PROPOSED CHINATOWN CAMPUS HIGH-RISE PLAN STILL UP IN THE AIR
BY MARTHA VALLEJO
STAFF WRITER

The proposed Chinatown Campus, seen in relation to the Hilton. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF EHDD ARCHITECTURE

Complaints about City College’s design proposal for the new Chinatown/North Beach Campus continued to focus on the building’s height at the board of trustees meeting on April 19.

“City building codes explicitly limit the height of the new building in the Chinatown District, and will only allow construction of a building no greater than five stories,” said Gerry Crowley from the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Dwellers. “City College has proposed this massive 17-story high-rise in complete disregard of the city’s ordinance and in disregard of the Chinatown neighborhood.”

The proposed design is currently a 17-story high-rise that would incorporate the needs of students and teachers into one space, said Alice Barkley, City College’s attorney for the project.

Justice Investors, the design’s main opponent and lessor to the San Francisco Hilton adjacent to the parcel, studied the three lots City College owns or manages at Kearny and Washington Streets, and concluded that using separate buildings would be more efficient than one.

“We work so closely with the administration. You can’t walk two or three buildings down to get photocopies made,” retired teacher Ben Siegal said. “Two or more buildings will be less efficient in every way.”

Currently, teachers at Filbert street and other facilities have no desks or offices. Siegal said that separating office and instructional space makes it hard on teachers and students alike.

“The opponents to the project are obviously not educators,” Siegal said.

The study however, was based on what McCarthy called “usable space” only, which is not the focus of project architect Jennifer Devin’s proposed design.

“We are not packing in offices here. We’re creating a campus,” she said. “The idea is to create a sustainable building with minimal environmental impact that is close to public transportation.”

Devlin’s design emphasizes the learning experience between classes — mingling and socializing between students. It will also optimize natural light, which she said helps students learn according to recent studies.

“The design will incorporate Filbert Street and seven other locations into one building, and provide counseling and space for student/teacher meetings and tutorials.”

State Senator Leland Yee has criticized the campus’ design from the beginning, an opinion that Trustee Rodel Rodis attributed to campaign contributions.

“Just before the elections in Nov. 2006,” Rodis said, “the bond oversight committee found that $20,000 came from individuals and families connected to Justice Investors, including a Juctice Investors check in the amount of $3,500.”

The Filbert Street building, where most classes are currently held, has child-sized toilets in its restrooms.

Alan Wong, a former board member for 30 years said,

“Chinatown really needs this campus,” said Alan Wong, who served 30 years on the board of trustees. “Classes have been held in churches and grade schools, which are all overtaxed.  Students need to have clean classes and restrooms.  It needs to be centralized so students can come in, go to classes, then go to work.”

“Once a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) is completed and published, the board of trustees will hold a public hearing to receive comments from all interested parties,” Barclay said.

The DEIR report came out May 14, and the public will have 60 days from that date to comment. The date for a public meeting has not yet been set.

Devlin and Barclay stressed the design is only a proposal and balancing students’ needs and community agreement is City College’s goal.

Board of trustees Vice President Julio Ramos said that after the final EIR is certified, the board will decide whether or not it will exempt the college district from City and County of San Francisco land use laws. Exemption requires a 5-2 vote.

“I want more communication with the community to agree on what kind of structure we want,” Ramos said. “Politically there is too much against it, very possibly it won’t be a 17-story building.”

 “I would like to see the board act for the needs of the students,” Alan Wong said. “Their responsibility is to students’ educational needs.”

e-mail:mvallejo@theguardsman.com

PROBLEM STUDENTS ON WATCH LIST
BY RICHARD STERN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The American government keeps a watch list of possible security threats and City College has a watch list of students who are possible disciplinary problems.

“This is not like the Department of Homeland Security’s watch list,” Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. said. “Our list, which has been in existence since before I arrived here nine years ago, consists of students that have experienced a range of difficulties on campus and have come to our attention.”

Those “difficulties” are outlined in City College’s Rules of Student Conduct which can be found in the college catalog. They range from disruptive behavior and plagiarism to physical threats -- up to and including physical violence.

If a student is found to have broken any of the Rules of Student Conduct, the issue is brought to the attention of Ted Alfaro, director of the Office of Advocacy, Rights & Responsibilities.

Alfaro performs a “thorough investigation” prior to meeting with the student. “Everyone receives due process,” Alfaro said. “Our investigation will generate a file on the student and the incident.”

