The Guardsman, Vol. 151, Issue 2. City College of San Francisco

NEWS: Board of Trustees self-evaluation

Volume 151, Issue 2

Page 2

CULTURE: Meet animals at Randall Museum Page 7

SPORTS: Rams alumnus wins Super Bowl

www.theguardsman.com

Page 11

February 9, 2011

SF BRACING FOR SIT/LIE ORDINANCE

By Matthew Gomez THE GUARDSMAN

Demonstrators demand at a Feb. 5 rally that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down immediately.

STANDING AS ONE THOUSANDS RALLY FOR EYGYPTIAN PEOPLE

By Brant Ozanich THE GUARDSMAN

A few thousand people gathered in Civic Center Feb. 5 to stand in support of the Egyptian people and demand an end to the regime of Hosni Mubarak, who has held power for nearly 30 years.

The revolution in Egypt, inspired by a similar revolution in Tunisia earlier this year, has been gaining support on an international level, catalyzing more protests in other Arab countries including Algeria, Jordan, Yemen and Syria.

“This revolution is changing hearts. It is not just changing politics,” said M.A. Azeez, an Imam from Sacramento. “It is from the womb of suffering and pain that any dawn can be engendered. We have to be strong, we have to be steadfast, and we have to stay on the streets until all of our demands are met.”

City College’s Muslim Student Association is one of the many groups in support of the Egyptian protesters. The MSA is a diverse organization of students that offers services and networking as well as a space for prayer at Ocean campus in the Martin Luther King Jr. Center.

“We want to make sure Obama stands on the right side of history.

He has an amazing opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim people,” MSA member and City College student Mokhtar Alkhanshali said.

Alkhanshali and the rest of the MSA denounce injustice everywhere in the world, but have a personal connection to the protests in the Middle East and North Africa. They plan to hold a rally at City College or SF State within the next few weeks if the protests in EGYPT: Page 4

John Chovan doesn’t always know who’s telling him to move because he lost his glasses.

It could be a business owner, a pedestrian or a police officer. He complies to avoid any trouble, but sometimes he just needs a place to sit.

This month San Francisco’s Civil Sidewalks Ordinance could stop Chovan, a homeless man in the Tenderloin, from resting his legs.

The ordinance, commonly known as “Sit/ Lie”, will make sitting or lying on a public sidewalk unlawful between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

First-time offenders will be issued a warning and asked to stand. Their names will go into a computer database, and repeat offenders will be fined and could face jail time.

The ordinance went into effect Dec. 17, 2010 but is not yet being enforced. The San Francisco Police Department is still training officers so they understand how to enforce the ordinance. Since “Sit/Lie” was a voter approved initiative, the SFPD does not have a say in how the ordinance is enforced.

“We weren’t going to do it until everyone was trained,” SFPD spokesman Lt. Troy Dangerfield said. “It has to be done fairly.”

The ordinance allows for exceptions, like for those who are disabled or require medical attention. Both sidewalk vendors and participants in events like parades and protests are also exempt SIT/LIE: Page 4

ANTI-RECRUITER SENTIMENT STILL ALIVE ON CAMPUS

By Peter Hernandez THE GUARDSMAN

San Francisco resident Ahmed Al-Aboudi, who is of Iraqi descent, marches with Iraqi and Egyptian flags in Civic Center during the Feb. 5 demonstration.

Hosam Haggag leads a chant on a moving stage while protesters march down Mission Street on Feb. 5. The crowd marched from United Nations Plaza at San Francisco Civic Center to the New Federal Building and back to the United Nation Plaza.

PHOTOS BY RAMSEY EL-QARE / THE GUARDSMAN

MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE People take to the streets of San Francisco in support of the Egyptian citizens, who want Hosni Mubarak and his regime to step down. Visit www.theguardsman.com for videos and other coverage.

Even following the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” campus military recruitment remains a controversial topic at City College, with many officials and students maintaining an anti-military recruiting sentiment.

All military recruiters are presently allowed on campus, provided they have submitted their contact information, their location on campus and their intent to the director of student activities, currently Samuel Santos. Most recruitment occurs in the Career Center on Ocean campus, Santos said.

“I think there is a danger in opening military recruitment up for discussion,” City College Trustee Milton Marks said. “There has been an inflow of federal money for military recruitment.

If we were to ban military recruitment, they would withhold funds.”

Santos said City College has not denied military recruiters access to campus since the passage of the Solomon Amendment, a 1996 U.S. federal law denying higher learning institutions DADT: Page 2

NEWS THE GUARDSMAN

WWW.THEGUARDSMAN.COM

City College police looking for owner of lost cash FEBRUARY 9, 2011

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Tough-to-swallow evaluation and budget dominate meeting

By Emily Daly THE GUARDSMAN

The City College Board of Trustees elected John Rizzo and Chris Jackson as the new president and vice president at its Jan. 27 meeting, which also included the results of the the board’s recent self-evaluation.

An informational handout stated the self-evaluation results were made up of responses from constituent groups like the Academic Senate, American Federation of Teachers Local 2121, Classified Senate and the trustees themselves.

Pamela Mery, a representative from the Research and Planning Office at City College, presented the results of the self-evaluation.

Questionnaires had been distributed to the trustees at the previous board meeting, and all responses were anonymous.

Responses were meant to refer to the period of July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

The results were put into two categories: qualitative, consisting of comments to open-ended questions, and quantitative, consisting of numerical ratings averaged from one to five.

In the quantitative section, constituent groups rated the board

3.02 for board organization, 2.93 for community relations, 3.0 on policy direction, 3.05 on standards for college operations, and 2.73 for board leadership.

The qualitative results stirred the most discussion. Open ended comments from the trustees showed a wide range of opinions, from “a majority of board members work hard” to “at this point in time, I find no great strengths in this board.”

