Volume 140, Issue #3
News
THE HUMAN COST: Still Haunted by the War, the Wounded Tell Their Stories in Pictures and Words
BY
JON GUNTON
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY NATHAN WEYLAND / GUARDSMAN |
Veterans of the Iraqi war and other individuals personally affected by the conflict spoke to students and exhibited photographs of wounded soldiers at “Back from the Front Lines,” an event held at the Diego Rivera Theatre on Oct. 5.
“There is a human cost to this war,” Iraqi war veteran Sgt. Robert Acosta said, addressing the crowd. “Look at me, listen to my and other vets’ stories. I didn’t join the military to go to war, but now look at me, I’m all messed up.”
Acosta lost his right hand and the use of his left leg when a grenade was thrown into his humvee in the summer of 2003 in Baghdad.
Much of the discussion focused on the struggle for former soldiers to lead normal lives after being wounded in combat, and the poor treatment of injured veterans by the government when they return from the battle zone.
“I can’t sleep at all,” Acosta said. “How can you work when you can’t sleep or can’t concentrate? The other day in my car I saw a leaf, and thought it was a grenade. But [Veterans Affairs], they don’t want to help me.”
He and photojournalist Nina Berman have toured the country on and off since October 2004, speaking and exhibiting photos which show the often-untold stories of veterans who suffered serious injuries in Iraq.
“One thing I wanted people to take away from the images was how alienated the soldiers seem to be,” Berman said. “For me, I try to keep it away from politics. If we just tell these stories well, people can interpret them for themselves.”
Veteran and City College student Cpl. Robert Martinez was invited on stage to join the discussion.
“You all will never truly know. I hope you can only kind of understand what we went through,” Martinez said. “Even now, I still find myself reaching behind me looking for my rifle.”
When a student asked the veterans if they took responsibility for their actions, Martinez responded bluntly.
“You think I don’t know I’m going to hell,” Martinez said, leaning forward in his chair. “I am going to hell. That is something I have to deal with every day.”
Nick Arnett, whose nephew Wes was killed by a rocket-powered grenade in Fallujah, is a member of Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization for families who have lost loved ones in combat. He also addressed the crowd.
“It is important we all grieve together,” Arnett said, visibly choked up. “A loss to any family is a loss to the national family.”
After the event, Nina Berman shared her motivation for touring the country.
“Most are really grateful to us for showing a different side of the story,” Berman said. “We’ve been emboldened to continue to do it.”
If City College students’ reactions are any indication of the impact of their efforts, Berman and Acosta will be touring the country for a long time to come.
“I’ve gone to some protests, but to see a human face put on it like this has really invigorated me to become even more involved,” student Elizabeth Torres said.
e-mail: jgunton@theguardsman.com
MISSION ASC SPENDING SPARKS CONTROVERSY
BY
JOSH LEHMAN AND ADAM BRODY
Staff Writer and Contributing Writer
COLLEEN CUMMINS / GUARDSMAN |
In response to an investigation last summer into allegations that the Associated Students Council at Mission campus had misspent over $10,000, Associate Dean of Students Skip Fotch has introduced new operational guidelines for the ASC this semester.
The allegations were brought to Fotch’s attention in a May 23 petition, signed by 57 Mission campus faculty members, which voiced several concerns about the spending history of the campus’s ASC and its former faculty adviser Pablo Rodriguez.
“In fiscal ‘04, when the student council spent over $17,000, we believe that they spent at least 60 percent of that total amount on a few student council officers and their friends, to the exclusion of the rest of the student body,” the petition stated.
In an e-mail sent to Mission campus faculty members after conducting the investigation, Fotch responded, “The actions of the ASC Mission campus have been conducted within the district financial guidelines. I find no actions that could be deemed inappropriate or suspicious with the review of the materials listed above.”
Although no evidence of wrongdoing was found, Fotch stressed that the controversy was an ordeal he didn‘t want to repeat.
