Bike Lanes

STAFF EDITORIAL

TESS DONOHOE / GUARDSMAN

All roads may lead to Rome, but none lead to City College. At least not if you’re coming by bicycle.

With gas at $3 per gallon and a public transit system that continues to deny discounts to City College students, getting to and from school on a daily basis is expensive.

The bicycle is a solution to this problem and many others. Bikes are powered by muscle, which means two things: no contribution to global warming and weight loss as a result of exercise. It’s like killing two crises with one stone and you can even have fun while doing it.

But the problem is, the journey to City College by bicycle is a harrowing one at best, for the simple reason that no bike lanes are marked on the major thoroughfares near the school.

According to one San Francisco bike map, Ocean and Phelan avenues are considered “bike routes,” where “bikes and cars share the same – often narrow – roadway.”

That’s an accurate description of all the roads leading to City College, and what it translates to is a dangerous trip for anyone who wants to ride a bike instead of drive a car.

City College students continue to get the shaft when it comes to transportation. Whether it is bike lanes or public transit discounts, it seems as if nobody will stand up for this cause.

If you would like to see this changed, please contact District 7 Supervisor Sean Elsbernd at (415) 554-6516 or Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org

e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com

Insight on the American Dream

BY DAVIDE GUALANDI
Contributing Writer

I always find intellectual deprecation particularly funny. Being a European, with an accent and a long beard, I somehow always inspire people to sing the frailties of the United States. I suppose it's that sort of apologetic and highbrowed approach that Californians use to disassociate themselves from the demonic conservative mentality.

I usually listen to their America-bashing, nodding and smiling. They don't know I chose to live here because I was tired of ideological idiosyncrasy, pedantic intellectualism and flat-out pretentiousness. Or maybe they just assume since I chose San Francisco, I must also be critical of the values and beliefs of which America is proud.

It is not my intention to desecrate or even compare systems and traditions, but I admit that San Franciscans' ostentation to criticize the core of the "American Dream" rings slightly incoherent to me.

After engaging in long arguments with proto-anarchists and young thinkers who cannot resist deprecating the narrow-mindedness of their fellow Americans, I recognize it's that exact collective simplicity that has been instrumental in making this country what it is today.

The straightforwardness of the American way, with its simple values and its pragmatism, is what has allowed California to develop into the progressive example that it is today. If you want to apply the concept to yourself, remember that it's capitalism that is putting you through school for free.

"Condoleezza" Controversy

BY DANI GOMEZ
Staff Writer

The math test involving “Condoleezza” and a watermelon was first taken in 2004 at Bellevue Community College in Washington. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY FELIPE JUNQUEIRA / GUARDSMAN

In order to prepare for an upcoming intermediate algebra quiz, students at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Wash., were given a sample test with a problem stated in a very unusual manner.

The question read, “Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300-foot-tall Federal Building, and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second.” Then it asked when the watermelon hits the ground, based on a provided formula.

The question has stirred controversy, pressuring the college president to apologize for the teacher who wrote the question. The name of the teacher was never disclosed. However, the evildoer is currently undergoing sensitivity treatment and is very, very sorry.

Although the last name “Rice” is not mentioned anywhere in the problem, the reference is very clear. How many Condoleezzas have access to the roof of a federal building?

One can easily spot the ugly innuendo behind the math. The stereotype “black people like watermelons” is practically engraved there.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder: What was going on in the teacher’s head as he wrote this problem? It is not only racist but absurd from a scientific standpoint.

Rice would never put herself in such a silly situation as standing on top of a federal building tossing watermelons. Second, it is absolutely impossible to throw such a large object at that speed with Rice’s tiny, feminine arms. Because of this absurdity, one could argue the author’s intentions were almost certainly racist.

At least it wasn't a true/false question.

e-mail: dgomez@theguardsman.com

COMING IN

Faculty Poll

Does the “Condoleezza” math problem offend you?

Yes: 78% (14 out of 18)
No: 22% (4 out of 18)


“I do not find it offensive, though I see why others might. It’s sad this has become a news item, for it indicates the hypersensitive nature of race at this time. Perhaps it is a phase we must go through, since white America has ignored the problem of race for so long.”
— Asatar Bair, social sciences

“Yes. On the surface it seems like ‘no big deal,’ but we people of color are hypersensitized to cultural triggers that simply do not register with other folks. If I were a borderline algebra student sensitized to racial imagery, I might blow off the question, or make a mistake because my emotions got pulled into the problem.”
— Vivian Calderon, Latino services network

ON THE RECORD

How difficult is the journey to City College by bicycle, and which way do you come from?

Sherryl Crosby
“If we had dedicated bike lanes it would be better. It’s an educational problem with motorists that don’t know the safety rules about sharing the road.”

Christopher Pierce
“It’s not too bad because I live just up the hill, but it depends on where you’re coming from. I’m a motorcyclist, so I’m used to watching out for cars in the street.”

Michelle Santos
“It’s okay, I don’t think it’s too bad. When I’m having a bad day it’s worse, because of all the hills.”

Rodel Santo Domingo
“I came from McLarin Park up the blue water tower. It sucks going back up. But on the way to City College it’s all downhill so it’s pretty easy.”

Weston Waldman
“I got lost at Bosworth and San Jose, so it took me 15 minutes more today. I like biking, so it wasn’t too bad.”

Scott Laidlaw
“Ridiculously easy. I cam from Silver and Mission. If you prefer not to ride uphill you can catch the bus which is equipped with bike racks.”