Former board president Milton Marks expressed concern as he read aloud some of the openended comments from the constituent groups like “The board is rude, crude, and disrespectful …

The board is completely dysfunctional.”

“I find these to be disturbing,” Marks said.

Another negative comment read, “While individual board members can be thoughtful and even caring, collectively the current board is a train wreck.”

However, the board received more than just criticism. The constituent groups listed the board’s major accomplishments of the past year as supporting the DREAM Act, not firing employees during the financial crisis and working on the budget.

The board was also praised

for its diversity and sincere concern for students.

But other seemingly facetious comments showed clear frustration at the board’s perceived lack of focus.

When asked what the board’s major accomplishments were, answers included “showing up for photo opportunities,” “grandstanding against the college for personal political achievement” and “surviving each meeting without resorting to violence.”

Trustees’ comments about areas in which the board could improve related mostly to making sure meetings were shorter and more effective, and being open to compromise. The board’s comments showed that they felt they should make budget issues a priority for the new year.

The longest comment by a trustee addressed issues of mistrust between the college community and the board, and accusations of micromanaging.

The comment stated that these issues arose after three former administrators were charged with multiple felony accounts for their misuse of district funds.

The comment also addressed the relationship between administrators and board members, specifically that college admin-

BRYCE ADOLPHSON / THE GUARDSMAN

Student Trustee Jeffery Fang takes notes during the board of trustees meeting at the Gough Street campus on Jan. 24.

istrators are major campaign contributors to certain board members, and have given more than $32,000 to certain members.

After discussing the results, most board members seemed to welcome the feedback.

“I think this is very, very valuable for the board,” said Trustee Lawrence Wong.

Academic Senate President Karen Saginor said the faculty has a “somber mood” while planning what to do with the reduced budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Saginor also noted the Academic Senate is continuing to work with the administration over the issue of website access.

Certain websites cannot be accessed from the school because of their content, although students and faculty may legitimately need information on the websites.

Chancellor Don Griffin said it was crucial the board look at the

budget as a 17-month problem in order to make sure the school stays afloat over the budget problem in 2012 and 2013, and the board and administration need to come up with a plan of action concerning the budget in the next 30 days. He also said the college would have to raise a tremendous amount of money locally.

The board passed a resolution requesting the City and County of San Francisco to suspend City College’s fees and provide aid to the college.

Highlights of Griffin’s report included news that Gov. Jerry Brown put the Performing Arts Building in the state budget proposal using 2006 bond funds, and that a “robust” City College summer session is planned for 2011.

E-mail: edaly@theguardsman.com

Student cleared of battery Threat of funding loss keeps charges against SF police campus open to recruiters

By Emily Daly THE GUARDSMAN

A jury acquitted City College student Matthew Hoyt, 23, of two counts of battery against two San Francisco police officers on Jan. 20, stemming from an altercation last summer with the two off-duty cops.

The incident occurred on June 26, 2010, as Hoyt was skateboarding down Turk street. A civilian car driven by Officer John Anton and accompanied by Sgt. Robert Guinan started honking at him. The officers were dressed as civilians.

According to Hoyt’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Walter McMath, Hoyt moved to the other side of the street and the car followed him, leading to an exchange between him and officers. Hoyt, believing he was going to be attacked, punched Officer Anton three times through the car window after Anton used the vehicle to block Hoyt’s path.

Sgt. Guinan chased Hoyt on foot and when confronted, Hoyt punched the officer. The men then identified themselves as police officers and took Hoyt into custody, McMath said.

“We argued all along that Hoyt was reasonably concerned for

his safety, and acted accordingly because of that,” he said.

Hoyt’s trial lasted three days, and the jury deliberated for about three hours before clearing him of the charges, said Tamara Aparton, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. She added that a Santa Rosa man who had a similar incident involving Officer Anton testified during the trial, but she couldn’t release his name.

Hoyt’s version of what happened never changed from the day of the incident, McMath said, and he was excited to get into court to assert his right to a trial.

A media relations spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department said they had no further comments for the press since the case had been adjudicated.

Aparton said it’s not unusual for the public defenders to get clients who are students, since it’s rare that students or other young people can afford private attorneys.

McMath’s advice to students who need legal help is that although every case will be different, it helps to have a defense attorney to protect your rights.

E-mail: edaly@theguardsman.com

DADT: From the front page

federal law denying higher learning institutions federal and research grants if they prevent military recruitment.

Marks also said banning military recruitment brought up a “stink” during a past Board of Trustees meeting, and that it is not a desired topic in this month’s meeting, noting the array of options available for students aside from military programs.

“We believe recruiters, and everyone else on campus, have a right to free speech,” Santos said.

While the Pentagon has changed its stance on gays serving in the military, some students still believe recruiters have no place on campus.

“We’ve been excluded from marriage and military service and developed non-violent means of communication,” said Marla Fisher, a psychology major at City College working at the Queer Resources Center on campus.

“Most people enter military service thinking they are going to have a career, but you may have to kill people or suffer from post-traumatic stress.”

Santos said that as member of the LGBT community, he thought it would be unwise to make an uniformed decision to be recruited without having been presented more than one perspective.

Leslie Smith, City College’s government liaison, said the college abides by the law and no complaints have come to her office regard-

ing military recruitment on campus, although she said she makes students a priority over ROTC recruiters, whom she feels provide “inadequate and inefficient information.”

Congress repealed “Don’t ask, don’t tell” Dec. 18, 2010, and President Barack Obama signed the repeal Dec. 22.

While considered a triumph for both the gay community and Obama’s presidency, LGBT military personell still cannot disclose their sexuality openly until the president, defense secretary, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that the armed forces have regulations in place that secure the “unit cohesion” that the original policy cited in its original incarnation.

Some students, like Scott Alford, a veteran and computer engineering major working at City College’s Veteran Students Program and Services, support recruiters on campus.

