The Guardsman Trustees “Take the Heat” When There is None on Campus

Fallen tree crushes car on Ocean campus

By Ellen Yoshitsugu egiese@mail.ccsf.edu

Strong east winds toppled several trees on the Ocean campus on Tuesday March 21, 2023, crushing one parked car next to the science building and trapping several others behind the student union. There were no injuries.

As he left his last meeting of the day, Student Trustee Malinalli Villalobos noticed the fallen tree on Science Circle and went to see if any one was hurt, because, he said, “people sleep in their cars here.”

City College Police Chief Mario Vasquez blocked off the areas with cones and safety tape. In an email to the campus community, he urged everyone to be watchful in outdoor areas for the rest of the week and to report any leaning trees or safety hazards to campus police at 415-239-3200.

“The college is contracting with an Arborist to come to our Ocean Campus to identify trees that may need removal for safety purposes,” Vasquez said by email.

By Renée Bartlett-Webber rbartle8@mail.ccsf.edu

Trustee President Alan Wong called for an emergency board meeting that was held on March 14. “The heating issues at our City College campuses are unacceptable,” wrote Wong in his meeting announcement two days prior. Despite the short notice, many members of the public attended to express their distress over the lack of heat as well as other operational issues.

By the end of the meeting, the board approved the transfer of $2.6 million to a fund that will be used to fix the heat issues, and three other action items to help expedite contracts. While allocating the funds is a necessary step, it will still take months to repair the buildings that don’t have heat. Members of the public appealed to the board to address solutions that will help now.

“We have taken temporary measures. We have provided space heaters…

City College Mental Health Services Gears Up Faculty, Staff Amid Suicide Rate Spike

By Shawn Ree Canin scanin@mail.ccsf.edu

One person dies of suicide every 11 minutes in the United States, according to 2020 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

City College is taking measures to offer resources and assistance for mental health to its students as suicide rates grow nationwide. More than 50% of community college students exhibit indications of mental health disorders, according to a recent study.

Among the most impacted are students of

Additionally we have provided hand warmers, recognizing that it’s not a long-term fix but it is something that we can provide to give short-term comfort for our students and employees in the classroom,” said Chancellor David Martin.

Many of the 17 public commenters said that faculty were only provided two hand warmers in the beginning of the semester and that students didn’t have any. Some instructors didn’t receive a space heater

Heat, continued on page 3 color, LGBTQ+, veterans, and those from low-income backgrounds. Their rates of services were also the lowest.

The storm strengthened rapidly Tuesday afternoon and then stalled over the Bay Area, bringing wind gusts over 60 mph in San Francisco. The high winds brought widespread damage and five deaths.

The Student Health Services have started a number of programs to prevent suicide and promote mental wellness on campus in response to this growing epidemic. In a recent presentation for Flex Day on March 7, Sandy Vaughn, a mental health counselor, instructed faculty and staff on how to spot critical warning signs and how to assist students.

Among the risk factors that contribute to suicide include loss of housing, financial

Mental Health, continued on page 2

Mental health, continued from page 1 problems, problematic substance abuse, relationship or physical problems, and a crisis in the past or present, among many others.

Other signs among students include repeated absences, a decline in the quality of work, repeatedly appearing sick, excessively tired, and sudden uplift in the mood without reason.

“They [people with suicidal thoughts] don’t want to kill themselves; they want the pain to stop

That’s the motivation for suicide.

And they don’t see a way out,” says Vaughn. “We help them to see a way out. We share with them the possibilities. We connect them with resources that give them hope.”

If any of these critical warning signs are present in a person: threatening to hurt or kill oneself, making plans for suicide like purchasing a weapon or stockpiling pills, talking, writing, or posting about dying: the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number 988 and Suicide Prevention Lifeline number 1-800-273-TALK (8255) are available 24/7. San Francisco Crisis Line is also available 24/7 with the number 415-970-4000. City College Mental Health Services is available free of charge to credit students to connect them with trained counselors that cater to different needs, backgrounds, and languages. To set an appointment, students can contact number 415-239-3110. They have psychotherapy and resources crucial in supporting and assisting during difficult times. City College’s efforts to prevent suicide also include creating a culture of care and support on campus. The college has established peer-to-peer support groups: Project SURVIVE, Peer Educators Office, Women's Resource Center, Family Resource Center, and Queer Resource Center, among others. These groups offer a safe

39 Months of Purgatory

and supportive environment where students can connect with others who understand their experiences and feelings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress and uncertainty in students’ lives, making it more critical for schools and colleges to prioritize mental wellness. City College aims to have a more proactive approach to suicide prevention and overall well-being for students. More information about mental health services can be found on the CCSF website. https://www.ccsf. edu/student-services/student-healthservices/mental-health-services-ccsf

Will City College rehire laid off faculty in impacted departments?

By Renée Barlett-Webber rbartle8@mail.ccsf.edu

In an interview for an article about the impact of faculty layoffs, Broadcast Electronic Media Arts (BEMA) Department Chair Dana Jae Labrecque told The Guardsman, “on the last day of school in spring 2022, the chancellor called an emergency meeting where he said that you will not be able to bring back your full-time faculty for 39 months.” She explained that the chancellor’s lawyer recommended this restriction to avoid any lawsuits from laid-off faculty.