In the meeting with Alfaro, the student is given the opportunity to respond to the allegations leveled against him/her. “The student is then on the watch list for a semester and if there are no further incidents or complaints they are removed and that file will be destroyed upon their graduation,” Alfaro added.

Students on the list can receive one of several levels of discipline from a written or verbal warning, to suspension for a semester, to, in severe cases, expulsion. “We want students to succeed,” Alfaro said. “If a student has a problem we try to get them help.”

“More than 95 percent of the students that we meet with continue their education at City College and never have another incident,” Chancellor Day said.

“We have approximately 30-35 students who we are on the watch list and of those 20-25 have had problems with other people on campus. But that is 35 incidents out of a total student population of 100,000 individuals,” Alfaro said. “So the number is very small, but we take these situations very seriously. Our campuses are very safe.”

e-mail:news@theguardsman.com

ACTIVISTS SPEAK AGAINST VIOLENCE, HOMOPHOBIA
BY ALLEN CONKLE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence bless attendees at the QRC's anti-violence rally. ANNABELLE DAY / GUARDSMAN

On April 25, members of Leslie Simon’s IDST 54 class, Politics of Sexual Violence, and The Queer Resource Center organized an Anti-Violence Rally, Ritual and Consciousness Raising Discussion to increase awareness of violence against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community.

Their intent was to create a safe space on campus and open dialogues about homophobic violence. The event gained resonance in light of recent events of homophobia and threats at City College’s Ocean Campus along with the tragic events at Virginia Tech.

While the event specified violence against LGBTQ individuals, the participants were diverse and the message was universal: violence and bullying are just unacceptable.

Fourteen students and faculty attended a roundtable session on accepting diversity, fighting trans-phobia, being aware of potential campus violence and taking action when incidents arise.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence performed glittery blessings and made speeches seeking to promote peace and commitment to protecting all members of the campus community.

Participants included Pablo Espinoza of Community United Against Violence, Native American Study Organization, and The Noah Project.

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED
The Queer Resource Center can be reached at (415) 452-5723 or visited at Student Union Room 202.

e-mail:news@theguardsman.com

With the recent tragedy of last month’s Virginia Tech shooting, in which a college student shot and killed 32 people on campus and then himself, America’s attention has now turned to the issue of both the mental and physical health of college students.

More and more students find themselves in need of therapy or some form of psychological counseling, but do not have adequate health insurance to pay for it. Likewise, finding affordable and adequate health insurance is an expensive and difficult problem, which forces students to make costly decisions regarding their own lives.

Most students must choose between looking for a job that offers health insurance or simply go without.

“As a single dependent, it’s hard to get health insurance,” City College student Cindy Lambert said. “There aren’t a lot of jobs around that offer any health insurance. If you’re working at a minimum wage job, you are not going to be able to afford it.”

As of now, City College does not offer any form of health insurance to its students. They do offer a variety of health services to students for $15 a semester, including emergency care, first aid, blood screenings and referrals to hospitals. The health center also offers psychiatric counseling, though this service is limited.

“For the amount of expenses that students pay, it is amazing the kind of care they can get here,” Health Center Director Sunny Clark said.

Though the health center does offer a variety of sources at a low cost, even Clark agrees that there is a need for health insurance.

“Of course it would be advisable for students to have health insurance,” Clark said. “Over the years I have made efforts to get it, but no company will give it to us unless every student would have it. This would be difficult because the board of trustees would never force every student to pay for it, and it would be too difficult to collect the money up front from everyone.”

Skyline College in San Mateo, which offers similar health services as City College, also looked into acquiring a health insurance plan for its students, but so far has been unsuccessful.

“It’s been an ongoing battle,” said Skyline’s nurse Lisa Marlowe. “I think the problem is that it’s just a money thing.”

San Francisco State University charges $103 per semester for its health care, but it includes access to a doctor, a psychiatrist, a nutritionist and x-rays. SF State also offers a student health insurance plan, but the cost is not much less than standard private insurance.

In the meantime, it appears City College students will have to go without health insurance until the college is able to offer it.

“I think it would be a really good thing for a lot of people at this school,” City College student Joey Stutter said. “It would be a really complicated thing to do, because you can’t make people pay for it who already have it and there is also the issue of how much it would cost everyone. But if they could find a way to work it out, it could definitely benefit a lot of students.”

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED
For more information, call Student Health Services at (415) 239-3110.

e-mail:news@theguardsman.com

EMERGENCY MEETING FOCUSES ON CAMPUS THREAT RESPONSE
BY DAVID CARINI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The day after the Virginia Tech shootings of April 16, Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. sent out a memo stating he would hold an emergency meeting to discuss the preparedness of City College in a similar situation.