“I think recruitment on campus is great,” he said. “It helps students expand their opportunities. Military service and education can go hand-in-hand.”

Students interested in ROTC are referred to the nearest host school, the University of San Francisco, which affiliates with SF State for recruitment.

The U.S. armed forces hope to have fully implemented the repeal by the end of the year, having outlined a plan on Jan. 28.

E-mail: phernandez@theguardsman.com

News

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

THE GUARDSMAN

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Protesters urge Pelosi to vote ‘no’ on KORUS FTA

By Elliot Owen

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Demonstrators gathered in front of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco residence Jan. 29 to protest her support of the Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which if passed would represent the United States’ most signiďŹ cant free trade agreement since NAFTA was implemented in 1994.

The agreement, called KORUS FTA for short, is scheduled for congressional debate in the coming months. It seeks to promote the increased trade of goods and services between South Korea and the U.S. by signiďŹ cantly decreasing or eliminating tariffs on about 95 percent of consumer and industrial goods within three years of implementation.

Tom Lacey, chair of the Peace and Freedom Party, emphasized Nancy Pelosi’s history of supporting agreements like the KORUS FTA at the Jan. 29 rally. “Most of us remember that Nancy was known as ‘NAFTA Nancy’ when she voted in favor of NAFTA the ďŹ rst time around,â€? he said.

President Barack Obama expressed support for the agreement in his 2011 State of the Union Address, saying it would support 70,000 American jobs as part of a plan to double U.S. exports by 2014.

And the U.S. International Trade Commission reported the reductions made on tariffs would add $10-12 billion to the annual U.S. gross domestic product and about $10 billion to yearly merchandise exports to Korea.

EZRA EKMAN / THE GUARDSMAN

Ian Fletcher speaks through a megaphone as fellow protesters look on during a rally opposing KORUS, the Republic of Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, outside Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home on Jan. 29, 2011.

John Brinkley, Communications Director at the Korean Embassy located in Washington D.C., said the KORUS FTA would increase American investment in South Korea in virtually every sector, especially ďŹ nancial services. “[KORUS] is a very fair agreement,â€?

Brinkley said, stressing that mutually beneďŹ cial business interests are being secured.

The protesters at the Jan. 29 demonstration did not share these sentiments. “This is a job killing bill. It’s awful for workers,� Director of the California Free Trade Coalition Tim Robinson said. “Over

400,000 jobs in the sectors most vulnerable to job loss due to this agreement are in California.�

Additionally, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonproďŹ t Washington D.C. think tank, the KORUS FTA will cost Americans 159,000 jobs over the next seven years.

During the most recent renegotiation of the KORUS FTA held in Dec. 2010, South Korea acquired preferential access to American pork and pharmaceutical markets, while the U.S. secured that up to 25,000 more American automobiles will

have access to the Korean market.

The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America have publicly approved the agreement while other large unions such as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization and the United Steelworkers have opposed it.

Steven Zeltzer, chair of the United Public Workers for Action, expressed concern over what he called the deregulatory and pro-privatization nature of the KORUS FTA. “[KORUS] will be good for multinational companies to ood Korea,â€? he said. “This agreement is being pushed by the multinationals who are going to beneďŹ t from it.â€?

Zeltzer also said the KORUS FTA could lead to the eventual privatization of the Korean health care system whereby Korean hospitals would be forced to buy high priced drugs from PďŹ zer and other pharmaceutical multinational corporations.

Protesters argued the KORUS FTA combined with the anti-unionization atmosphere in South Korea would lead to the further repression of the Korean working class, where it is currently illegal to unionize without government consent.

The KORUS FTA was originally drafted and signed in 2007 under the Bush administration but has never been ratiďŹ ed due to ongoing renegotiations.

Pending its approval, the agreement could go into effect by late 2011.

E-mail: email@theguardsman.com

ACLU: CA ‘death penalty drug’ supply illegal

By Brian Rinker THE GUARDSMAN

A shortage of the so-called “death penalty drug,� sodium thiopental, led the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to search overseas for a new supplier, leaving death penalty opponents fuming about the shipment California received Jan. 20 from what they claim is an unregulated British source.

The CDCR received 521 grams of the drug a day before Hospira, the only Food and Drug Administration regulated manufacturer of the drug, had ofďŹ cially ceased its production. “The CDCR acted unethically in obtaining sodium thiopental from their source in the U.K., Dream Pharma,â€? said Natasha Minsker, death penalty policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. “The source is questionable — a one-person drug shop operating out the back of a driving school somewhere in the U.K. It is unregulated and unapproved.â€?

Minsker said the impact of the sodium thiopental shortage started affecting California last summer and set off a scramble to ďŹ nd more of the drug.

The ACLU posted emails and documents on its website subpoenaed by the California Supreme Court detailing how the CDRC found its supply of the drug.

The CDCR got in touch with Arizona, which had found a supplier in the U.K., and through

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that source, ordered their own sodium thiopental, according to the emails.

The shipment was manufactured by a company in Britain called Archimedes Pharma, but was ordered from a different British supplier, CDCR Deputy Press Secretary Terry Thornton said.

The ACLU believes California’s supply of sodium thiopental is illegal because of who supplied it and how it was obtained. The U.K. has since stopped all exports of the drug. “We would not be following state law if we didn’t try and obtain sodium thiopental,�

Thornton said. “We are mandated by state law. We worked with the DEA, U.S. Customs and the

FDA. The shipment was FDA approved.� “No, it is not,� Stefanie Faucher, associate director of Death Penalty Focus said. “The FDA didn’t block the shipment, but that is very different than approving it.�

According to the FDA, they do not regulate products imported for the purpose of lethal injection.

They consider sodium thiopental an unapproved, but medically necessary drug.

