Volume 137, Issue 8
News
ARSON STRIKES: Campus authorities seek perpetrator
BY
APPHIA WILLIAMS
Staff Writer
City College officials are offering a $1,000 reward for information regarding a rash of small fires set around the Rosenberg Library in early January.
COLLEEN CUMMINGS, NATHAN WYLAND / GUARDSMAN
On Jan. 7, 2005 a small fire was discovered on the side of Rosenberg Library by a campus police officer. The officer was able to extinguish the flames before the library sustained any serious harm. A garbage can fire was also discovered.
City College Police Chief Carl S. Koehler believes these fires may have been started intentionally. “Flammable items were stacked neatly against the side of the library when we found the fire, and the incident did not appear to be accidental,” he said.
The City College and San Francisco Police Department’s joint task force are heading the arson investigation. “We have posted reward signs around campus, offering $1,000 to whoever comes forward with the names of the people who committed these crimes,” Koehler said.
Campus authorities are not taking the incident lightly. “This is a serious felony and we will do everything in our power to bring charges against [those responsible],” Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. said. “This is no different than if someone goes and burns down another person’s house.”
This is not the first time City College has had reports of arson on Ocean campus. “We had some problems with arson last year in some classroom buildings,” Day said.
Arson is the third most common crime committed at City College, according to campus police statistics. In 2001 there were four reported cases of arson, and one in 2002 on the third floor of Cloud Hall.
Fire Inspector Steve Feiner, of the San Francisco Fire Depart-ments Bureau of Fire Prevention, suggested that keeping the campus clean helps to prevent future incidents of arson.
“People who like to start fires will use any materials that will burn, so having the maintenance staff empty out the campus garbage cans more often could minimize the perpetrators contact with flammable materials,” Feiner said.
“It saddens me that we have a person in our family who has taken it upon themselves to inflict this type of potential scare tactic, and this potential damage,” Day said.
If you have any information regarding arson please contact campus police at 239-3200.
e-mail: awilliams@theguardsman.com
RODIS TAKES OVER: Loses popular vote, wins presidency
BY
DAN POWELL
Staff Writer
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On Thursday, Jan. 27, City College’s Board of Trustees elected trustee Rodel Rodis board president for 2005, and in doing so exposed a fundamental divide between board members.
The issue centers on the results of the 2004 elections, where trustee Milton Marks III received the majority of votes for re-election to the Community College Board.
The meeting heated up quickly when trustee Natalie Berg broke the long-standing tradition of the top vote-getter becoming the board president by nominating Rodis for the presidency. “In my opinion, he is the most qualified person to lead us through the new year,” Berg said.
Berg also spoke out against what she saw as intrusive lobbying by outside parties unhappy with bucking tradition. “I have taken great exception to the interference with our board procedures,” Berg said. “I have a strong philosophical belief that the board is elected to run their own affairs.”
Berg’s criticisms quickly came under attack from Roger Scott, a retired faculty member. “It’s a bit astounding that trustee Berg would make this comment,” Scott said. “[The Board] is elected by the people of the city. We have every right to ask people to consider honoring a tradition that is a voter mandate.”
Near the end of his speech, Scott mentioned a need for unity, a sentiment that would be echoed 12 more times by various trustees throughout the evening.
Trustee Johnnie Carter publicly agonized over the choices for president. “I don’t like having to choose between two very qualified people, but I’m being asked to,” Carter said, telling the assembly that he felt the selection of the president by the citizens’ vote was flawed. “Not everybody in the city has a clear working understanding of the amount of time and energy it takes to be prepared and argue for the things we … believe are necessary,” he said.
Trustee Julio Ramos supported Marks, saying: “I think he’s been a person who deserves to be president of this board by virtue of his votes and his time and efforts put into the college.” He then nominated Marks for president.
Marks declined the nomination and requested a unanimous vote for Rodis, which was achieved. Natalie Berg was then elected as vice president.
“We’re accountable to the citizens of San Francisco, and I’m working toward making this board more accountable,” Marks said. “I would like to change the philosophy of some members of the board who believe that we really shouldn’t be lobbied on everything we do.”
Still sitting on the Board, Marks said he is determined not to let this deter him. “I’m not thrilled with the outcome, but it’s not going to stop me.”
e-mail: dpowell@theguardsman.com
VIGILANCE ENCOURAGED: Recent thefts raise awareness
BY GABRIELA CAVALCANTI
Staff Writer
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JESSE GAULT / GUARDSMANDay is also reminding students to be aware of their possessions. “We need to put the message out that this is like a little city and when you put that amount of people together something is going to happen,” he said.
The City College Police Department Web site states that 95 percent of violent crimes on campus are alcohol or drug related, with 80 percent committed by students.
