Volume 141, Issue #4
News
BY
ANKIL GOYAL
Staff Writer
LESLIE HICKS / GUARDSMAN |
City College paid $1.7 million in attorney fees to law firm Schneider and Wallace to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of disabled students.
“No definite source of financing the attorney fees has been established. Some programs and services may be affected, however,” said Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration.
As part of the settlement, the school will also spend $7.5 million to improve disabled facilities over the next four years. “We were going to make changes and improve conditions irrespective of this lawsuit,” Goldstein said.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in any venue. Many City College buildings built prior to 1990, including off-campus locations, will need upgrades.
The money for the improvements will be drawn from two bond measures that were passed in 2001 and 2005. Voters approved of the local measures to provide renovations and enhancements to all City College campuses.
Improvements were already under way before the lawsuit. Following state inspection in 1995, City College made efforts to ensure facilities meet the standards of the disabilities act. Some older buildings were modified and improved to include properly built ramps, elevators and wider bathrooms, among other changes.
The library, which was built in the 1990s, was the first target of the lawsuit. During its construction, in addition to complying with the disabilities act, City College administered its own governance to properly and fully address the needs of disabled students.
Despite these efforts, parts of the library were deemed restrictive and non-compliant with the disabilities act when reviewed by the district in 2005.
In collaboration with Disabled Students Programs and Services, the school is looking to rectify issues at the library and other buildings.
To ensure full compliance with all disabilities act guidelines, City College will hire a full-time coordinator. The school also provides scooters to compensate for limited mobility resulting from steep hills and sharply angled walkways
Another issue is transportation. “There needs to be buses that transport us back and forth to school, especially since the BART is so far,” said Michelle Jenkins, a student who uses a scooter provided by the program. “Scooters are helpful, but they should be closer to the campus entrance.”
Over the past few years, the law firm of Schneider and Wallace has been involved in several class-action lawsuits regarding disability facilities at schools. In 2004, the firm settled with the San Francisco Unified School District for close to $100 million. The firm received $6 million in attorney fees, half of which the school district is still paying.
Astoria Cherry was the chief plaintiff in both the school district suit and the City College suit. Her monetary compensation, while fractional in both cases, is unknown.
e-mail: agoyal@theguardsman.com
NEW BOARD PRESIDENT HOPES TO END POLITICAL DIVIDE
BY
CHRIS ALBON
Staff Writer
|
Newly elected board of trustees’ president Natalie Berg shares a common goal with recently appointed vice president Johnnie Carter Jr.: to build greater consensus among the politically diverse board.
“We are frequently a four-to-three board, which is never a good way to run any institution,” Berg said.
“I see the role of vice president as someone who has the greater responsibility of building a broader consensus,” Carter said.
But not all board members feel that total consensus is attainable.
Trustee Julio J. Ramos said the lack of consensus stems from fundamental differences in opinions among the trustees on how much the board should push for institutional change.
“I think the agenda is to be status quo — to be complacent,” Ramos said. “They (the administration) don’t have a mentality to change or be innovative.”
One such issue facing the board, Ramos said, is the hiring of small, minority-run companies for construction projects at City College. But Berg said the scale of current construction projects and an additional commitment to use only union labor has made it difficult to hire such companies.
Non-unionized companies would have to pay their employees’ union wages and dues on projects with the college. Berg said not all companies are willing to do so.
Ramos also wants the board to focus more on diversity this year. He believes that the college can do better recruiting during the hiring process to bring more minorities into the faculty and administration.
Another issue worrying City College this year is its dwindling fiscal reserves. Trustee Rodel E. Rodis, previous board president, said this is his primary concern.
“We’re not going to be able to provide a lot of what we now offer,” Rodis said. “It’s a problem, making sure we meet our obligations. It’s not going to be easy. It’s never boring.”
Rodis said the problem is statewide, and City College is working with other California community colleges to acquire more funding.
Carter agreed that the college is facing a possible budgetary crisis and should not count on Gov. Schwarzenegger to provide the funding he has promised.
Carter also said he plans on working with the board to increase dialog with the public, in addition to working further on the issues surrounding San Francisco’s Sunshine Ordinance, an ordinance that provides government transparency.
Last fall, the board partially adopted the Sunshine Ordinance, but full compliance fell short. Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. and other board members did not reach complete agreement on implementing the ordinance.
e-mail: calbon@theguardsman.com
BY DANI GOMEZ
Staff Writer
SHASHA KHOSHKHOU / GUARDSMAN |
City College academic senate may organize a plenary session to vote on a proposal to allow campus police to carry guns.
