nine on several charges including fleeing and resisting arrest.
10/29, Mission Campus, 1317 hours- A teacher reported that a radio was stolen from his classroom.
10/28, Ocean Campus, 1017 hours- A studentreported several items were stolen from his unlocked vehicle while parked in the north reservoir.
10/27, Ocean Campus, 1615 hours- A Sergeant on foot patrol observed a green van pull up to a bus shelter on Phelan Avenue. The passenger stuck what appeared to be an air gun out the window and shot out the bus shelter glass. The van then fled the area. Mobile units were unable to locate the van.
10/27, Ocean Campus, 1545 hours- A student reported being harassed by a person that she has a restraining order against.
10/24, Phelan Campus, 1620 hours- Two students reported they were involved in a fight near Batmale Hall. Both students said they were victims in the incident. No suspects could be identified.
10/22, Ocean Campus, 1100 hours- Officers responded to the front of Batmale Hall on a report of a person selling drugs. A witness said the suspect was flashing marijuana and offering it for sale. Officers spotted the suspect immediately upon arrival and detained him. A search of the suspect yielded a marijuana bindle and packaging material. The suspect was booked at San Francisco Police Department's Ingleside Station for possession of marijuana for sale.
10/17, Ocean Campus, 1523 hours- A counter report was taken regarding a bicycle theft near Cloud Plaza. A student said his bicycle and lock were stolen while he attended class.
10/17, Evans Campus, 1232 hours- A student reported that his backpack was stolen from his vehicle while he attended class.
10/17, Ocean Campus, 1115 hours- A student reported his car was broken into while parked in the south reservoir and his car stereo was stolen.
10/17, Mission Campus, 1020 hours- Officers on patrol noticed a student smelling what appeared to be a small baggy of marijuana. The suspect was detained without incident. The suspect turned out to be a juvenile from the adjacent high school.
10/16, Ocean Campus, 1835 hours- A student reported her car was broken into and her car stereo was stolen while parked in the south reservoir. The student's car stereo was recovered in an arrest that occurred earlier in the day.
10/16, Phelan Campus, 1400 hours- A counter report was taken regarding a hit and run accident that occurred at Gennessee and Flood Streets. The victim was stuck from behind while stopping at the intersection.
10/16, Phelan Campus, 1223 hours- Officers responded to the South Reservoir on a report of three suspicious subjects casing vehicles. A sergeant spotted three suspects matching the description leaving the parking lot in a vehicle. A traffic stop was conducted on the vehicle and one of the occupants was arrested for a warrant violation. After an investigation, several hundred dollars in stolen property was recovered from the trunk of the vehicle. The suspects were booked at County Jail Nine on numerous charges.
City College HARTS its Homeless Students
by
Peter Schurmann
Guest Writer
The Homeless At Risk Transitional Studies program (HARTS) at City College has been quietly taking on one of the city's biggest and most divisive issues, how to help homeless people.
It all began in 1992
The program began in 1992 to help students who, in the words of its mission statement, "are essentially without resources as an aid in their pursuit of a higher education."
True to its word, the program now serves 85 students here at City College, and Program Director Chris Schaeffer expects that number to rise in the coming semesters.
The idea behind the program came from the late John O'Brien, a homeless student who in 1990 lobbied the school's governing board to implement a resource program for other homeless students.
AS funded
HARTS, which is funded by the Associated Students at City College, provides transit passes and food vouchers that enable students to eat at the school's cafeteria rather than having to leave campus in search of a meal.
Of the students Schaeffer works with, four are currently living on the street, 11 are in shelters, 13 are in rehabilitation programs and the rest reside in some form of transitional housing. Many of these students come to HARTS after being enrolled in school for a number of semesters.
"Nick", who asked that his name be withheld, has been a City College student for four semesters, and says this is the first semester he has been coming to HARTS. He says it's easy to get caught in a cycle of homelessness. "People ahead of me are trying to push me down, so I know I have to work harder."
Schaeffer, who started at City College in 1980 teaching GED prep courses at the San Bruno County jail, sees students every fourtosix weeks on average, and says that while the needs vary the biggest struggles for poor and homeless students are locating housing, buying their books, and finding places to do their homework. He says it's important to help students remain on campus to keep their momentum going and to keep them from getting discouraged.
"A" students
Mark Friel, a student at City College for the past two years, says, "If it wasn't for the food vouchers, I wouldn't have been able to eat."
Mark managed a 4.0 GPA last semester just above the average of many students associated with HARTS despite taking night classes and a shelter curfew of 10:00 p.m. He says he had to rush back to the shelter after class and then do his homework in the men's bathroom because of a lights out policy maintained by the shelters.
Like home
Frank Bayer, another HARTS student, spends an average of 11 hours a day on campus. He says, "the shelters are dehumanizing places" and that for him, the campus is a good place to study. Frank also says it was easier for him to get enrolled at City College than it was to get a bed at a shelter.
Frank, along with several other students and faculty, is currently working on procuring a 49-unit building in the Mission to be used as housing for homeless City College students. In a city where housing is at a premium, Schaeffer says there is a chance they can offer the building owner a steady rent base. Students will rent each unit for $300 a month, giving them not only a roof over their heads, but a community of friends many homeless people lack.
Tobacco
Awareness Campaign to Continue on Campus
Student advocates continue education program
following
approval of anti-tobacco policy statement
by Daniel
Jenkins
Managing
Editor
 Artwork by Tracy Held |
Student advocates for No On Big Industry Tobacco have received funding from the San Francisco Depart-ment of Health to continue the educational tobacco awareness campaign for an extra six months until June 2004.
The funds are made available through the Prop. 99 Health Education Account, which allots 20% of that income to go towards community and school-based tobacco education and prevention programs.
In 1988, California voters passed Proposition 99, the Tobacco Tax and Health Promotion Act, increasing the state tobacco tax by 25 cents on a pack of cigarettes and 42 cents on other tobacco products.
Organized in March 2002, No On Big Industry Tobacco met one its major goal on June 26, when the City College Board of Trustees unanimously approved a policy prohibiting the sale of tobacco on campus.
A common misconception among some students who smoke is the belief that advocates are seeking to ban smoking on campus grounds.
"There's a big difference between banning smoking, which is not anything we wish to do, and creating good social policy," says Christina Reyes, campus coordinator for the project. "The goal of the project is to raise consciousness and awareness about how tobacco corporations market their product to students, and to show how the corporations are exploiting smokers through their marketing practices."
An educational teach-in was held in the Diego Rivera Theatre on Oct. 21 to raise student awareness about global marketing of tobacco and how it affects students at home and abroad.
No On Big Tobacco advocates also attended a protest rally in Miami from Nov. 15 through Nov. 23 against free trade, stressing the need to put health before trade policy.
City College invests $22,500 in tobacco stocks. This amounts to less than one percent of all investments. Unable to get the Foundation of City College to divest itself of tobacco stocks, which cannot be lined-out without pulling out of the common fund completely, advocates are now proposing that the Foundation of City College start putting new money into a socially responsible fund as an "act of good faith."
"We don't want the Foundation to lose that money, because the Found-ation money is scholarship money," says Reyes.
Putting money into a new fund would "allow us to monitor that fund over the course of a year to just kind of test it out," adds Rachel Perez, one of the student advocates involved in the project.
No On Big Tobacco aims to build a coalition between other campuses and educate more advocates to continue the work currently being done at Ocean Ave. campus and San Francisco State University.