Volume 137, Issue 6
Cheap... BY
ELI MILCHMAN
Staff Writer
Photos by Rosalind
Kwan
San Franciscans are very fond of their food, and City College students are no exception. In fact, there is a bewildering array of culinary delights available to the starving student at the Ocean campus for not much cash.
City
Café
Hidden in the depths of the Student Union is City Café.
Airy New Age music and a smile at the register greeted me as I sidled
up to the counter. A decadent white chocolate chip muffin ("They're
really buttery," said the muffin vendor) seemed like a good choice to
go with yet another cup of coffee rather than more serious salads and
sandwiches offered.
Price: $3.05
THE
Food Truck
Conveniently parked just outside the Visual Arts Building is a treasure trove of tasty tidbits including sushi, rice pudding and falafel pita sandwiches. The ultra deep-fried bean and beef burritos can be had for a buck and are especially popular. "Everybody loves 'em," said the guy behind the counter. He quickly added, "I don't eat 'em," as I enthusiastically devoured one then washed it down with a cup of the cheapest (but fairly tasty) coffee on campus.
Price: $2.00
The
Lunch Box on
Cloud Circle
Come here for a chicken-and-cheese piroshki, a kind of combination chicken pot pie and doughnut. Somewhat tasteless and a little greasy, it probably isn't as a good a choice as the pizza slice warming under a lamp next to it. Biting into the pizza next brings the conclusion that yes, the "chicken doughnut" is better. Still, doughnuts should be filled with jelly.
Price: $3.00 (for just the piroshki)
City
Room
Cafeteria
Dining
under the cafeteria ceiling festooned with international flags is a
welcome surprise. A measly $5.50 buys the nightly special, a gourmet meal proudly prepared by students of City College's culinary program, and a coffee. "I'd rather have a plate of hot food than a sandwich," said my neighbor, accounting student Asta Venclovaite, as we dug into our Hungarian goulash, blatantly ignoring the "NO EATING OR DRINKING PERMITTED" sign at the back of the hall. Accompanying the goulash was buttered spaetzle and Brussels sprouts with candied walnuts, both delicious.
Price: $5.50
Student
Finds Fame at Bay Area Talent Show
City College student Ranona Wesly and her mother Deborah will compete
for $10,000 and a
recording contract
at Apollo in the City on April 24.
BY
MARLON LUMANG
Staff Writer
|
PHOTOS COURTESY ZONDRA EVANS / APOLLO IN THE CITY |
If you think that the only way to get fame nowadays is to be on American Idol or some corny reality show, then think again. A City College student and her mother are making it happen on Apollo in the City, the biggest event showcasing local talent in the Bay Area.
Ranona Wesly, a 29-year-old beautician and student, won the first week's competition in January, singing Tamia's "You Put a Move on My Heart." Her victory at the first competition qualified her to compete in the final round for $10,000 and a recording contract.
Eight weeks later, Wesly's mother, Deborah, also won a weekly competition and a place in the final show. The two will be competing against each other along with other finalists at Masonic Auditorium on April 24.
Apollo in the City, a black-owned and operated talent show, runs a thirteen-week competition in search of the next big star. The first show premiered Jan. 10.
The talent show consists of three age groups: 3-11, 12-17 and 18 and above. They are judged by the audience except for the teens, who are judged differently by three randomly selected judges.
Wesly auditioned for the show last September. "I rehearsed everyday and sang to my clients all the time," said Wesley, who is also an owner of Alluring Style, a salon in the Bayview.
At her audition for Apollo in the City, she sang "Hero" by Mariah Carey in front of six judges. "I was nervous. Of course those feeling are going to come, but I was just showing them my best potential," Wesly said. She prepares herself by meditating and praying before performances.
Ranona's inspiration comes from an array of different singers. "She's a very soulful singer. She uses her body to express herself," said Dr. Helen Dilworth, Wesly's music teacher at City College. "She also has that R&B Whitney Houston style."
"I was anxious and excited, waiting for the result in the mailbox everyday," Wesley said. "When I got it, I was yelling and screaming. It was a really good feeling."
Apollo in the City aims to open doors to new and upcoming talent in the Bay Area. The event is a multi-ethnic show made up of very diverse acts. "The greatest contestants are the singers, but it is very diverse," said Zondra Evans, vice president and host of the competition.
The program also offers training to help upcoming artists understand the business side of the industry. Apollo in the City began in April 2003 as an idea conceived by CEO and President Carl Gardner.
The show has opened a lot of new opportunities for Wesly ever since she won the contest in January. She has been offered different gigs around town such as at Club Noveau, a jazz club at The Cannery near Fisherman's Wharf.
To learn more or to attend the grand finale on April 24, check out www.apollointhecity.com
'Let's Get Real' Grapples with Tough Issues
BY
MILES HARWELL
Staff Writer
"Let's Get Real," a film documenting bullying in public schools, was screened at City College's Rosenberg Library on March 24.
About 30 students and faculty attended the showing, as well as Debra Chasnoff, the film's producer and an Oscar-winning documentarian.
"Ask most middle-school students or teachers about name calling and bullying. They'll tell you the problem is raging out of control," wrote Chasnoff in the film's press release.
According to the National Education Association, each day an estimated 160,000 students miss school due to bullying-related problems. In California, close to one-fourth of students in public schools say they were bullied during the past year because of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
The documentary features 49 unnamed students from four unidentified Bay Area public schools. No adults were interviewed in the film.
When it comes to bullying, students interviewed in the movie said that boys are more straightforward and aggressive, while girls talk behind other students' backs.
Most children are hesitant to tell school administrators what is going on for fear of being labeled a "snitch."
One of the students featured in the film is "Jasper," who was bullied in his drama class for wearing hand-me downs. He recalled being punched and choked in class in front of a teacher, who did nothing about it.
Later in the film, a bully swings his binder at "Jasper" and knocks him off his
bicycle. The scene ends with Jasper saying, "I wish someone would shoot them in the leg, but not kill them," and "I wish a bully would stand up for me."
Dwight Baker, an African-American student at City College, viewed the film and remembered experiencing similar events. "It brought up a lot of things that go on in middle and high school."
Baker added that he came close to suicide because he was too smart to fit in with the "black kids" and too dark to fit in with the "white kids."
The film, which Chasoff produced with Helen S. Cohen and Kale Stilley, is the third installment in the "Respect for All" project. The next film in the series, "Stereotypes," will deal with stereotypes associated with lesbians, gays and bisexuals in public schools. Chasnoff expects it to be released later this year.