If the session is called, all members of the faculty and the academic senate will vote. After the vote, the proposal will go to the board of trustees for a final decision.
A plenary session is rare at City College and takes place only in cases of extreme importance, for example, those related to the safety of students.
The firearm proposal came from City College Police Chief Carl S. Koehler, who believes that a recent increase in cases involving weapons needs to be addressed.
All of the police officers on campus are currently carrying pepper spray and batons but are not allowed to carry guns.
“I don’t think there is any need to arm the campus police because most of the crimes committed here can be solved with the help of pepper spray and handcuffs,” City College student Pavel Yefanau said.
The plenary session hasn’t been formally discussed by the academic senate. But the majority of its members are strongly opposed to the gun proposal, said Fred Teti, head of the academic senate. Some faculty members, however, are in favor of it.
“Chief Koehler comes from the motivation based on statistics, but nothing has been decided yet because the senate wants more ideas. The plenary is one possible way to discuss the issue,” Teti said.
“All of the police officers on the streets have guns, so why not let the campus police carry them as well? Nevertheless, having guns here changes the whole spirit of our campus,” faculty member Steven Mayers said. “But again, the decision comes to how many violent crimes and incidents were reported on campus.”
e-mail: dgomez@theguardsman.com
HEART ATTACK KILLS KCSF PROGRAM DIRECTOR
BY JEREMIAH MICHAELS
Staff Writer
|
City College’s radio station, KCSF, is mourning the loss of its program director, Mose Woods. The husband and father suffered a heart attack on Feb. 9 while sitting outside with fellow classmates. He was 58.
“He was talking to me,” Robin, a student said. “We were talking, and I turned around. When I turned back around, he was laying on the floor, foaming at the mouth.”
Woods was conversing with a couple of students outside of the Arts Extension building just before 11 a.m. when he collapsed. Some students standing around noticed that he was having trouble breathing. They reacted by summoning Student Health Department Chair Sunny Clark from the Student Health Center a hundred feet away.
“Some students were there first helping out, and then the paramedics arrived,” said Timothy Simpson, who witnessed Woods fall down.
Woods was attached to an automated external defibrillator and administered CPR moments before paramedics arrived on the scene. He was later taken to St. Luke’s Hospital where he died.
Woods was a long time City College student. He had been taking classes off and on for nearly 20 years, according to Dr. Cecil Hale of City College’s broadcasting department. They first met when Woods began attending City College.
Student Anjenette Roberts came to know Woods last fall. “I was walking through the quad, then I saw him laid out, and I was like ‘Oh my God!’”
City College already lost another member of the community to a heart attack earlier this year when esteemed instructor Antonio Guiuan died on Jan. 26 .
e-mail: jmichaels@theguardsman.com
NEW STUDENT ID CARDS OM THE WORKS
BY ALEX DIXON
Editor
JACK KARP / GUARDSMAN |
City College will offer photographic student identification cards within the next few weeks, courtesy of a project that was recently conducted by the Associated Students.
“We’ve been trying to get the cards out as soon as possible,” said Skip Fotch, associate dean of student activities. “The reason we’ve been waiting is to get all the kinks out. We want to be able to serve all the students who pay the fee.”
As things currently stand, students will receive the ID as a perk to paying their optional $5 student activities fee. Roughly $1.25 will go toward financing the card itself while the other $3.75 will be deposited into the Associated Students budget.
Argin Wong, Associated Students' economics development chair, is the person at the forefront of the operation to make the photo ID available to potentially 40,000 City College students.
“When I first came to City College, I said to myself, ‘this isn’t an ID card. This is a piece of paper with my name on it.’ I think a lot of other students felt the same way,” Wong said.
The card will include a barcode, the student’s photo and signature. These features will classify it as a form of photo identification, much like a California driver license.
Wong says there are “tentative plans” to put stickers on the back to denote which semester the card is valid through. Conceivably, this eliminates the possibility of ex-students using it to their advantage once they leave City College.
According to Fotch, the cards were originally scheduled to be released at the beginning of the spring semester. However, the debut has been postponed on several occasions due to various logistical issues. While photographing 40,000 students would produce logistical problems, the biggest obstacle so far has been trying to place barcodes on these ID cards.