Hospira’s sodium thiopental, trademarked as Pentothal, was regulated by the FDA for medical purposes only. “The FDA is choosing not to enforce the law,� Minsker said. “They’re required by Congress to approve the drugs imported into

the U.S. If the FDA doesn’t regulate these drugs, no one will.�

Sodium thiopental, a barbiturate responsible for the absence of pain during execution, is one of three drugs ensuring the lethal injection process in California to be humane. It is administered in two doses of 1.5 grams each and a back up injection of 2.5 grams. If the the drug is not refrigerated properly, problems could arise.

Minsker said the other two drugs used for lethal injection are known to cause horrible pain.

California law prohibits any change in the already approved lethal injection process without going through the Administrative Procedures Act, which

requires the public to have an opportunity to participate in the adoption of state regulations. “Whether California is going to accept another drug and change their protocol is up in the air right now,� Faucher said. “Right now the CDCR has a massive amount of sodium thiopental.�

With no known domestic suppliers of sodium thiopental remaining and no long-lasting suppliers emerging overseas, sodium thiopental might be difďŹ cult to ďŹ nd. But Thornton chose not to speculate. “That’s way, way down the line,â€? Thornton said. “I have no way of knowing what will happen in the next ďŹ ve minutes. Do you?â€?

E-mail: brinker@theguardsman.com

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THE GUARDSMAN

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

RAMSEY EL-QARE / THE GUARDSMAN

Pro-democracy protesters waved flags from a statue of Simón Bolívar in San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza during a rally on Feb. 5.

Protesters in Tahrir Square calling for Mubarak to resign EGYPT: From the front page

North Africa and the Middle East continue.

“It’s important for me because I’m Muslim, I’m an Arab, I’m from the Middle East and I want to speak about my narrative and what my people are going through,” Alkhanshali said.

“I want people at City College to have the opportunity to hear that.”

The Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition of San Francisco provided a sound system and flat-bed truck for the Feb. 5 rally, with organizational help from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center and UC Berkeley’s Muslim Student Association.

“The large number of organizers were not affiliated with any group,” rally organizer Mohammad Talat said. “Mostly they were students here on exchange, studying in the U.S. for graduate school.”

Amid shouts of “Down, down

Hosni Mubarak” and “No justice, no peace,” the crowd marched to City Hall where Supervisor John Avalos (District 11) spoke and joined the march across Market Street, past the new Federal Building and back to UN Plaza.

“We’re talking about decades of fear, decades of repression and a spark that has led people to the streets. All around the world we’re standing in solidarity with the people of Egypt,” Avalos said.

“This is not just about Egypt, but about all of humanity. There is no higher cause in the world right now.”

San Francisco’s rally was part of worldwide demonstrations that echoed demands from Tahrir Square in Cairo, the focal point of Egypt’s revolution.

“The problem in Egypt has never been just a dictator, but instead a dictatorship, a system of repression and terrorism,” a recording of Mumia Abu Jamal, activist and death row inmate,

played to the crowd on Feb. 5. “[The dictatorship] must be sternly fought for the light of freedom to dawn over Arab skies.”

The popular uprising in Tunisia began after Mohammed Bouazizi, a street vendor, set himself on fire Dec. 17, 2010 in protest. Nearly a month of violent skirmishes between protesters and police led to the ouster of Tunisia’s former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the revolution in Egypt.

“Tunisia was the wick to the powder keg,” Abdel-Malik Ali told The Guardsman in an interview on Jan. 29. “For the government to force someone into that desperation, it was just too much to take.”

Egyptians took to the street on Jan. 25, the “National Police Day,” calling for democratic elections and protesting civil rights abuses, record unemployment and inflation in a day that was dubbed the “Day of Rage.”

Amy Abulatta Stands in solidarity with the Egyptians people during the rally held at San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza on Feb. 5.

Abulatta travelled from Sacramento, Calif. to show her support for anti-Mubarak demonstrators.

Protesters and police have been clashing constantly across the country since the Jan. 25 day of action, with the military occasionally intervening to protect protesters from police and other Mubarak supporters.

Throughout the revolution, there has been continuous occupation in Tahrir Square by thousands of protesters, as well as massive showings of protesters in other major cities throughout Egypt.

As of Feb. 5, news agency reporters have counted more than 150 killed in the fighting between protesters and police forces or Mubarak supporters, according to Al Jazeera English.

According to reports from Egypt, the pro-democracy supporters are continuing to protest, and are said to have retained their morale after a large

‘Punishment for homelesness,’ say ‘sit/lie’ critics SIT/LIE From the front page

so long as they have the proper permits.

Opponents of the ordinance fear it will be used as a tool to punish the city’s homeless population.

“Using such a broad law to essentially clean up the streets is wrong,” said Alan Schlosser, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

Schlosser said that although criminalizing specific actions — like the harassment of pedestrians — is acceptable, making sitting illlegal doesn’t address those issues.

Michael Browne, a program director at Youth with a Mission in the Tenderloin, doesn’t see the point in fining people for having nowhere else to go.

“It doesn’t solve any problems,” Browne said. “Were we supposed to sweep them under the rug?”

Browne works directly with the homeless community in the

GRACIE MALLEY / THE GUARDSMAN

“Mazy Daze” strums a borrowed banjo while Adam Erv provides a beat on the bottom of a box in front of Villain’s Shoes on Haight Street.

Tenderloin, and the YWAM facilities allow them a shelter to rest, eat and bathe. Since they have no address of their own, many patrons even receive mail through YWAM. Around 1,200 homeless people shuffle through YWAMs doors every month, Browne said. Their doors are only open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which

means after that it’s back to the streets for the patrons.

Browne said there needs to be more people working with the homeless rather than punishing them for their situation.

“People just don’t want to have to look at poverty,” he said.