According to City College Police Chief Carl Koehler, theft is the most common crime on campus and the only way to avoid it is for students to watch out for their own belongings.
The bookstore is a clear example of a place where theft on campus occurs. For the last two years, the bookstore has in-creased the amount of employees due to shoplifting. “We haven’t caught anyone this semester, but there are suspicions that a group came and took some books and tried to sell them back,” City College Bookstore Supervisor Edward Vallecillo said.
According to campus police, there have been reports of students losing their backpacks and having their cars broken into. “We try to tell students to be alert, mindful and careful,” Day said.
e-mail: gcavalcanti@theguardsman.com
BLUE BINS FOR A GREEN CAMPUS: New receptacles encourage recycling
BY RYAN PO
Contributing Writer
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City College has expanded its efforts to decrease waste.City College received a grant from the San Francisco Department of the Environment and the Department of California Conservation to expand its recycling program.
The program funds recycling awareness posters and over a hundred new recycling bins, to be distributed throughout all City Col-lege campuses, beginning with Ocean campus.
“We’re going to try to have this program up-and-running [this semester] with all the posters from the graphic arts students and our interactive web pages,” Carlita Martinez, City College’s recycling coordinator, said.
Individuals are encouraged to place only “single stream” recyclables in the bins. These include plastic containers, bottles, cans and paper, which all go into the bins together.
The recycling department also deals with wood pallets, compost, computers, ink cartridges, metal and furniture.
“The more we recycle, the less garbage goes to landfills in the country and that is our ultimate goal,” Martinez said. She added that it is important to be part of the solution to environmental problems resulting from waste.
“If you can’t put your bottle in the recycling bin since you’re too damn lazy so you dump it in the garbage can, then you’re part of the problem,” she said.
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY: A guide to February's events
BY ELIZABETH PFEFFER
Staff Writer
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The Dallas Black Dance Theater performed on Feb. 8 at the Diego Rivera Theater.City College has decided to commemorate Black History Month with a collection of lectures and performances throughout February to magnify the multiplicity of the African-American narrative.
Internationally renowned modern dance company Dallas Black Dance The-ater performed “Fire Into Ice” on Feb. 8 in the Diego Rivera Theatre. DBDT’s eclectic dances expressed a message of diversity in the spirit of Black History Month.
Also on Feb. 8, Jamaican-born author Michelle Cliff discussed her historical novel “Free Enter-prise: A Novel by Mary Ellen Pleasant” in a lecture and book signing at the Rosenberg Library.
Cliff’s works reveal an intimate familiarity with the oppression of living in a colonized nation.
Pamela Johnson, author of “From a Hard Rock to a Gem: A Memoir of a Lost Soul,” began a four-campus lecture and book signing tour earlier this month, discussing her successes as a self-published novelist who began selling books from her car and in
beauty parlors.
“She is noted for dealing with urban youth in Oakland and San Francisco,” Southeast campus librarian Lori Brown said. John-son’s lecture series concludes on Feb. 16 at Ocean campus.
Upcoming events include a Feb. 17 lecture by Arif Khatib, president and founder of the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame and the 10th annual Women of Color Gathering.
“Each year on the last Wednesday of February we celebrate women of color who are artists,” Beth Freedman,
faculty advisor of the Women’s Resource Center, said.
“It’s a way to bridge Black History Month and Women’s History Month,” Freedman said. Each year a special guest performs, such as San Francisco poet laureate devorah major, who visited in 2002.
The celebration will spread into March for the annual performance of “The Meeting.” A play about a hypothetical encoun-ter between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, “The Meet-ing” will show in the Diego Rivera Theatre on March 14.
e-mail: epfeffer@theguardsman.com
ANIMAL MAGNETISM UNVEILED: Lecture Highlights Mating Habits
BY ELI MILCHMAN
Staff Writer
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“Nooners, Honeymoons and Other Sex Habits of the Animal Kingdom” lecture covers various mating habits. The sexual antics of the animal kingdom are laid bare in “Nooners, Honeymoons and Other Sex Habits of the Animal Kingdom,” a free lecture given at City College by San Francisco Zoo keeper Jessie Bushell.
The talk will be held on Friday, Feb. 11 from noon to 1 p.m. in room 300 of Ocean campus’ Science Building. It covers such topics as length, frequency, choice of partners and favorite position.
Hosted by biology department Chair Carole Toebe and publicized by the City College Concert and Lecture Series, this is the lecture’s virgin year at City College.
“We’re very rich in the Bay Area,” Toebe said. “Top notch scien-tists are often glad to talk about what they do. We’re really lucky.”
