Since 1949
Volume CXVIV, edition 2
February 24, 2010
Food Health Violations at FCC
“Everything I teach is within the scope of Health Science 1 on this campus.” - Dr. Bradley Lopez
by Emilio Gutierrez Rampage Reporter
Photo by Gabriella Ramirez
Brad Lopez listens to a question directed to him by one of the many news reporters who showed up at his scheduled public statement on Feb. 19.
Professor Accused by Andrew Veihmeyer Rampage Reporter
Inside:
A Fresno City College health instructor has been accused of making anti-homosexual remarks in the classroom and teaching personal views as facts. Dr. Bradley Lopez, a health instructor at FCC for 18 years, officially received two student grievances at the end of November 2009, which cited offensive content in lectures and offensive comments made to students. One Feb. 8, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to President Cynthia Azari of Fresno City College, accusing Lopez of presenting inaccurate facts and “highly discriminatory” views in his class that created a “hostile environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, among others.” During a Feb. 18 press
conference in front of the Health Sciences building, Lopez defended himself, stating there was no truth to the harassment charges. “Everything I teach is within the scope of Health Science 1 on this campus,” Lopez told the press. Lopez also emphasized that material in his class reinforces critical thinking, a point that his attorney, Charles Magill of Fresno, said was an important part of all college curricula. Magill spoke at the press conference alongside Lopez. “His responsibility is to teach his students about the facts, whether it’s politically correct or not,” Magill said. In response to reporters’ questions, Magill also said that the accusations being made against Lopez “are fruitless and without support.” No student came to LoSee “Prof” page 3
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Student grievance says Lopez teaches anti-gay views as facts
David Chenot voices his opinion to a local news reporter. “As far as I’m concerned, he attacked homosexuals directly.”
Students, instructors speak out by Jordan Hoover Rampage Reporter
of an individual’s free speech rights, and that Lopez, a college professor, had a right to express his opinions in class. FCC’s non-discrimination policy states: “Fresno City College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, age, or sexual orientation in any of its policies, procedures, or practices.” Dr. Wendell Stephenson, a
Both supporters and detractors of instructor Bradley Lopez have spoken out about reported teaching of anti-gay and religious beliefs in his Health Science 1 classes. His accusers claim the long-time health instructor created a hostile environment that made students feel unsafe. His defenders argue that this is a case See “Voices” page 2
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Fresno City College’s oncampus restaurants, which serve an average of 2,000 students a day, faced 11 health code violations after two December inspections by the Fresno County health department. The Rampage accessed the reports found on the Fresno Health Inspections Web site. They revealed that the Dec. 1, 2009 inspection by the Environmental Health Division cited both Campus Cafe and Pacific Cafe for violations. Among the worst of these were a pair of faulty refrigeration units, food debris build-up on fryers, and a blending unit with a direct connection to a sewer line. A mandatory re-inspection of both facilities, which was conducted one week after the initial inspection, cleared Pacific Cafe of all citations. But inspectors noted that two violations remained at Campus Cafe – the improper drainage of the blending unit and the faulty refrigeration unit, which had grown worse since the first inspection. Despite the repeat violations, county inspectors still ruled that the problems were not serious enough to warrant a shutdown. The Campus Cafe operates through an agreement between State Center Community College District and Taher Inc., a food service management company. Taher Inc. has maintained a 10-year partnership with SCCCD. On Feb. 17, Anita Foust, an employee of Taher Inc. and the campus’ food service director, granted The Rampage an impromptu visual inspection of the refrigeration units. The inspection showed that one of the Campus Cafe’s violations seemed to be corrected. All three walk-in units appeared to be in compliance with the California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law, or URFFL, which states that the maximum temperature for the safe storage of food is 41 degrees. During the county’s December inspections, one of the refrigeration units had internal temperatures as high as 52 degrees. “It’s old equipment, basiSee “Food Law” page 6
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