To Ted Loewenberg, president of the Haight-Ashbury Improvement Association, the goal of the Civil Sidewalks Ordinance is to

bring peace back to the neighborhood. He said aggressive panhandlers and large groups of unruly sidewalk dwellers have deterred many people from visiting Haight Street.

“This is a law that targets behavior,” Loewenberg said.

“People have expressed their limit of abuse.”

Last year the SFPD performed a few small-scale busts of rambunctious groups, and Loewenberg said the response from the community was positive.

“The real message here is that the people, the voters of San Francisco have spoken very clearly on this subject,” Loewenberg said.

Chovan just tries to be invisible. He switches spots throughout the day to avoid becoming an eyesore.

“If they tell me to move along, I move along,” Chovan said. “I try not to hang around too much.”

E-mail: mgomez@theguardsman.com

majority of Mubarak’s cabinet has stepped down or stated they will not run for reelection in September. Mubarak has also said that he will not seek re-election.

“He may try to wait until September, but what the Egyptian people have started will never be stopped,” said Hassan Shallal, an Egyptian PhD student at University of the Pacific who has lived under the Mubarak regime. “They now know how to protest and cannot be silenced.”

Alex Emslie and Matthew Gomez contributed to this report.

Overseas reporting compiled from Al Jazeera English, The New York Times, The Associated Press, The LA Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Reuters and The International Business Times.

E-mail: bozanich@theguardsman.com

CORRECTIONS The story "USF sells college radio station" in the Jan. 26 issue of The Guardsman contained a factual error. Classical Public Radio Network, owned by the University of Southern California, purchased the classical station KDFC and KUSF's former frequency and transmitter simultaneously, then moved KDFC to the frequency. All references to the sale should have been to the frequency and not the station.

The Guardsman strives for accuracy in reporting. When mistakes are made it is the policy of The Guardsman to correct them in print as quickly as possible.

Read the new Guardsman blog: Outside the Margin

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FEBRUARY 9, 2011

5

Bring storylines back to games

By Omri Petitte

Make the story important I know, saying the story is important in a role-playing game is like saying the sky is blue.

But all too often, MMO content is devoid of a worthwhile backstory.

Rudimentary excuses don’t cut it anymore — a quest-giver sending me off to collect crocodile skins because their feet hurt

City College of San Francisco’s Newspaper Since 1935

Editor-in-Chief Alex Emslie News Editor Kwame Opoku-Duku

THE GUARDSMAN

One of my best friends is missing.

When I last saw him, his eyes were filled with amazement as he beheld the untamed lands of “World of WarCraft” for the first time. His eagerness to explore the storied regions of Azeroth was supplemented by a deep appreciation of lore and an aspiration to breach the unknown was nothing short of heroic.

“Farewell!” his expression silently conveyed to me as he boarded a ship bound for high adventure.

Meanwhile, I unenthusiastically killed 15 ghosts for a quest reward I couldn’t even use.

For a time, I was just like my friend. I couldn’t take two steps without becoming enchanted by sweeping vistas or terrifying beasties. But after six years of repetition, the playing is getting intensely mundane.

To be sure, massively multiplayer online gamers crave constant content updates to keep their interest in check, but surely other solutions exist to eliminate dullness. Here’s some that might work.

THE GUARDSMAN

Opinions & Editorials Editor Omri Petitte Cultures & Trends Editor Isaiah Kramer Sports Editor Bontã Hill Online Editor Atticus Morris Multimedia Editor Kay Recede Photo Editor Frank Ladra

COURTESY OF BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT

Massively multiplayer online role playing games like World of Warcraft need more compelling story lines.

doesn’t exactly make an epic yarn.

Quests should constantly tell me that being a hero carries some weight in a time of conflict and upheaval. I don’t need excessive John McClane-esque action sequences, but I would like the tasks I receive to provide a tangible impact to the plot at large.

“Star Wars: The Old Republic” has a method of elevating its heroes as keystones of influence in the war between the Empire and the Republic. That is a good step toward giving the story a key role in games.

Make the world interesting If “Red Dead Redemption” nailed one thing perfectly, it was immersion. Critics lauded environments like the parched

deserts of New Austin and the majestic forests of West Elizabeth for their authenticity and multitude of random events.

So why not transplant those qualities into MMOs? I wouldn’t be adverse to suddenly encountering a fledgling Night Elf priestess fleeing from a marauding band of Orcs, or recapturing escaped Orc convicts for a wayward military convoy. I really don’t like Orcs.

Quest hubs (concentrations of quest-givers in a structured environment such as a castle barracks) lack that sense of unpredictability that an openended world should have.

Keep things simple (and moderate) Ratmen ransacking a village?

I’m on it. Thieves pilfering the

king’s coffers? Say no more.

Nonessential quests don’t need to be burdened with extravagant explanations on why they need to be done.

Yes, Sauron was once the lackey of Melkor during the Ainulindale and the First Age of Middle-earth, but I don’t need to know that while I’m slaying goblin sheep poachers at the behest of a jilted ranger in “Lord of the Rings Online”.

Leave the important exposition to the more notable characters actually qualified to dispense such wisdom – like a king or a semi-senile wizard – and you’ve got yourself a valid goal to achieve.

Email: opetitte@theguardsman.com

Mocking ancient culture sets a new low for radio

By Joe Fitzgerald THE GUARDSMAN

“Ching cha, ching-chong cho cha! Ja chi che! Jo-jo ba ba!”

You won’t believe what those sounds actually are.

I’ll give you a hint. It sounds a lot like free speech breaking. It sounds eerily similar to a straw breaking a camel’s back.

It could even be mistaken for the sound of the crack of Sarah Palin’s shotgun, but it’s far and away less violent. At least on the surface.

More accurately, it’s the sound of radio personality Rush Limbaugh performing an impression of China’s prime minister Hu Jintao on his talk show.

