Volume 144, Issue #5
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Features
WILMA PANG WANTS TO BE YOUR MAYOR
BY MICHELLE STROMBERG
EDITOR
MICHELLE STROMBERG / GUARDSMAN |
City College instructor Wilma Pang is a mayoral candidate in San Francisco's November election.In Room 214 of the Creative Arts building, the blinds are swept open and morning sunlight streams through the windows. Wilma Pang sits on a small ebony bench in a room brimming with musical keyboards. Pang begins her instruction, except it is not on Chopin, but about San Francisco.
"Teaching people is more important than raising money,” she says.
It is hard to imagine this 66-year-old City College instructor, with a slight figure, gentle smile and delicate hands, running for mayor of San Francisco.
"Maybe people think I can't do anything because I'm an artist,” she says. “I believe in education, family values and the community. This is what the voters want."
As a music professor at City College for over 30 years, she knows the value of education. She was a single mother who she raised three daughters. She put herself through school when they left home and received a Bachelor of Arts and a master's in music education from San Francisco State University.
"Quality neighborhood schools for the young and affordable tuition for college students should be the top priority of every student in this city," she says.
As an Asian-American woman, Pang is aware of the challenge ahead of her.
"I want to encourage women and minorities to participate in democratic process, so that our voices will be heard," she says. "I know everybody thinks Gavin Newsom is going to win."
With 12 other candidates, nine of whom are also Democrats, and Newsom clearly the favorite, candidacy will not be Pang’s first head-on challenge.
When she ran for president of a Chinese benevolent association, Yeung Wo, in September, a last-minute candidate came in and defeated her.
The directors said the candidate "had the most experience" despite Mrs. Pang's qualifications.
"If I were selected,” she says, “my family association could have told the world that we are the champion of giving women a chance to lead. They didn't."
Pang is not bitter. She seems to understand what it takes to run for office.
Pang is very active in the Chinese community.” She is the founder and co-chair of A Better Chinatown Tomorrow. Some of ABCT’s programs included pioneering the daily Lion Dance at the height of SARS scare, the annual Jiaose -- or dumpling festival -- during Lunar New Year and the Zhongse festival coinciding with Dragon Boat Festival in June. ABCT is also working with RENEW SF, a North Beach-based organization to build a gate on Broadway and Grant.
Pang has most recently been teaching immigrants ESL and citizenship at the American Legion, Cathay Post.
"It is important to educate new immigrants to be citizens so that they will be able to fully participate in the democratic process," she says.
"Wisdom comes with age,” she says. “There are many ways to look at a problem and to find a better solution. My background (and) lifelong experience could make me a stronger leader."
The San Francisco mayoral election is Nov. 6, 2007. For more information about Wilma Pang, visit www.wilmapang.org.
e-mail: features@theguardsman.com
Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman, made this comment about the Internet: “The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.”
Web giants like MySpace, Facebook, ebay, Google and Google's YouTube are revolutionary. The Internet has made it possible for many different types of Web sites to co-exist no matter how many hits they receive a day.
Many City College students are on the Internet everyday doing some of their favorite things from shopping for the latest deal on their favorite brand of shoes, posting a comment on their friend's profile, checking their e-mail or even reading the latest rant from their favorite blogger.
The Guardsman staff polled 140 City College students to gleam which sites that are the most popular as well as uncommon.
It's apparent MySpace and Facebook own the social-networking scene. Of the students polled, 59 percent deemed these the most popular social-networking sites.
“I spend about 80 percent of my time online using MySpace and listening to music,” said Jessa Castaneda, a social work major. “I also like 'What The Buck.' It’s really funny. It’s a YouTube video blog.”
But popularity isn't everything: uniqueness matters.
Orkut, Downelink, Tagworld, 1up, Black Planet, Tribe and Tagged are preferred over the social-networking leaders by another 17.5 percent.
However, social networking isn't for everyone, as 18.5 percent said they don't participate in any kind of social-networking sites.
“I hate sites like MySpace,” said Lauren Torres, a psychology and nursing major. “My friends convinced me to try it and set up a profile for me. I didn't like it at all. I also tried out Facebook, and didn't like it either. I guess I'm more old-fashioned ... I just prefer talking over the telephone instead of online.”
The Web has so much to offer it can be hard to jump in. In the past decade, the amount of information available has grown exponentially, and the best place to start searching is with a search engine.
Google and Yahoo are the search engines of choice for 74.3 percent of the polled City College students. MSN, Ask and AOL were among the remainder.
Despite accuracy concerns, Wikipedia is now a common place for information on almost everything. In an Oct. 10 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, writer Ryan Kim wrote, “Wikipedia is among the 10 most visited Internet sites in the world.”
When it comes to research, 70 percent of students polled said that they use Wikipedia.
The Internet is not just for research and socializing. Many students find themselves listening to music, watching videos, sharing photos, shopping, chatting, reading the news or just browsing some of their favorite sites.
The Internet has come along way since its predecessor ARPANET, the government-developed project that allowed agencies to communicate and share information electronically in the late '50s and '60s. Now, the Internet is a multimedia dream. You can find videos, radio stations, motion graphics, Flash presentations and many other forms of multimedia.
YouTube is a favorite site to watch and share videos, according to 37 percent of the polled students. But YouTube is not the only place to find videos. There's also ebaum's World and Useless Junk.
The Internet makes it easy to download and upload favorite tunes. iTunes, Zune, Winamp, Pitchfork, Launch and AMV are some of the sites students use for music.
“I like AMV,” said English literature major Dijorn Cole. “I like it because it’s got forums, you can find music videos to download and chat with other people, including the creators of AMVs.”
Keeping up with the latest and hottest music is just as crucial as keeping up with current events. Of the students polled, 65.7 percent said they read the news from such sites as MSN, CNN, Yahoo, Google, SFGate.com or The Daily Rotten.
Lauren Torres said, “I go to CNN everyday. I love Larry King.”
The Internet is booming and shows no signs of slowing down. So, sign on!
(Thanks to Guardsman staffer Alex Luthi for contributing.)
e-mail: features@theguardsman.com