A gathering of over 25 college officials — representatives of shared governance, the collective bargaining and the administration — concentrated on a variety of prevention and response techniques to ensure the safety of the college community.

First is the need to develop an alert system: “It will allow us to give an immediate warning to the entire campus, which is critical in an emergency,” Chancellor Day said. Ideas include mass texting and e-mailing, telephones in classrooms and video cameras. A campus-wide wireless PA system, similar to the one in the Rosenberg Library, will also be installed as soon as possible.

Any student can e-mail Campus Police at police@ccsf.edu or call 239-3200, which yields a quicker response time than the remote CHP dispatch center that is used when dialing 911.

“In hindsight, communication is never perfect,” said Peter Goldstein, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration. “Optimizing a speedy response time is crucial.” It took Virginia Tech and Blacksburg police five minutes to break into the door of Norris Hall while Seung-Hui Cho unloaded the clip of his pistol.

In addition, the representatives addressed not only the need to train faculty, staff, and administration to judge student behavior, but also an intervention method if a student shows malicious intent.

“It’s almost impossible to prepare for the unexpected, and I’m not sure what the school can do to make me feel safer,” said graphic communications student Dilan MacHardy.

Dr. Mark Robinson, vice chancellor of student development, created a one-page document explaining how to handle suspicious behavior. It lists what to do, whom to call and what resources are available.

After Hurricane Katrina, City College developed an emergency response plan to natural disasters, but it’s still under review by the committee on public safety. A draft written by Campus Police Chief Carl S. Koehler, was revamped on April 20 to include Virginia Tech-type incidents. Koehler was not available for comment.

Koehler will be sending a request for a proposal to several consulting firms, who will submit recommendations to City College on an emergency action plan by mid-June.

The 25 representatives will meet again on May 18 at 2 p.m. in the chancellor’s office to further discuss and implement strategies to reduce City College’s vulnerability.

If you notice any suspicious activity

What you should do:
If you notice any suspicious activity or a crime being committed on any campus, call campus police immediately.
From an off-campus phone, dial: (415) 239-3200
From a campus phone, dial: 3200
From a campus pay phone, dial: #1
Also, anyone unable to call but with computer access could e-mail a message to: police@ccsf.edu
Campus police and security officers are available to respond to an emergency on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also note that it is best to call them directly for a quick response, rather than dialing 911.

What you should do if you notice any disruptive behavior:
Anyone witnessing/observing disruptive behavior should notify a CCSF employee who will then call the campus police or the Dean of Student Affairs office at (415) 239-3145.
Any employee witnessing/observing disruptive behavior should contact the Dean of Student Affairs office and document the behavior at (415) 239-3145.
If in any situation you feel the persons behavior is a serious threat to yourself or others, please call Campus police at 239-3200 immediately.
If there is an emergency on campus, officials will communicate information as quickly as possible via e-mail; phone mail, as soon as we can bring in the new wireless system, via public announcement.
Students, please make sure you update your records by going to your student records online at www.ccsf.edu so we can contact you in an emergency.
We are committed to providing a safe learning environment and appreciate your support in the effort.

e-mail:newseditor@theguardsman.com

CONFLICTING NEEDS AND NOT ENOUGH SPACE
BY BRITTE MARSH
STAFF WRITER

The City College tutoring program, which shares space with numerous academic departments, knows claustrophobia and won’t give up space without a fight.

The African-American Scholastic Programs is relocating from its decrepit bungalow to cramped and poorly ventilated quarters on the second floor of Rosenberg Library. AASP now occupies space held by faculty development programs, a computer lab, and the tutoring program.

On May 7, tutors and students delivered a petition with over 160 signatures to the administration. The petition outlines the center’s previous problems –– limited space, poor circulation, student noise, and safety hazards –– has been exacerbated by AASP’s expansion. Dr. Mark Robinson, Vice Chancellor of Student Development, received the petition. The Guardsman, City Currents, Associated Students, and faculty also received copies.

“If they (AASP) want to use the computer lab, that’s OK,” said Hilde Romero, a Spanish tutor. “What’s causing the negative impact is the table space they took and we want it back.”

Romero said that one table for each subject is allowed in the tutoring space and that four or five tables are now gone. Several subjects must accommodate by sharing one table.

“We’re loud speaking in Spanish,” said Romero. “And the next table is speaking Chinese. It can be very chaotic. One student came up to me and said she couldn’t concentrate with all of the noise.”