In an effort to strengthen common operational practices between campuses and increase the visibility of spending decisions, Fotch created an orientation manual for campus advisers and asked that all spending be more thoroughly accounted for.
“Every one of the advisers has the same information,” Fotch said. “I’ve actually sat down and worked training with each adviser, going through all the paperwork and everything else so that we’re all talking the same language.”
Ron Young, a student at Evans campus and member of the district-wide Associated Students Executive Board for two years, said the new guidelines would be a welcome addition to the ASC.
“The new manual is pretty comprehensive. I was impressed. Skip is following a strategic plan to expand communication between all the district councils,” Young said. “It’s going to create more transparency.”
Fotch said that in the past each ASC was given the autonomy to create its own spending rules, which left room for debate about the merits of even officially sanctioned expenditures.
Young agreed that the absence of guidelines for the ASC had become a looming problem.
“There were no specified guidelines for advisers previously,” Young said. “It was kind of an ad hoc thing on some campuses. They were just winging it.”
Fotch noted that this lack of standard procedures for the councils was reflected in some of the record keeping he encountered during the investigation.
“That was one of the things that was a constant problem,” Fotch said. “I would say, ‘Look, I need receipts. I need validation.’ I did not get what I considered adequate information.”
Rick Kappra, the newly-appointed faculty adviser for the ASC at Mission campus, defended the need for an investigation, but said the nature of the controversy left him with a bad impression.
“There was faculty being pitted against each other, and I don’t think it should have been at that level,” Kappra said. “What the teachers here were pushing for was transparency.”
Although officially vindicated, Rodriguez, the ASC faculty adviser at Mission campus for the period in question, worried about how his career might be affected by the negative publicity of the allegations.
Rodriguez said the petition was not the first document that questioned his leadership. An anonymous letter was sent to the Academic Senate before the petition was circulated alleging that he used “more than $12,000” of ASC funds to “‘supplement’ his salary.”
Fotch called the publicity premature.
“I could understand why they called for the investigation, but they were making claims before it was carried out,” Fotch said. “They established what they thought the problems were before I looked into it.”
e-mail: jlehman@theguardsman.com
Editor Dan Powell contributed to this report.
VOLUNTEERS AID IN NATURALIZATION: Project SHINE coaches immigrants in litiracy, ESL, citizenship
BY MARCO GUTIERREZ
Staff Writer
|
Elder immigrant students at City College can ease the path to obtaining U.S. citizenship without stepping foot off campus.
Project SHINE, or Students Helping in the Naturalization of Elders, is a collaborative program between City College and San Francisco State University where students offer one-on-one assistance in general ESL, literacy and citizenship information.
By aiding immigrants in the naturalization process, student coaches are given the opportunity to create a unique intercultural and intergenerational connection with people of diverse cultures through their shared interactions.
“SHINE is an opportunity for students in academic classes to take the theory of the classroom and combine [it] with real world experience,” said Camilla Bixler, last semester’s SHINE coordinator.
Student Maria Estrada of El Salvador said the SHINE coaches helped her learn letters and to formulate words and sentences.
“I know that is hard for me — it’s not easy,” Estrada said. “They’re very helpful. They pay attention to us because our brains do not help us like before.”
“Sometimes I think my courses are overwhelming, but when I come here and see their struggle with the language it puts things into perspective,” said student Walter Rich, who coaches an ESL class on Ocean campus this semester.
Student coaches are recruited into the program through presentations given by Project SHINE coordinator Ann Fontanella and her assistant, Uni Leong, an Americorps volunteer. The students receive training and coach in the classes and subjects of their choice, often traveling to different City College locations including the Mission campus or the Chinatown / North Beach campus.
Instructors from classes such as Sociology, Latinas in the U.S. and Political Science often request a recruitment presentation from Project SHINE.
“I was in a Sociology class and the teacher gave us a choice between writing a paper or serving for SHINE,” said sociology major Anna Chang, who coached a citizenship class last semester. “After seeing the presentation I signed up for it.”