For those who have been living under a rock, Rush Limbaugh is a nationally syndicated Republican talk show host. He is not a fringe member of the conservative community, and his influence is not small.

He has the highest talk radio ratings in the country, and is known as the mouthpiece of the Republican party. Rush claimed that by making those sounds he was only trying to repeat what he heard when Prime Minister Jintao met with President Barack Obama for dinner at the White House.

And he has an audience of millions.

Republicans and their FOX News and talk radio representatives (Limbaugh being one of many) have been under fire from liberals who claim that their hateful speech was largely responsible for inspiring the shooter who killed nine people in Tucson, Arizona. Now, Limbaugh is just fanning the flames.

His impression of China’s prime minister was hardly asking anyone to be violent, but it’s part of a larger tapestry of the Republican narrative. He once played a song on-air titled “Barack the Magic Negro,” set to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

He has even told his listeners to outright kill liberals, and to only leave a pair alive at every college campus.

Republicans do say the darndest things.

The frightening thing is, Limbaugh is not alone.

Ann Coulter, a commentator on FOX News, once said, “My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building.”

“Get rid of [Bill Clinton]. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him,” Republican Representative James Hansen once said.

Now, I’m not saying there is a correlation between this violent speech and the actions of the Tucson shooter. It was a silly argument when politicians tried to link video games to

violent behavior, and it’s a silly argument now.

Sane people do not pick up a gun just because Limbaugh said so. Sane people don’t become racists just because Limbaugh performed a stupid, crass and infantile impression of an ancient language used by billions of people worldwide.

Hate speech doesn’t have to incite murder to be wrong. The collective character of our elected leaders and their ideological spokespeople has deep influence on the character of our country at large.

The hate that Republicans have been spreading in recent years exactly reveals the content of their character.

They are bigots. Frightened, violent, short-sighted bigots.

Hateful rhetoric from some of the leaders of our country may not cause violence in and of itself. But it is damaging, and acts as a distraction from this nation’s dialogue — how we talk about our country, our politics and our morals.

For representatives of the American people to the world, for people that lead the dialogue of the entire United States of America, isn’t that bad enough?

Email: jfitzgerald@theguardsman.com

Chief Copy Editor Erin Conger Copy Editors Atticus Morris Don Clyde Staff Writers Emily Daly Amarah Enkil Estela Fuentes Joe Fitzgerald Matthew Gomez Essie Harris Peter Hernandez Laura Jackling Gary Jay Ryan Kuhn Catherine Lee Brian Rinker Brant Ozanich April Wood Photographers Ezra Ekman Donald Hamilton Gracie Malley Broadus Parker Clarivel Fong Jessica North Multimedia Joe Fitzgerald Gary Jay Atticus Morris Brian Rinker Faculty Adviser Juan Gonzales

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An amuze bouche of a petite fontina and mozzarella grilled cheese finger sandwich is served with a tomato soup shooter to stimulate the taste buds before the meal.

Popping Culture

By April Wood

‘Skins’ on MTV paints depraved, amusing picture of U.S. teen life Honestly, was anyone terribly surprised when they heard MTV had debuted an ultra-controversial new series starring unrealistically attractive teenagers who get drunk, have sex, pop pills and crash SUVs into rivers?

MTV shows “Teen Mom” and “Jersey Shore” — hardly pillars of moral example-setting — were running ad nauseam on the network. “Jersey Shore” garnered record-breaking ratings for the channel and skyrocketed its decidedly non-starworthy stars to mega-fame for no apparent reason other than their ability to get drunk, have sex and curse like a pack of sailors on steroids.

This jaded consumer of trash culture wasn’t hedging her bets that new barriers of shock entertainment were going to be crossed by “Skins”, an American version of the British drama of the same name that made its U.S. premiere on Jan. 24.

When I reluctantly tuned in via MTV. com several weeks into the show’s run, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find my mouth frozen into the lock-jaw position for a good duration of my viewership as I witnessed innovative displays of depravity by the show’s cast of nine major characters.

Read about the ‘Jersey Shore’ phenomenon online.

TheGuardsman.com/shore FEBRUARY 9, 2011

6

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However, both the is e vic ser er The custom rette salad dressing greets and the vinaig uth Email: exceptional. A maitre d’ a tart punch in the mo man.com and immedi- provide ile sm a the fladra@theguards th of wi rs ers avo fl tom the cus ers ow erp ov t well lit and tha ately seats them in the

By Frank Ladra

Take Tea for instance, a 16-year-old lesbian whose extracurricular activities include casually swigging from airplane bottles of vodka during passing period, masturbating to her Audrey Hepburn poster and drunkenly vomiting off the side of a playground merry-go-round in broad daylight. She then nonchalantly cleanses her pallet by gargling from her fifth of vodka and goes back for another spin.

And she’s hip too. Instead of getting down to Katy Perry and Lil’ Wayne at the school dance, Tea’s idea of a good time is sneaking into 21-plus Northern Soul dance parties to cruise for casual sex. Not the most believable character quirk for a 16-year-old perhaps, but kudos to the writers for portraying a high schooler with alternative cultural interests, anyway.

Another member of the show’s rotating set of protagonists is Chris, a young man with such an extreme case of party fever he becomes forced to conceal a 15-hour-long erection with duct tape after an overzealous night of Viagra and ecstasy consumption. Chris even dabbles in an experimental diet for his goldfish, attempting to sustain them on marijuana and upper pills (the fish do not “sustain” for very long).

He is also in love with his suspiciously young-looking teacher Tina. When Chris is abandoned by his single mother and rejected by his extended family (one of the show’s attempts at addressing serious issues), Tina opens up her home to him for a night and presents him with a gift of a new goldfish, swimming around in a glass of water.

Chris promptly snoops through Tina’s bedside table and pops one of her oral contraceptive pills, washing it down with the goldfish’s swimming water.