A student fainting on the premises exemplified health and safety issues previously addressed by the center.

“The room was so crowded, we struggled to move tables out of the way to give her room to breathe,” the petition read. “This incident allowed us to see the limited space we have to act in in case of emergency.”

The program’s issues were recently discussed at an AS meeting; ten student officers signed the petition.

Relocation plans for the tutoring program have yet to be made.

“We won’t complain during the summer,” Romero said. “But for now, finals are around the corner. We’ll sacrifice, but they must also sacrifice.”

e-mail:bmarsh@theguardsman.com

SOCCER TEAM FORCED TO REMAIN HOMELESS
BY JOSE GUTIERREZ
EDITOR

On a recent Wednesday afternoon on the football field, the soccer team took practice as the track team ran laps around them and a few of the guys from the baseball team were throwing warm-up between both teams.This congestion is what the athletic department has to suffer through due to construction.

The soccer field had to be removed to make way for the forthcoming Wellness Center. Plans are in effect to build a practice soccer field where the current Childcare Center and 300 series bungalows are.

“I could not care less about a practice field,” said men’s soccer coach Adam Lucarelli. “When will the men’s and women’s soccer teams be able to play and practice on a regular soccer field day in and day out like every other team in California?”

The field would not be regulation, which means the Rams would still have to play their home games at Balboa Park. For the field to be regulation, the hillside next to the site would have to be cut into and retaining walls would have to be built meaning the cost would rise significantly.

“The cost varies, we’re still discussing the dimensions,” said women’s Athletic Director Peg Grady.

This upcoming season would be the third that the men’s team would be without a soccer field. The women’s team, which has only been in existence for two seasons, hasn’t known what it’s like to have a soccer field on campus.

There have also been talks to have Balboa Park turfed and making it the permanent home of the Rams. The process, though would be a complicated one. City College would have to work on the issue with the Parks and Rec. Department.

“It’s such an advantage to use the surface you’re playing on,” Lucarelli said. “It’s a wonder how we can compete.”

The soccer program is forced to play the waiting game.

e-mail:sports@theguardsman.com

ENGRAVED, PAINTED AZTEC CALENDAR TO BE COMPLETED FOR THE MISSION CAMPUS
BY DAVID ANDERSON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Aztec panels on display with information to be used to complete new one on Mission Campus. ALEX LUTHI / GUARDSMAN

A 27-foot hand-engraved and painted Aztec calendar made of 650 ceramic tiles will greet visitors when City College’s new Mission Campus opens this fall.

Artists Alex Garza and Carlos Valenzuela were commissioned to create the calendar’s tiles at the April 26 board of trustees meeting.

“I am proud of the college for approving this project,” said project advisor Mazatzin Asasacosta, “My mission is not only to oversee the project, but to also insure the calendar’s culture integrity.”

All the ceramic tiles will be engraved, painted and glazed by the artists. Ceramic was chosen because it is not only an incredibly long-lasting material but it is also natural.

“Ceramic is so durable that it is used in spaceships because it can withstand the heat, but it also comes from the earth, which is very important,” Asasacosta said.

An information display will accompany the calendar so visitors will be able to learn about the calendar and how it works. Additionally, the display will show visitors how to locate their birthday.

Edgar Torres, chair of the Latin American and Latino/a Studies department, says the calendar will be another significant work of art for the college, like the Diego Rivera Mural and the Olmstead Mural. He also hopes to have the college offer a weekend non-credit class teaching how to use the calendar.

“The calendar will draw a lot of interest to the Mission and the college,” Torres said. “Hopefully, it will even attract tourists who come to San Francisco.”

The original Aztec calendar was carved in the Valley of Mexico, outside Mexico City, after about 3,500 years of Aztec culture. Asasacosta says today it is still considered the most precise calendar used by mankind.

Work has already begun on the calendar and should be completed by late July or early August. The new Mission campus is located at 1125 Valencia St.

e-mail:sports@theguardsman.com

VOICE OF NEW STUDENT TRUSTEE WILL REPRESENT AT CITY COLLEGE
BY MARIA UMANZOR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Diana Muñoz

Newly elected City College Student Trustee, Diana Muñoz Villanueva reveals her unstable and educational journey to City College.

Born in Guanajuato, México Muñoz, at 14, came to Los Angeles in June 7, 2001, looking for better opportunities and to join her mother.

“I was my dad’s boy,” Muñoz said. “It was hard to separate from my dad and adapt to my mom’s new system.”

