Volume 144, Issue #5
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Muddy water streamed down into the reservoir parking lot last Friday from the exposed earthen sides being pounded by the early October rain. As the soil eroded, weakening the reservoir’s infrastructure while making a mess in the process, one had to wonder how impoverished our school must be to allow this to happen when some strategic planting could eliminate this problem in the future. In reality City College is not strapped for cash. Over $3 million in bond money was dedicated to maintenance and development of the reservoir according to the District Bond Oversight Annual Report. Planting native plants on the sides of the reservoir would go a long way to literally greening the campus while addressing the problem of erosion. Such a project would cost a fraction of the money designated for reservoir improvements. Faculty members with extensive habitat restorations experience could head such a project and even develop it into a credit course. Many students want to be involved in hands-on field courses but only a few are offered each semester. The right mix of wildflowers and native shrubs would serve as an attractant to birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The trend to green the campus is already underway with Sedum being planted on the roof of the Child Development Center for insulation. The reservoir could be transformed into an ecologically diverse site, with more green and less concrete. e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com
HALLOWEEN IN THE CASTRO: San Franciscans will soon see exactly where the crowd will go to celebrate Halloween this year
No more Halloween in the Castro? What will people do? Were will they go? This is the question that many partygoers are asking themselves about Halloween this year. Of course of the bad things that have happened in past years during the Halloween celebration in San Francisco’s Castro District, but will having Halloween outside of the Castro cause more trouble? I think that it will. It’s a tradition that has been going on for years in San Francisco and now it is no more. On Halloween people are used to going down to the Castro for the biggest party in Bay Area so naturally this year I think that will not change. People are still going to go to the Castro, which will only cause more problems for city law enforcement because they don’t want to see the same thing that happened last year repeat itself. There were about 200,000 people that filled the streets of the Castro last year and nine of them were shot. But will stopping the street party stop the crime? No. Instead of having all of these people in one spot of the city they will be spread out making it a lot more difficult for police to catch the criminals. Halloween outside of the Castro will not be the same because it is something that people have been a accustomed to for many years now. City officials are doing this to try to prevent the crimes that were committed, but who says that because they aren't in the Castro that things will change. I’m not sure exactly what people will do or were they will go but it is something that the city really needs to prepare for. I am curious to see what exactly people do Halloween night and how the city will deal with it, if there is a similar outcome to last years Halloween celebration. e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com COUNSELOR'S ADVICE MAY BE INACCURATE
City College counselors -- they’re always there for you. At least some of them are. A lot of students receive conflicting information from different counselors and become confused by everything thrown at them. I’m sad to say that I was a victim of this. My targeted transfer date to UC Berkeley's mass communications program was Fall 2006. I did everything my counselors told me to do. I submitted my application on November 2005 only to find out a couple months later that I was denied admission. The next day, I scheduled an appointment with a UC counselor who was visiting City College. I found out I didn’t have my GE requirements completed, something my counselors neglected to tell me. I was devastated. My GPA was at its peak and I “supposedly” had all my classes nailed. It turns out I couldn't separate all the mixed-up information I was provided. It took another year to complete my GE. Allison Florero, a third-year student at City College, claims that not all counselors on campus are helpful. “They are all different. They give me broad answers to my questions, and any information I want to receive from them can be easily found on the CCSF Web site but some really help because of the Web sites they give, like assist.org,” Florero said. She also added that counselors usually refer to basic information that's easily found elsewhere. Bernadette Bonifacio, another City College student, had matriculation process problems with her counselor. “I was stuck with some lady counselor who had no idea what she was talking about. I didn't take her advice, but I took my brother's advice who was a recent transfer from CCSF at that time." Bonifacio's brother recommended the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum. “CCSF should re-evaluate counselors who do not have the correct information for students who are trying to transfer,” she added.
Do you thinkyou are getting the right advice from counselors when it comes to transfer and GE requirements?
BY JESSICA LUTHI It's amazing how things work out even if it seems like the worst is yet to come. You reach the end of the storm and you say to yourself, “It wasn't that bad.” But that only happens in a perfect world. We definitely don't live in a perfect world (or at least I don't). In today's day and age, it's hard to keep your wits about you. Every day is a struggle on the edge of insanity, especially for college students. It's a struggle to maintain a balance between academic prerequisites, deadlines, due dates and keeping a social life. Personally, I know that a full load of classes can be overwhelming. Like my freshman year in college: Staying up late to finish homework assigned a week ago. Cramming minutes before class for a quiz I knew about for weeks. Sleeping erratically because I can’t adjust to my new lifestyle. Missing class on Monday, because I partied too hard the night before. When I think about it, my life then is not much different from my lif e now. I think we all get to a point in our lives when we think about how our life has progressed over the years. When I think about it, not much has changed. I guess I'll always live my life, vicariously.
BY MICHELLE BAGUIO I am a music lover and that’s not a secret to people who know me. If you check my playlist, the genres of music are composed of rock, hip-hop, R&B, rap, metal and possibly every other genre that exists. But out of all the genres out there, hip-hop and rap music stand out the most to me. Mainstream hip-hop and rap music revolve around the topics of love, sex, drugs, money, violence, more sex and drugs ... Let’s take 50 Cent as an example. His songs, including “Candy Shop” and “Magic Stick,” are mainly about sex and promiscuity. Should kids hear such things? Kids these days don’t buy CDs anymore. They usually download from iTunes or LimeWºire, and majority of music downloaded is uncensored. It’s rare that parents would hear what their kids listen to because of MP3 players like iPods. A lot of parents don’t even listen to the same music as their kids. Their videos suck, too. Most of them are full of half-naked busty women with behinds big as mountains dancing like strippers and cars that look like they cost as much as three Bentleys. Seriously now — is that what life’s about? Showing people how ballin’ and fly you are because you smoke blunts and drive a vintage Impala with a female on the passenger side? I hang out with boys most of the time and I’m not ashamed to say, “Dang, that girl’s got booty!” — no I’m not a lesbian — whenever I watch P. Diddy’s videos. But I’m a different case. I’m old enough to know what’s wrong or right. What about the kids? It’s in their nature to be curious and to experiment. If they mess up their lives, the following generation is likely to get screwed up because their teacher is a crackhead or the president is corrupt which results in a sudden lack of petty cash in the oval office and instant makeover of his hoopty to a Jag. So what do I suggest we older folks do? I say we stop listening to hip-hop and rap. Haha. NOT!
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