News
BOARD CLOSER TO DECIDING FATE OF CHINATOWN CAMPUS
BY STEPHANIE RICE
EDITOR
MICHAEL P. SMITH / GUARDSMAN |
The view from the 18th floor of the San Francisco Hilton hotel. The hotel says this view will be obscured if the proposed City College Chinatown campus high-rise gets built. After months of debate over a controversial 16-story high-rise proposal that divided the community, City College is considering other options for the new Chinatown/North Beach campus.
The consulting firm hired by the district, EIP Consultants, is finalizing a report on the environmental impact of several proposed designs, including the high-rise concept and smaller-scale, multisite alternatives.
“Everybody’s agreed that we want this thing built,” Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. said. “We’re looking at different options.”
EIP Consultants, which has a $310,647 contract with City College, will submit the final environmental impact report to the board of trustees later this month. Trustees will vote on the EIR as well as a design recommended from the chancellor’s office on Sept. 27.
At the same meeting, the board will vote on exempting the college from city planning codes. No designs being considered comply with city ordinance, so without exemption, the college would have to seek approval from the city.
“The time it would take to do all of that, in my opinion, would cause such a significant delay that it might jeopardize the future of state funding,” Day said.
Five of the seven trustees must vote for the exemption to approve it.
Dean of Chinatown/North Beach campus Joanne Low said she hopes the trustees will support the exemption. She favors the high-rise design, and said many students do also.
“It’s a good option because everything is in one location,” Low said. “I think for the students, it’s easier.”
Low added that she is concerned about students, especially older adults, having to leave college property to travel between buildings.
Mei Zhen Ma, a Chinatown/North Beach student council member, spoke before the trustees last semester to urge their support of the new campus. Ma described the dilapidated state of the current campus and an incident where she was hit in the head with a piece of the crumbling ceiling while sitting in class.
Although strong support for the high-rise campus comes from Chinese for Affirmative Action and Friends of Educational Opportunities in Chinatown, its design has been opposed by the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, a neighborhood association; the adjacent Hilton Hotel; and politicians, such as Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin and state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco.
Julio Ramos, vice president of the board of trustees, fears going forward with the high-rise proposal could bring legal action against the district, delaying construction.
“I’m living in political reality,” Ramos said. “The 16-story building is going to meet a lot of opposition.”
Board members recently received a letter from a law firm representing the Hilton Hotel, which criticized the EIR process and threatened legal action, Ramos said.
“If we can get a settlement with the two-story concept with no lawsuit, that’s what I’m going to push for,” trustee John Rizzo said. “But lawsuits can occur with any design if the EIR isn’t done right. We need to focus our attention on the EIR process.”
Much of the controversy stems from the way the high-rise campus proposal was introduced to the community. Originally, the college pitched a low-rise design, but switched to a 16-story building design.
“They had one concept a few years ago, and then they just kind of sprung a new concept up on the community,” said Rizzo, who was not on the board at the time. “That was a mistake I think.”
Ramos agreed that the college made mistakes with the community.
“We’ll deliver a project at hell or high water,” he said. “Something needs to be completed.”
e-mail: newseditor@theguardsman.com
CHIEF RESIGNS OVER NO GUN POLICY
BY DESMOND MILLER
EDITOR
|
Former chief Koehler Whether or not to arm the City College Police force has been an ongoing battle for Police Chief Carl Koehler. After last year’s massacre at Virginia Tech and a student’s in-class threats to kill his classmates last semester, the issue came to a head.
At a board of trustees meeting last May Chief Koehler came to the board and asked them to reconsider not arming the police on campus. The board stood firm and did not rescind the policy.
In response, Koehler resigned as chief of police effective June 22.
Koehler was not available for comment and all attempts to contact him have failed.
Interim Chief of Police Kenneth Baccatti accepted the position on June 23, and his first day in his new role was June 25.
“I have been a member of the police force for over 26 years,” Baccatti said. “I acted as the interim police chief before Chief Koehler took the job, so Chancellor Day asked me to step in again. Having done the job before, I am comfortable handling (everything) till a new chief is selected.”
Baccatti knows from experience that the selection process takes time and he is eager to get back to his other duties.
“I don’t know how long I am going to be in this position,” Baccatti said. “The City College District has a number of candidates it is looking at and when they choose one, I will go back to being a sergeant. I did not put my hat into the ring. I am not looking to be the permanent chief of police.”
The acting chief did not comment on City College’s policy on not arming officers; he said he is just interested in maintaining status quo until a new chief is appointed.
e-mail: newseditor@theguardsman.com
NEW WEB SITE INITIATIVE ON BALLOT FOR 2008
BY MICHELLE BAGUIO
EDITOR
Californians for Improving Community College opened a new Web site, the California Community College Initiative on June 28, 2007 to announce publicly the new measure which will be voted on next year's Feb. 5 ballot.
The initiative makes a commitment to community colleges, ensuring they receive adequate and stable funding. It guarantees a stable system of independent public community college districts, sets fees at $15 per unit and limits future fee increases to no more than the cost of living.
“The Web site is very important for the campaign since it serves as window into the world of community college life, as well as a central information point for a statewide campaign,” Jennifer Wonnacott, the Web site's press aide, said.
“It lets us highlight how important this initiative is to making sure every Californian has a chance to go to college.”
The Web site will be continually updated with new stories, interesting facts about famous alumni and information about unique programs at the colleges and student success stories, as well as frequent updates to encourage revisiting the site.
“We also feature a video with a student from Sacramento City College Campaign providing an overview of the initiative,” Wonnacott said.