Any of this sound like an accurate reflection of your teenage years? Not exactly? Well, as clearly sensationalized a version of the teen experience “Skins” is, the Parents Television Council is up in arms over its portrayal of underage

COURTESY OF MTV

The cast of MTV’s latest series “Skins” takes teen depravity to a whole new level.

heathenism, labeling it the “most dangerous show for teens.” The PTC has even accused “Skins” of violating child pornography laws and is urging the government to take legal action to ban the show.

Feeling threatened by the media controversy sparked by the PTC’s smear campaign, nine of “Skins” sponsors had pulled their ad campaigns by the third week of the show’s airing. To add insult to MTV’s presumed injury, the show’s ratings plummeted from its debut viewership of 3.3 million to 1.6 million by the second week.

This drop in ratings probably has less to do with parents hoarding television from their children in fear of media corruption than it does with the fact that “Skins” just isn’t a very engaging show.

Although it delights with occasional flashes of brilliantly sleazy moments, the dialogue and acting is amateurish to the point of palpable discomfort. (Think Showgirls. Think Gigli.) And due to the show’s format of shallowly focusing on the reckless behavior of one troubled clique member per week, we never become deeply involved or attached to

any one character.

Rumors have been circulating in online media that “Skins” will be cancelled before it even completes its first season run, but MTV remains firm that the program will fulfill its scheduled course.

The show’s creator, Bryan Elsley, stands by the show with the statement, “‘Skins’ is actually a very serious attempt to get to the roots of young people’s lives.”

Er, right. I suspect there are more than a few of us experiencing difficulties swallowing that particular line, unless I’m the only one here whose youth didn’t play out like a scene from the movie “Kids” on repeat.

But whether or not “Skins” is an accurate portrayal of The Youth of Today, or even a quality show for that matter, the show certainly has plenty to offer in the shock value department. I, for one, look forward to witnessing what squalid little tricks the writers have stored up their sleeves as the series plays out in this media firestorm it’s created for itself.

Email: awood@theguardsman.com

Culture

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

THE GUARDSMAN

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Instructor, Jeff Newell, brings around the 50-year-old Galapagos Tortoise for all to touch at the “Meet the Animals” show at the Randall Museum on Feb. 5.

UPCLOSE AND

PERSONAL

RANDALL MUSEUM GIVES PEOPLE A CHANCE TO ‘MEET THE ANIMALS’

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY GRACIE MALLEY The Randall Museum offers a variety of exhibits, classes, workshops, presentations and hands-on learning experiences to children and adults.

The museum, located at 199 Museum Way between the Haight and Castro districts, currently holds a live animal exhibit that includes over a hundred animals that can no longer survive in the wild — some because they are hurt, others because they were born

Animal room attendant, Dominik Mosur, preps Wicha, the Great Horned Owl, for the “Meet the Animals” show, Feb. 5. Wicha is 22 years old and blind.

in captivity.

This event, called “Meet the Animals,” begins every Saturday at 11 a.m. and gives children and their families the opportunity to get up close and even touch some of these creatures. Jeff Newell, who has been instructing the program for ten years, teaches the attendees about animals such as the great horned owl, harris hawk, albino rat, galapagos tortoise and rosy boa.

Newell also works in the pale-

ontology lab at City College and is a tutor for the earth sciences department.

There are many reasons to visit the Randall Museum, but the chance to meet unique and endangered animals is possibly the most compelling. Admission is free and all are welcome to explore the museum’s other activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday.

Email: gmalley@theguardsman.com

Above: Wicha, the Great Horned Owl, sits on her perch during the “Meet the Animals” program, as Jeff Newell explains to the crowd about the noiselessness of Hawk wings.

Below: Instructor, Jeff Newell, presents the Rosie Boa, a type of boa constrictor that lives in the United States at the “Meet the Animals” show at the Randall Museum on Feb. 5.

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Culture

THE GUARDSMAN

Film Review

‘Bilal’ paints portrait of Detriot blues

By Estela Fuentes THE GUARDSMAN

“Bilal's Stand” is a heartwarming, must-see film with which any student pursuing a higher education can relate.

City College was privileged with a promotional screening of the film and a Q&A session with Sultan Sharrief, the director of the movie, not long after he showed his film at the Sundance Film Festival.

The film is about a Muslim teenager, Bilal, growing up in Detroit, and his dream to pursue a higher education.

Bilal is a religious and hard working student who does well in school and works in the dispatch office of the family's cab company.

Bilal's family is too preoccupied with making ends meet and attending to their own needs to understand the importance of getting a college education. So Bilal keeps his acceptance to the University of Michigan a secret as long as he can, but doesn’t equip himself financially to attend.

When he finally decides he wants to ask a counselor for help, he’s informed of the different ways he could have paid for college. The counselor offers him alternatives to paying expensive tuition himself.

The film is relatable because it shows different types of challenges that students face as they start their journey to college — from filling out financial aid and student loan forms to wanting to hang out with friends instead of doing your work.

Bilal’s Stand also reminds viewers of the challenges faced by students who work and go to school and how difficult it can be to make so many obligations fit into every day.

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Album Review

Cake show mature side with ‘Showroom’

By Matthew Gomez THE GUARDSMAN

Cake’s latest album, “Showroom for Compassion,” is worth buying — like legally. As in going to Amoeba and buying it new, still in the shrink wrap, with money.

Those who download the album from iTunes do get a bonus track, but the point is, this album is quality listening material.

Some bands age like wine and some age like milk, but Cake always sounds like Cake. They never seem to change their sound, yet always manage to sound original. Their music is like the ice cream man’s jingle: there’s no doubt who it is.

Showroom for Compassion, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, is the Sacramento-based band’s mellowest album to date.