She not only had to adapt to her mom, but a new school and Los Angeles’s streets.

“Living in downtown L.A. was hard, you could see people doing and selling drugs on the streets,” she said.

Muñoz went to Belmont High School and graduated with honors in 2005. The school has a newcomer system, classes are taught in English and Spanish. After graduating, she got accepted to U.C. Berkeley, but didn‘t attend.

“Emotionally I wasn’t ready to move again,” Muñoz said.

Instead she attended one semester at Glendale Community College and did community service.

“I volunteered with abused children at YMCA, ” Muñoz said.

She moved to San Francisco and enrolled at in Spring 2006 majoring in industrial engineering. Two semesters later, Muñoz got a job as a peer advisor the Latino Services Network where she got involved with students.

“She’s a hard worker and that’s what we need of a Student Trustee,” said Rodrigo Alfaro, a three-year student and Muñoz friend.

“City College is a college of minorities and as a Hispanic female immigrant I want every minority to be represented. I feel fortunate to be able to speak out for them,” Muños said. “¡Qué viva la raza!”

e-mail:newseditor@theguardsman.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CAMPUS' BIKE TO DWORK DAY FUN

SF BIKE COALITION

On Thursday May 17, 2007, tens of thousands of residents in the Bay Area will put their car keys aside, grab their helmets, and hop on bicycles to pedal to work on Bike to Work Day. Ocean campus will have an energizer station at Ram Plaza from 8 to 10 am with goodies, coffee, and morning munchies for all faculty, staff, and students who stop by on their bikes. If you have wanted to reduce your carbon footprint (to borrow that recent ubiquitous phrase), multitask by exercising while also commuting to work, lower your gasoline spending, or drop some pounds, this is your chance to give cycling a try!

The Ocean campus has a group of “bike buddies” available to contact for tips or support if commuting by bike is new to you: Richard Compean or Tore Langmo (English), Craig Persiko (Computer Science), and Erika Delacorte, Ann Dennehy, Debbie Levy, Curt Sanford, Lia Smith, or Jana Zanetto (ESL). Or if semester end has you too tired to pedal, contact one of them to plan to bike to Fall Flex Day (and onward!) instead…and say goodbye to cruising for a campus parking space!

SPACE CRUNCH FOR TWO PROGRAMS:

The purpose of this letter is to formally bring to your attention a serious problem we have at the learning center involving, and affecting, all tutors and a great volume of students who need and use our services. The problem originates mainly with the expansion of the offices used for the African American Scholastic Program, which caused a great reduction in space for the rest of the Tutoring Program at the Learning Center.

All tutors working at the learning center and all students who take advantage of these services know the following facts from personal experience:

1. The space has always been tight and limited; 2. Air circulation is very poor because the ventilation system does not work; and 3. The volume of students seeking tutoring is great and even overwhelming during midterms and finals, forcing us to use all space available and therefore compromising our safety.

These three things were already an issue before the expansion of the African American Scholastic Program. We have seen and experienced first hand the risks of working in this type of environment when just a few days ago we had a student who literally fainted and passed out. The room was so crowced we struggled to move tables out of the way to give her room to breathe. This incident allowed us to see the limited space we have to act iun case of any emergency. However, since the expansion took place we have experienced a greater negative impact in our tutoring environment. The space is onw much tighter than usual. not just too tight and crowded for our personal preference, but for our own safety.

Due to the lack of space available we now have several different subjects sharing one same table for tutoring, which is chaotic to say the least. The Tutoring Program is a leanring tool students need and use on a daily basis without exception. It not only helps the students improve their performance but it also contributes to theLearning Center, qualifying it for more funding with each student’s attendance. Therefore, it is imperative that we keep the environment not just educationally beneficial but safe for all involved.

We feel we should have been told specifically the consequences this expansion was going to have in our Tutoring Program but, such details were not discussed with us. For that reason we respectfully ask that you consider this petition and look into this matter as soon as possible. Attached is a list of names of the students who voluntarily support this petition and would like to see something done about it.

Sincerely,
Students at CCSF

REMINDER: US POSTAGE HAS GONE UP TO 41 CENTS

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

Postage stamps went up 2 cents, to a whopping 41 cents on May 14.

Howvever, the ever-increasing cost of using the U.S. mail can now be offset by purchasing a clever new invention, marketed by the U.S. Postal Service, called “Forever Stamps.”

They can be purchased at the 41 cent cost and used indefinitely. Clever?