Currently, the system is set up to issue new barcodes to students every semester. With a permanent ID card, the barcode system would need to be changed, affecting the library, the Learning Center and others who scan the barcodes.
“The photo ID is a great idea but we don’t want to limit students in any way,” Fotch said. “And we don’t want to create problems for other people.”
Fotch estimates the cards will be ready in the next few weeks, but no date has been set.
e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com
BY DANI GOMEZ
Staff Writer
• Chancellor Philip R. Day Jr. outlined the significance of all programs offered by City College, noting the stabilization of budget goals for the current semester. Despite the issues with non-credit formula budgeting, 90 percent of these programs are full and healthy, according to Chancellor Day.
• Head of the academic senate Fred Teti presented his report to the board, stating that City College is fully prepared for an accreditation team’s visit in March. According to findings in a self-study report written by a committee comprised of students, teachers and faculty members, City College satisfies all of the eligibility requirements for accreditation.
Choice Words:
“We have to look at different campuses and affirm every single one of them are needed and justified and contribute to our college.”
-Chancellor Philip R. Day Jr.
e-mail: dgomez@theguardsman.com
BY JON GUNTON
Editor
Over the last four issues of The Guardsman, I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to speak my mind to a large population of this wonderful institution.
This column will mark my final installment in what I consider a tremendous monument to mediocrity.
I’ve written about many things, well not really. Just alcohol and women. By now, those who have read the column know that I drink, and stare at women. And that’s pretty much all they know.
Still, I will walk away proud of the fact that the wit and candor I revealed over the last two months was extremely average, and not below average. So take THAT high school teachers!
The truth is, I had loftier ambitions when I agreed to do this. Maybe blow a mind or two. But in the end juggling jobs, school, and a looming deadline damned me to meaningless material. That, or I’m just a moron.
The editors here only had quarrels with one of the columns I submitted, and opted not to run it.
I’m going to ignore any of the million more likely reasons it was cut and say it was probably because what I wrote was so earth shattering that the people could not lay eyes on it without pandemonium and chaos erupting in the streets.
That…or like I suggested before, because I am a moron.
As the curtain begins to close on Gunt Smoke, I can’t help but look back and reflect. What a journey it has been, what a pointless, cliché journey.
My only true regret is I never received a complaint. So please feel free to e-mail me and complain, even if you were never offended.
Adios amigos, and here’s to hoping the next columnist isn’t such a moron.
e-mail: citynewseditor@theguardsman.com
City College at Large
Call or e-mail Steve Mowles with campus-wide news at: (415) 239-3446 or metronews@theguardsman.com
Fort Mason Campus
A bicycle maintenance and tune-up workshop will meet Saturdays on April 1 and April 8 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in building B, room 103. Basic repair and maintenance for all types of bicycles will be covered. Cost is $70 plus a $3 material fee.
Castro Campus
City College is offering an ongoing Tai Chi class in the Noe Street Gym, 1220 Noe St. “Tai Chi for Health” meets Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30. Tai Chi Chuan is a form of thought and physical movement that incorporates meditation into motion. The course highlights practice of basic Tai Chi Chuan forms.
Downtown Campus
A beginning digital photography class is planned for Mondays on March 6 and March 13 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in room 422. Learn basic techniques, terms and formats. Find out how to use a camera, transfer images, make basic image adjustments and prepare images for attaching to e-mail. Cost is $65.
Evans Campus
A construction open house will be held on Thursday, March 9 from 11.a.m. to 2 p.m. The open house is in conjunction with the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). Help celebrate Women in Construction Week and learn about exciting and rewarding careers in the construction industry.
Short Cuts
Back to School
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, there have been a growing number of students in recent years with bachelors and other degrees that are returning to community college. These students mostly attend computer classes and other instructions in order to keep up with today’s constantly changing technology.
Workshop for Latinos
Latina/o Services Net-work, Career Develop-ment and Placement Center, CalWorks, the Financial Aid Office and the Office of Outreach and Recruitment are cosponsoring an event on March 18 for high school juniors and seniors and their parents with a series of workshops for high schoolers who want to transition to City College with or without a diploma.
The Guardsman Issue 3 Correction
A caption on page one stated that the Mission campus might be put up for sale, along with other satellite campuses as a result of future budget constraints. The Mission campus will not be sold, but some campuses may be consolidated. On page two, another caption stated the chancellor is considering eliminating satellite campuses. This, too, was misleading, and should have specified that consolidation is more likely than elimination.