Chang said because she enjoyed the experience, she would return to the program this semester.
Project SHINE is a national service-learning initiative that was first introduced to City College in 1997.
In the past year, City College implemented a leadership program that works with students who were with SHINE for at least one semester.
Participants are trained professionally at City College by Coro Northern California, a non-profit organization that provides public affairs leadership training for personal or professional development.
There are currently over 160 City College and 45 SFSU student teachers.
e-mail: mtgutierrez@theguardsman.com
COMMUNITY DAYS DISPLAY COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
BY ANGELA HART
Staff Writer
|
Community Days at the Chinatown / North Beach and John Adams campuses were the latest installments in City College’s ongoing 70th anniversary celebration where students, families and faculty members learned about recent academic and extracurricular achievements.
“This is a chance for students and members of the community to come out and visualize the wonderful programs we have to offer,” said Linda Squires Grohe, dean of the John Adams campus.
The John Adams campus’ Community Day began on Sept. 17 with a brunch in the gymnasium followed by tours of the new cardiovascular technician and pharmacy technician laboratories.
In light of the tragic hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast, members of the Saturday quilting class displayed heartfelt projects for victims.
“I’m interested in helping out the people hurt in Hurricane Katrina,” student Shona Burke said. “I’m glad this campus offers Saturday classes so I have the time to take them.”
A student-painted mural entitled “Educate to Liberate” blanketed the entrance to the library which housed paintings, quilts and artwork from the disabilities program, depicting 30 years of Latino heritage.
“This program allows us, whatever disability, to find our own style and voice,” student Amaroq de Querazas said.
The Chinatown / North Beach campus’ Community Day held on Sept. 27 emphasized a new federal program geared toward retraining dislocated garment industry workers due to the mass closure of San Francisco garment factories, many of which were in Chinatown.
Each laid-off worker will receive $10,000 to take classes at City College and supplement their income, ESL, childcare and transportation needs.
“We want the community to look at all of our programs,” Mary Kapp, Chinatown / North Beach campus ESL coordinator, said. “We hope to see more people this way.”
e-mail: ahart@theguardsman.com
CELEBRATING LATINA/O HERITAGE MONTH
BY MARCO GUTIERREZ
Staff Writer
The Rosenberg Library celebrated Latina/o Heritage Month by hosting a series of lectures and films exploring the impact of Latinos living in the United States and Latin America.
The first presentation, “Arte Maya Tz’utuhil,” was conducted by Joseph Johnston on Sept. 20 and explored the historical perspective of Mayan oil painting.
Johnston is the owner and curator of the Arte Maya Tz’utuhil Museum and Gallery that exhibits various paintings by Tz’utuhil-speaking artists in order to shed light on the Mayan people. It is only found on the World Wide Web.
“He has been documenting how Mayan painters have started a tradition in the highlands of Guatemala that’s developed into a real major tourist attraction, Edgar Torres, chair of the Latin American and Latina/o Studies Department.
William Maynez, physics department lab manager, premiered “El Rey: Olmec Head Project” on Sept. 27, a documentary about the installation of the Olmec Head at City College in 2004.
Indiana Quadra, chair of the Career Development and Placement Center, will present the documentary, “Missing Young Women: Señorita Extraviada,” today. The film talks about the almost 400 women that have been kidnapped, raped and murdered in the border town of Juárez, Mexico since 1993.
“The bigger issue is that they are not getting answers,” Quadra said, referring to the Mexican government’s attitude about the unsolved crimes. “It may take a tremendous amount of voices coming together to bring this issue to some kind of understanding and to end it.”
During the presentation a petition from Amnesty International will be passed around and sent to Mexico.
The “Drug Wars in the Americas” lecture and film was presented by Dr. Frederick Chavaria, chair of the Administration of Justice / Fire Science Department, on Oct. 12. Another lecture will be held on Oct. 24 about unions and immigrants throughout the United States and Latin America by Claire Van Zevern, a Latin American Studies instructor.