“Campaign Web sites tend to be pretty stagnant and we wanted to do something different. We wanted to create a site that supporters would routinely visit and be inclined to send to their family and friends.”
The Web site also offers profiles of students and activities from some of California's 109 community colleges.
“Many people are just starting to learn about the initiative but the California Community College Initiative has qualified for placement on the Feb. 5, 2008 statewide ballot,” Wonnacott said.
“It is important that students, faculty and others from community colleges spread the word about the initiative and talk about their experiences with community college so voters truly understand what impact community colleges have.”
e-mail: online@theguardsman.com
COUNSELORS ARE ON HAND TO HELP
BY
MARIANA GONZALEZ
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
|
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION ANNABELLE DAY / GUARDSMANBoosting security on campus is one major issue that the college is faced with after the Virginia Tech Shootings last year and the campus incident last semester involving a student’s violent threats in the classroom.
With the Board of Trustees of City College’s firm no-gun policy for the City College police force, other options must be considered and before an individual's problems affect the lives of his or her classmates, they must be treated.
The City College Student Health Center provides students with a variety of psychological services. They offer a staff of trained, licensed mental health professionals, interns, psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers.
Students who enter the Health Center and show that they pose harm to themselves or others can be involuntarily transferred to a county mental health institution under the 5150 act. This act only allows nurse practitioners, doctors, therapists, and campus police to admit these students into hospitalization, said health department chair Sunny Clark.
“Not frequently do the campus police or the Health Center have to transfer students to county mental health institutions,” Clark said.
They go through specific training where they learn how to handle students who are psychologically distraught. If they are transferred to a county mental health institution, they are then held there for at least 72 hours, depending on their behavior.
“In the classroom setting, types of procedures for dealing with troubled students vary according to the situation,” said Clark. “If the student is violent, the police should be alerted. For student’s rights and disabilities, Dean Santos should be called. Students who are mentally troubled should be escorted to the Student Health Center.”
Other resources for milder cases like these are also available for City College students.
“The Queer Resource Center, located in the Student Union, offers their support, guidance and a vast amount of psychological resources that they can refer their students to,” said QRC employee Allen Conkle.
In a time when students feel particularly vulnerable, it can be safe to say that places are available on campus to receive treatment or, simply, to talk to someone.
e-mail:mgonzalez@theguardsman.com
CONGRESS PUSHES FOR $18 BILLION FINANCIAL AID BILL TO HELP STUDENTS
BY STEPHANIE RICE
EDITOR
MICHAEL P. SMITH / GUARDSMAN |
Students gather at Financial Aid office in Cloud Hall to find ways to afford the cost of school. The U.S. House and Senate have each approved versions of a bill that would allocate $18 billion to federal financial aid programs, like the Pell Grant and Perkins Loan.
This fall, Congress will draft a final version that will go to the president for approval.
“This bill is a remarkable step forward in our efforts to help every qualified student go to college,” Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) said in a written statement.
However, City College administrators say the bill, titled the “College Cost Reduction Act of 2007,” establishes small programs that won’t benefit many students, and keeps requirements that prevent some students from receiving more aid.
“Some of the good things (in the bill) are not really good things,” said Sophia Toney, a financial aid senior magement assistant. “We have to have less programs and less stringent eligibility (requirements).”
Dean of Financial Aid Jorge Bell added that the rules requiring students under 24 to report their parents’ income when being evaluated for federal aid are too strict.
“There are 18-year olds who support themselves and they’re still not considered independent,” Bell said.
Both administrators said they will continue to work on streamlining the process and would like to see legislation to fund financial aid beyond the current congressional proposal.
“The government should invest in the future of this country,” Bell said. “Investing in financial aid is the best way to do that.”
Just down the hall, City College student John Nakabayashi stood in line to apply for financial aid for the first time.
Nakabayashi, who has attended City College for several years, applied for aid this semester after his friends encouraged him.
“They were pretty happy with how much they got,” Nakabayashi said.
Student Sharonda Westry was less happy with her financial aid package.
“It’s the government not funding students enough,” said Westry, who works full time and plans to take 14 credits this semester. “The dollars are going elsewhere.”
e-mail:mgutierrez@theguardsman.com
City College at Large
Call or e-mail David Carini with campus-wide news at: (415) 239-3446 or newseditor@theguardsman.com
Fort Mason Campus
ART 150B: Fine Art Intaglio Printmaking (# units; includes field trips): An intermediate and advanced level intaglio printmaking course, with individual and class projects, including multiple color plate printing, viscosity printing, chine colle, mezzotint, sugar lift, salt and soft ground. Class includes lecture, demonstration, studio practice and critiques. Prerequisite: ART 150A. Repeatable for a maximum of 9 units. Transfers to UC/CSU.
Evans Campus
TIBM 9559 - Build A Clone Computer (105 hrs.): This Business Machine Technology course will teach students step by step how to purchase, configure, maintain and test an IBM PC, including building it from the ground up, using component parts. Completion of ESLN 3700 is advised for this course.
Downtown Campus
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Preparation (25 hrs.): ESLA 3012 will help students develop essential test-taking techniques for TOEFL exams. Students will also have sample tests of Listening, Grammar, and Reading sections administered during the course. Completion of ESLN 3600 (Intermediate Low 6) is advised for this course.
Chinatown
CDEV 151. Introduction to Foster Parenting Lecture, (2 units): Students enrolled in CDEV 151 will explore the role of the foster parent, with emphasis on children's development from birth through adolescence, communication skills, sociological/psychological fostering issues and using cultural or community resources, as well as ways in which the foster parent can nurture the foster child. Transfers to CSU.