However, there is nothing in the law that prohibits hiring in a department after a layoff, except that the full-time employees who were laid off must be prioritized for reemployment within each department for 39 months after the layoff. The full-time employees must take precedence over any part-time hiring/rehiring.

As part of a 10-hour trustee board meeting on March 23, Chancellor David Martin presented a status update of laid-off positions. Of the 92 full-time employees who were laid off last year, eight faculty were recalled. After lengthy discussion, Martin clarified that no positions were actually reinstated and all were still “permanently removed from the budget.”

Those eight people who were recalled, replaced faculty who had recently retired. “When those faculty retired, we would have otherwise removed those positions permanently from the budget. But we did not. We kept those positions in and pulled somebody from the 39-month hire list,” he said.

AFT 2121 Vice President Alan D’Souza told The Guardsman, “there were actually two very sad layoffs, both people were offered recall, but they declined.” They had received “pink slips” twice before. “Why would they come back?” he asked rhetorically.

During the 2021-2022 school year, faculty accepted a 10% cut to their salaries to stave off layoffs. Despite this, faculty layoffs were implemented at the very end of the same fiscal year. Now, the audit for that year shows that there was over a $9 million surplus. “AFT is going to ask for 100% of the salaries for faculty. And the monetary justification for layoffs is invalid. The reasonable ask is to rehire and lift the embargo,” D’Souza said.

While no classified positions have been recalled, there are currently 25 net new positions. These positions are not in the same categories as ones that had been eliminated, therefore laid-off employees were not offered recall. Martin also confirmed that many classified workers are transferring to the city because City College is “several percentage points behind” in compensation. Maria Salazar-Colón, president of the SEIU 1021, who represents the classified workers at City College, declined an interview.

Both students and faculty have expressed hardships due to the layoffs. In the March 23 board meeting at least five students appealed to the board to bring back teachers so they could complete their certificates or degrees.

“Please please please, we need our teacher back,” deplored one student of floristry, now a department of one. D’Souza also noted that “cases have been made by every department that seems like they have a reasonable impact to allow rehiring, but it’s not reasonable enough for the chancellor.”

Several trustee members have advocated for the reconsideration of the “permanently removed” positions. Vick Van Chung addressed the board, “we have the actuals of what was left over in reserves, now let’s take that money and put it back into departments so we can grow it, in a very specific and strategic manner.” Board President Alan Wong said “it’s devastating that the layoffs happened… We should definitely be working to bring back our employees.” He would like to see training for workers to switch to the fields that now have open positions.

Despite some board members’ expressed support for recalling many of the laid-off employees, their power to do so is limited. “If the board were to take action without a recommendation from the chancellor, I do believe it would violate current board policies” and “accreditation standards,” the chancellor said. For the moment all eliminated positions from layoffs remain as such and have not been built into the budget for the foreseeable future. Those who were laid off, have a chance of recall within the 39 months only if there are resignations/retirements in their departments or if the budget changes. Until then, it seems impacted departments will have to wait the 39 months to add any full-time or part-time positions.

Teachers Picket SF Schools

By Ellen Yoshitsugu egiese@mail.ccsf.edu

Educators, parents and students held informational pickets outside schools across San Francisco the week of March 20-24, 2023. The rallies were organized by the teachers union, United Educators of San Francisco, as part of their current contract negotiations with San Francisco Unified School District. Support for the educators was high at Dolores Huerta Elementary School the morning of March 23, 2023.

“These are fairness issues,” said District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar at an earlier picket at Clarendon Elementary School. She is very concerned about the numbers of Parents,

Teacher Picket, continued on page 4

Heat, continued from page 1 and those who had, said that they were not effective. “As everyone has said here, space heaters don’t work. Even if you put two of them, even if they don’t blow out the fuses, they don’t change the temperature of the room,” said ESL instructor Kevin Cross.

“I have zero faith that this problem will be fixed in the fall,” said Cross. He echoed many other faculty comments that the administration has known about these issues for years and they have not been fixed. “Coming to a meeting and listening, then not doing anything is just performative.”

“How did we get here?” was a question that both commenters and trustee members asked although it went unanswered. Martin, who has been chancellor for more than two years, said, “looking backwards will not do us any good.”

In addition to the ineffectiveness of the “temporary measures,” commenters also pointed out their dirty classrooms, crumbling ceiling tiles and mold. They addressed the shortage of custodians due to the layoffs from last year and because of a pay gap in offering salaries. “I ask the board to address all facility deficits at all City College locations,” requested ESL instructor Christa Lewis. While the board approved all action items, there was only one short-term solution that could be addressed immediately: Potentially relocating classrooms to rooms with both heat and air purifiers. Although it’s unclear how many classrooms are available that meet that requirement. The other solutions discussed were investigating alternative heat sources and hiring more facilities workers, both of which will take time.

Trustees Aliya Christi said that there is a communication breakdown and “radio silence is unacceptable.” She offered to meet more often in order to expedite the bid and contracting process to get the heat issues fixed more quickly.

Teacher Picket, continued from page 2 teachers leaving the district, and said the schools are short staffed and paycheck errors persist (caused by the district’s EmPower software launched in January 2022). She noted that coming out of the pandemic students are generally behind academically and socially and that “we barely pay the teachers appropriately.”