The only event held off campus is “Blossoms of Fire,” a documentary presented and directed by Maureen Gosling. The film depicts the hardwon progressive political atmosphere of the men and women of Juchitan, Mexico. The film, followed by a discussion, will be shown at the John Adams campus on Oct. 26.
e-mail: mgutierrez@theguardsman.com
BY CHRIS ALBON
Staff Writer
|
One City College student decided to take action after she found the Government and Politics of the Middle East class wasn’t offered last fall. After circulating a petition that garnered 700 signatures, the class will be revived despite being absent for six years.
Student Mel Brooks said she wanted to learn more about a region whose current conflicts she found disturbing.
“We are at war in Iraq and students don’t have an opportunity to learn about the people and culture in the Middle East,” Brooks said. “There’s so much information that’s so relevant, especially right now.”
Brooks’ petition got the course back on the class schedule this spring. “It was cancelled because we couldn’t get enrollment,” said Darlene Alioto, chair of the social sciences department.
Rayan Elamine, who also co-teaches “Diversity: Anti-Semitism / Anti-Arabism,” is excited to teach this class because students have pushed for it.
“There is a need for students to get a better understanding of the Middle East and Islam to give them the background in order to make sense of the current events and the politics of the Arab world,” Elamine said.
e-mail: calbon@theguardsman.com
BY ANGELA HART
Staff Writer
UC Merced, the tenth undergraduate campus in the University of California system, opened for the first time in September, giving City College students who want to transfer to a four-year school another institution to consider.
“Last year we helped a large number of City College students apply to UC Merced,” said Carl Jew, director of the City College Transfer Center. “We will know an exact number at the end of the semester but if I had a wild guess I would say one student transferred to Merced.”
Transfer requirements for all UC schools are the same. Students need to have 60 transferable units and a GPA greater than 2.4 to make the leap.
According to Sheryl Wyan, UC Merced public information representative, about 150 of the 1,000 students in the inaugural class at UC Merced consist of transfer students from community colleges.
“We plan to increase our number of transfer students to 800 each year,” Wyan said. “Transfer students are a high priority for UC Merced.”
But whether anyone really wants to go to UC Merced remains a question. Some cite the distance as a problem.
“I have taken classes to transfer either to a UC or a California State University school, but I wouldn’t consider Merced because it’s too far away,” City College student Jeremy Tubbs said.
Others mentioned a lack of facts about the school.
“I would never transfer to Merced because I don’t know anything about their programs,” City College student Alex Hepp said. “There are plenty of other schools closer that I have more information about.”
UC Merced specializes in environmental sciences, with undergraduate majors in computer science and engineering, environmental engineering, biological sciences, earth systems sciences, social and behavioral sciences and world cultures and history.
Located in the San Joaquin Valley and next to Yosemite National Park, the university is the first UC built in the last 40 years and boasts 2,000 acres, over half of which are available for future facility growth.
e-mail: ahart@theguardsman.com
GOVERNOR LOOKS TO OVERHAUL EDUCATION
BY DAN SANKEY
Staff Writer
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pounding the campaign trail before the Nov. 8 special election in an effort to convince voters to approve Propositions 74, 75 and 76.
If passed, these initiatives would have a direct effect on statewide education budgets, teacher tenure and the teachers’ unions.
Proposition 76 aims to change the California Constitution to set limits on the state budget and to give the governor more power to cut state spending in times of economic downturn.
The current guidelines were set in 1998 by Proposition 98, which guaranteed minimum funding to public schools and community colleges.
“Proposition 76 overrides that guarantee,” said Ed Murray, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121.
“(Schwarzenegger) would be able to make cuts throughout the school year. If he declared an emergency, there would be chaos in the schools,” he said.
Republicans backing the initiative say budget commitments made to education during California’s economic boom in the late ’90s are beyond the state’s current means.
“The state shouldn’t be spending money it doesn’t have,” said Sarah Pompei, deputy communications director of the California Republican Party.
