PLAYBOY kids

Some students at Mission High School have a right to be in arms over a recent decision handed down by the San Francisco Unified School District, who chose to nullify a prestigious national award given to the school's newspaper.

Instead of being commended for their efforts, the students who write for the West Wing newspaper, and attend the poorest high school in the city, have been denied the $5,000 that comes with the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award. The basis for the denial is the award comes from the Playboy Foundation, associated with the magazine.

The district said accepting the award from a foundation representing "an adult magazine and adult products" would violate their mission. An interesting stand to take from a school district who issues condoms to high school students.

Katherine Swan, the former faculty advisor of the newspaper, said she will be going to New York to receive the award despite the district's decision. The $5,000 she will receive will probably go to a scholarship fund for journalism students. Swan is currently a journalism teacher at Lowell High. I wonder what the ramifications might have been had Swan taught at Mission High and made the same decision.

The district knows this school needs the money and I'm willing to bet the parents of these kids know the same. The students who attend Mission High are the most financially strapped students in the city.

The issue; however, is not the financial status of Mission High. The issue is the district was worried about the message it would send to its students had it decided to accept the award.

What I'm wondering is what message that really is. Do the members of the district board really believe that, upon accepting this award these students would run out and by this month's issue of Playboy? Or perhaps they felt as though these kids have no idea that a magazine named Playboy exists and the acceptance of the award would open their eyes to a whole new world of pornography.

While we're on the subject of children and their exposure to the "adult" world of pornography, it seems appropriate to mention a recent controversy involving on-line access to porn in San Jose public libraries.

City Councilwoman Pat Dando proposed to use filtering software on computers used by children and to designate certain computers as "adult-only." Her justification was the need to provide "a safe place" for children to come to after school. Apparently, the public libraries in San Jose have become a safe haven for those "dangerous" teenagers surfing the net for the next naked picture of Pamala Lee.

What Dando fails to understand is that a "safe place" for children to learn does not comprise of a censored environment established by political fatheads who are worried about what kids are doing in our public libraries. On the contrary, perhaps we should applaud those students who are committed to spending any time in our libraries at all.

I understand that children are children and certain rules and regulations are necessary for their safety, but I think the issue lies in the distinction between what is safe and unsafe and who determines that. Do I believe that accepting an award from a foundation that promotes "adult themes and adult products" is detrimental to those students who earned it? No I do not.

Do I believe that there is a serious danger of children attending our public libraries and downloading porn on the internet? I don't think so. Are there not more serious issues facing high school students today? Let's get the guns and drugs out of our schools before we ban on-line access.

Students Turn the Table on Grades: Teachers on the Block

Compiled By Shaunn CartwrightGuardsman Opinion EditorHere's some of what you've been saying about your teachers at the Teacher Review Web site. I've broken it up into three categories: teachers with great reviews, teachers with mixed reviews, and teachers with bad reviews.

You can also review Chancellor Del Anderson. Here's what one African-American studies student said about Anderson, who has a 0.50 grade, with three reviews in: "The fact that she thinks all City College students are incompetent and uninvolved shows how afraid she is to show her face after over a year of hibernation in her chancellor cave. WAKE UP DEL! We outnumber you 85,000 to one."

Ulf Wostner, mathematics -- 4.0, eight excellent reviews:

"He is very knowledgeable in this field ... a very student oriented person. Helps students to understand material and easy to approach for questions. He is the instructor to take if a student really wants to learn." Computer science major.

"Can't go wrong with this one! He knows his stuff and he knows how to put it across. very organized-I learned a lot." Computer science major.

Cynthia E. Dewar, speech communications -- 4.0, four excellent reviews:

"Ms Dewar is a brilliant instructor. She loves teaching and her students. She explains things in a way that all can understand. Her tests are fair and her assignments are practical." Astronomy major.

"She is very encouraging, thoughtful and listens well. By the way, you don't have to have a strong command of English to do well with her." Liberal studies major.

Sue Homer, political science -- 4.0, four excellent reviews:

"She's the bomb! Very innovative, informed, sensitive, motivated, thoughtful and fair." Social work major.

"She will make time to insure the success and learning process of students. She will challenge your mind and force you to back your opinions with reason instead of 'just' emotion. She has a great sense of humor and loves poptarts!!!!" Political science major.

The following are teachers who received mixed reviews.

Abbas Moghtanei, computer science -- 2.75, eight reviews ranging from excellent (5) to incompetent (1):

"I found Mr. Mogthanei is one of the best CS teachers in CCSF. He explains everything clearly; if you don't understand, you can ask him and he will help you." Computer science major.

"Lazy, disorganized, arrogant and stubborn ... I don't even know why I pay $49 to listen to his crap, I should have taken that money to pay for my book and read it at home." Computer science major.

"He's qualified subject wise but receives an 'F' for presentation and organization." Computer science major.

Gary Ling, mathematics -- 2.57, 14 reviews ranging from excellent (9) to incompetent (5):

"I think this is the worst teacher I ever had. He puts you down and everytime he explains something he has that evil smile." Computer science major.

"Mr. Ling is really a brilliant genius ... there is no reason that I don't admire him." Engineering major.

"Mr. Ling may be brilliant but he is a frustrated and sadistic megalomaniac," Mathematics major.

And lastly, the reviews for teachers with a failing GPA.

Edwin L. Duckworth, astronomy -- 0.25, eight reviews ranging from incompetent (6) to below average (2):

"In the classroom, he is demeaning, pedantic, and not to mention extremely dull. His wit belongs to a cheap fool." English major.

"This guy is obnoxious. He is rude and arrogant and makes a difficult class even more confusing. He will make anyone who has the nerve to ask him a question the butt of a joke. Your self esteem may suffer from taking this class."

"This guy is a total jerk. He never smiles, doesn't like questions, sleeps during films, and many other lame things that tenured instructors have the privilege of." Education major.

Daniel Curzon-Brown, English -- 0.91, 11 reviews ranging from incompetent (5) to excellent (1):

"Please do not take his classes. He told us that he purposely is rude, obnoxious, and condescending so his class size remains small (and he hinted so that there are less minorities)." American studies major.

"He treats his students as lesser people and has no interest in teaching. He should begin his class with the comment 'I am an a**hole, and if you have a problem with a**holes, you should drop the class.' This would be sound advice." Psychology major.

So now what do you have to say about your instructor?

Email Letters to the Editor : "opinions97@hotmail.com"