Those who are hungry for more titillation can take the San Francisco Zoo’s Valentine’s Day Sex Tour where visitors are treated to a narrated tour of the zoo, with salacious bits of information about the animals doled out along the way.
Just don’t expect the animals to act on cue. According to Bushell, about the only naughtiness witnessed during one of the tours was when Apollo, a Harris Hawk, tried to get lucky with his handler’s glove.
“He gets amorous with the glove around [the tour’s] time. The mating season is usually February to April, but sometimes he starts a little early,” Bushell said. “It’s not X-rated, but it can be R-rated at times. It’s definitely adult only.”
San Francisco Zoo’s Valen-tine’s Day Tours are held on Feb. 12, 13, 14 and 20 at noon and include refreshments (including champagne), parking and general admission to the zoo. Reserve a space in advance, as they sell out early.
e-mail: emilchman@theguardsman.com
Take a moment and look around. Notice all the students that seem to be talking to themselves? Look more closely: They have cell phones in their hands.
Besides irritating the hell out of students and instructors when they go off in class, the prolific use of cell phones may be causing unseen problems.
I imagine nurses at the health office trying to deal with a rash of students who’ve accidentally shoved part of the headset up a nostril in a frantic effort to get an earpiece into the nearest cavity while answering a call.
Ringtones were a $3 billion industry worldwide last year. Makes sense … it’s a small step to turn a personal communication device into a personal birdcall generator.
Ultimately, cell phones, iPods, CD players and PDAs are all excuses we use so we don’t have to interact with each other.
I propose that we celebrate a “That ‘70s Day” when we leave our cell phones, iPods, PDAs, CD players (yes, people still use them) at home for one day. This experiment is just limited to gizmos, not clothes. Please don’t bring back bellbottom pants again.
For one day, we’ll fumble around uncomfortably, making eye contact with each other, sheepishly crack a smile and mumble “hello.” We’ll notice the birds singing, the crispness of the air, the … hang on, that’s my cell. I have to take this.
City College at Large
Call or e-mail Adam Brody with campus wide news at
(415) 239-3446 or associatenews@theguardsman.com
Evans Campus
The Evans campus will offer “Veggie Vroom,” a biodiesel workshop presented by Hope Smith of Biofuel Oasis in Berkeley, and Girl Mark, an advocate of biodiesel, on Feb. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The workshop is open to students and the community and will cost $35. It will cover an in-depth exploration of the fuel, which is low in emissions and made from recycled vegetable oil. The presentation will also cover techniques for producing biodiesel in the home.
Mission Campus
The Mission campus has temporarily relocated to 375 Alabama St. (3rd floor) at the corner of 17th Street. All ESL 1 and ESL 2 sections are full and a waiting list is forming. A “Welcome to 375 Ala-bama” reception was held on Jan. 13, with the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor as well as trustee Julio Ramos in attendance. Contact the Mission campus at 551-1120.
Southeast Campus
The Southeast campus also held a lecture and book signing with Pamela M. Johnson today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Alex Pitcher Community Room. Veronica Hunnicutt, dean of the campus, is also pre-paring events in commemoration of Women’s History Month starting in March.
Downtown
Campus
In celebration of African-American History Month, the Downtown campus is proud to welcome Pamela M. Johnson, author of “From a Hard Rock to a Gem: A Memoir of a Lost Soul” and “I’ll Cry Tomorrow” for a lecture and book signing on Feb. 16, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the eighth floor.
Short Cuts
Health Benefits of Tea Cited In New Study
Chamomile tea may fight colds, ease muscle spasms and relieve menstrual cramps, according to Reuters Health. It is also an anti-inflammatory, a sedative, an ulcer fighter, and may have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The tea remains in the body for up to two weeks, indicating the effects may be long lasting. While the tea is known to produce changes in the urine as well as higher levels of the amino acid glycine in the body, it remains unknown whether these changes are beneficial or harmful overall.
California Has More Families In Poverty
The California Budget Project showed that compared to the national average, California has a higher percentage of working families below the poverty line. About 40 percent of these families are headed by those who are not high school graduates. The stu-dy suggested that community colleges might offer a solution.
There are 147.8 million females in the United States as of July 1, 2003 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There are fewer males at 143.0 million and more than twice as many women than men ages 85 and older. Thirty-one percent of women ages 25 to 29 years have a bachelor's deg-ree or higher compared with 26 percent of men. It is projected that 774,000 bachelor's degrees will be awarded to women in the 2004-2005 academic year, as well as 293,000 master's degrees.
Electronic Transcripts Available for Transfer
Transcripts can now be sent electronically from Admis-sions and Records at City College to San Francisco State University and San Jose State University. By the end of this academic year, California State University, East Bay will be accepting electronic transcripts from City College, facilitating the transfer process.