At $40 billion, education is the largest item in the state budget. Funding is currently based on student enrollment and economic growth rates. The writers of Proposition 76 contend a new spending limit and tighter budget controls would stabilize education funding.
Proposition 75 would require government unions to get written consent from members before making political contributions with union dues. Even if a government employee is not a union member, they still pay dues because the union negotiates salaries and benefits for all workers.
“This initiative is all about workers’ rights, protecting their paychecks,” Pompei said. Those opposed say this is just another Republican attack against traditionally democratic unions.
“It really is unnecessary. Twenty-five percent of state workers are not union members,” Murray said. “They can’t be forced to donate money. They can have it returned if they want — even members can.”
Proposition 74 would extend the current two-year trial period to five years for public school teachers in the kindergarten through 12 grades. During the trial period, a teacher is evaluated and can be fired if they receive two bad evaluations in a row.
“Good teachers will be able to know that they are surrounded by only the best,” Pompei said.
After the trial period, a teacher would be considered permanent and could not be fired without the district going through a strict process. Proposition 74 does not affect college-level teachers, but opponents say the proposition does nothing to improve schools or attract and retain quality teachers.
City College’s board of trustees voted on Sept. 29 to “strongly oppose” all three of the propositions.
e-mail: dsankey@theguardsman.com
$246 MILLION BOND MEASURE UP FOR VOTE
BY DAN SANKEY
Staff Writer
San Franciscans are voting this Nov. 8 on Proposition A, which would issue over $246 million in taxpayer bonds to improve campus infrastructure.
“This is an old district,” Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. said. “Many of the buildings we’ve inherited are in major need of upgrading.”
The projects to be funded by the proposed bonds include a performing arts center, a new student development center and a biotechnology project with San Francisco State University.
Other projects include improved access for disabled students and seismic renovation of John Adams campus.
The bond monies would also pay for the completion and construction of the Mission and Chinatown / North Beach campuses and the Ocean campus’ student health, wellness and childcare centers.
A report by City Controller Edward Harrington stated the bonds would increase property taxes. The cost, about $60 for a house assessed at $400,000, cannot be legally passed on to renters.
“Bond measures, in general, are a wasteful way to pay for things,” said the singly named Starchild, the outreach director for the San Francisco Libertarian Party and steering committee member of the Taxpayers Union. Both organizations oppose the bond.
Starchild said the proposition lacks accountability, citing a clause that states the bonds are not guaranteed to provide sufficient funds for all listed projects.
The proposition is not City College’s first. The school received $195 million in bonds for “infrastructure improvement” from a 2001 proposition.
About $151 million of those funds have been “spent, encumbered or committed,” Chancellor Day said.
The school also told voters in 2001 they would need more funds to complete the projects and would present another bond measure no later than the November 2006 election.
The new proposition has already received support from the Democratic Party, nine out of 11 city supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom.
“There is going to be enough support,” Trustee Milton Marks III said. “The institution is so well respected, and there’s no real organized opposition to it.”
Nevertheless, both Marks and Trustee Julio Ramos voted against placing the proposition on the November ballot because of concerns that the public did not have enough notice.
“It’s not a question of being opposed to the proposition, because we’re not. We’re both supporting it,” Marks said.
e-mail: calbon@theguardsman.com
HURRICANES SEND BLOW TO CONSTRUCTION COSTS
BY JOSH LEHMAN
Staff Writer
City College’s construction projects have been affected by steadily rising construction costs brought on by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Community Health and Wellness Center, Student Health Center and Child Development Center may now cost more to be constructed, administrators said.
“Construction inflation rates were more than 1 percent per month before the hurricanes. That figure will go up even more now,” said Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration.
James Blomquist, associate vice chancellor of facilities, said cost projections for the new buildings have risen dramatically since Katrina and Rita passed.
“The original projected cost was around $75 million for all three projects,” Blomquist said. “Those projections are up about 15 to 20 percent just due to the two recent disasters.”
While Goldstein said that the magnitude of the impact to City College is still unknown, he is confident the school will be able to meet any challenges the rising costs might present.
“In the worst-case scenario, we would have to scale back the scope of our projects, but we’ll do everything we can to avoid that,” Goldstein said.
Blomquist noted that preparations are now being made to face the coming challenges. “We’re working on a number of strategies. We’re trying to expand our reach to a broader pool of contractors, we’re looking to find more materials and equipment that we can purchase directly and we’re looking for more efficient ways to build.”
e-mail: jlehman@theguardsman.com
BY JOSH LEHMAN
Staff Writer
Now that we’re on the lee side of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita’s fury and we’re facing the aftermath of the wreckage, it’s important we keep our eyes open for possibilities to help.
Lately it seems we are constantly in the wake of some kind of major calamity, though for most of us it is usually remote from our daily lives.
It becomes all too easy to shrug your shoulders, let it all fade back into the pages of the newspaper and get on with daily routines.
Remember, however, that there are local ways to help. There’s no need to forego school and your job to charge down to the Gulf Coast.
By consuming less oil, you can help to stem the flow of that rascal of a resource and aid the national cause locally.
Now that political scandals and pop stars have reclaimed the headlines, finding a reminder of the hurricanes is as easy as visiting the gas station. Just look at current prices and you’ll see some of the wreckage spelled out in dollars and cents.
Repairing the Gulf Coast will require a lot of oil, and the more oil that’s used, the higher the cost will be driven. But the opposite is also true, as prices drop when less oil is purchased.
This means adopting an “oil-lite” lifestyle will help the United States’ next great reconstruction effort.
By riding your bike or Muni to work instead of driving and by consuming less oil-based products such as plastics, you can join the effort from afar.
e-mail: jlehman@theguardsman.com
City College at Large
Call or e-mail Elizabeth Pfeffer with campus-wide news at: (415) 239-3446 or metronews@theguardsman.com
John Adams Campus
The San Francisco Welcome Back Center, also known as the International Health Worker Assistance Center located at the John Adams campus is hosting a lecture by Dr. Amir Sweha, program director of the Family Practice Medical Program at Mercy Healthcare Sacramento, on Nov. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon in room 225. Sweha will discuss the process for internationally trained health workers to practice in the United States.
Evans Campus
The San Francisco Transit Career Ladder Partnership, a City College and Muni program providing job skills to public transit workers is offering a new class this spring that will teach Muni employees to “maximize customer satisfaction.” The class, worth 1.5 units, will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in room 253. Prospective students are urged to inquire soon as space is limited.
Castro / Valencia Campus
The Castro / Valencia campus bookstore, once located in room 112, is no longer in operation. The bookstore was intended only to operate during the first two days of class, but has remained open until now. Students can still pick up texts at the Ocean campus bookstore.
Mission Campus
The Mission Science Workshop is a special program located at the Mission campus that serves Mission youth, their families and City College students by offering community space for exploring various fields of science during the school day. The program, providing enhancement to the daily curriculum, is offered at 9 a.m.
Short Cuts
Feeling Socially Responsible
With the Nov. 8 local election approaching, students will have an opportunity to exercise a little social responsibility by voting on local and state issues, some of which could affect their stays at City College. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 24, 15 days before the election. Qualified voters can register through www.smartvoter.org where they will find an online application as well as a guide to San Francisco and California measures.
UC Transfer Deadline
Planning on transferring to a University of California campus? The filing period for UC applications begins Nov. 1 and goes until Nov. 31. The UC system no longer encourages snail mail applications, but prefers students to apply online at www.universityofcalifornia.edu. The Transfer Center is holding a Transfer Day Oct. 28 in Smith Hall from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. where students can figure out where they want to apply.
Kissing Prevents Cavities
Don’t worry that all the candy you eat on Halloween will rot your teeth — just make sure you find someone to make out with afterwards. In 1999, CNN reported that kissing, though less effective than flossing or brushing your teeth, increases saliva flow which is “an important buffer for tooth decay.”