None of the songs have the energy of their hits like “Short Skirt, Long Jacket,” and there is a saddening lack of trumpet. While these changes don’t necessarily detract from the album, they are definitely noticeable to die-hard fans.

The Moog synthesizer still plays a key role in the album,

but overall Cake has grown up a bit. Their music from a decade ago, while formally categorized under alternative rock, distilled elements of ska, pop and rockabilly. But all that has evaporated from their sound.

The intro track “Federal Funding” is a nice warm-up for what’s to come — 40 minutes of steady flowing music that is as satisfying as a Hostess cupcake.

John McCrea’s tongue-in-cheek humor is present in the intro when he sings “You’ll receive the federal funding/You can add another wing/Take your colleagues out to dinner/Pay your brother to come and sing.”

The highlights of “Showroom for Compassion” include “What’s Now Is Now,” which, with the Moog, sounds like incredibly good elevator music and “Long Time,” a sure dance hit for their upcoming tour.

That’s right! Cake will be playing four shows at the Fillmore Feb. 14-17 as part of their “An Evening with Cake: Showroom of Compassion World Tour”. Get tickets now, because their first and last shows have already sold out.

Always on the fringes of the music scene, Cake has never seen

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF UPBEAT RECORDS

mainstream success comparable to other 90s bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead. Their biggest claim to fame possibly came in 1999, when Cake’s single “Never There” reached 78 on the Billboard Hot 200 songs.

But nowadays, with a patient fan base that has waited for them to resume touring, Cake has reached status of a band that tran-

scends its own era.

Cake has definitely gone the distance with this album, and perhaps more people will take notice of a band that has always deserved the spotlight.

E-mail: mgomez@theguardsman.com

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For fall priority scholarship consideration, apply by March 1.

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Culture

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

THE GUARDSMAN

‘FUNraiser’ supports independent filmmakers

By Catherine Lee THE GUARDSMAN

The annual Artists’ Television Access “FUNraiser” combined silent and non-silent auctions, showcased live video mixes and hosted two bands to support the mainly volunteer-operated screening room and gallery.

For more than 20 years, ATA has maintained its community rooms for independent film and video artists with support from a mosaic of foundation and arts grants, organized fundraisers and the long-term dedication of about 20 core staffers.

“ATA is driven by people with a passion for the arts,” said Kent Howie, a volunteer coordinator and Board of Directors member since 1994.

Before the live auction began, the room filled with parents with toddlers, neighbors and the extended film community nurtured by ATA’s 26-year mission to “Support Underground Film” — their tagline and window sign on the Valencia Street storefront.

Attendees eased into the silent art auction with cups of spiked pink punch, orange Jarritos soda and red wine.

They discretely marked their bids on index cards placed next to the art.

Art ranged from annotated stationary by author Beth Lisick to paintings by renowned street artists like Rigo 23, best known for his giant paintings on the sides of buildings like “One Tree” at 10th and Bryant streets.

The Live Auction Crowded along the walls, standing on the staircases and hunched on the red velvet theater seats, everyone in the room played a part in the boisterous live auction.

“Artists! Activists! ATA shows experimental, independent film five nights a week! Emerging artists come here and show – nobody else is doing what we do,” shouted the charismatic auctioneer Mike Missiaen, an 11-year volunteer and Board of Directors member since 2002.

The attendees and bidders cheered in response and he continued, “So can I get another $5 bucks for this amazing photograph? It’s by one of the founders of ATA – Marshall Weber.”

The highest bid of the evening, made by Eli Crews and Beth Lisick, was $420 for a Chris Johanson painting.

“We’ve never spent that much on a piece, but it’s

EZRA EKMAN / THE GUARDSMAN

Shae Green (left), a 10-year ATA volunteer, bids on one of many art pieces auctioned off during Artist’s Television Access’s “FUNraiser” on Jan. 29.

great. It’s for ATA and the artists,” said Crews.

City College Filmmakers City College instructor and film maker Lise Swenson was a co-founder of ATA in 1984 and is still on the advisory board.

She has organized the “CCSF Student Showcase” events at ATA since her first semester as a teacher at City College five years ago.

Sports

Calendar for February 09-22

Campus Events

“The students are thrilled to be screening at ATA,” Swenson said.

Student film exposure at ATA is more of a real world screening than a campus screening, she said.

“The ATA context feels like what they’ll really experience as they continue to work and screen. More strangers come, and more film makers from the community attend the ATA event, so it’s just a different audience and a different experience than the 250-seat Diego Rivera Theater.”

Tracy Jarvis is one of Swenson’s former students who has become an ATA volunteer, inspired by the City College film screenings at ATA. “There weren’t so many community-oriented spaces in San Francisco,” Jarvis said.

But the ATA mission of screening and supporting non-commercial video, media performance and art resonated with Jarvis.

“It’s nice to know that it’s a venue where I can show my work and my friends can have a space to screen or show,” she said.

Kent Howie agreed, “We’re not a rental space, we’re a collaboration space. The most important thing to us is keeping the space open for artists.”

The activities of the busy six-hour event — from the cash handling, to the film projections, to the catering and cleaning after the event — were conducted by volunteers. The only paid ATA staff member is the bookkeeper.

“The fundraiser is great and fun and we can obviously use the money,” Howie said. “But really what places like this need is the human energy to make it work. We do well because we have this amazing group of people.”

Three-year volunteer and video arts teacher Grace Rosario Perkins agrees that the future of ATA is human driven, not doomed by lack of funding.

“The beauty of ATA is anyone can make a proposal for a screening, and we’ll make it happen,” Perkins said.

“What ATA needs to survive is the people — people to volunteer for shows, to come to screenings and to be a part of our community.”

E-mail: clee@theguardsman.com

Community Events

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CCSF Women’s Basketball Game vs.

College of San Mateo 1700 W. Hillsdale Boulevard San Mateo, CA 5:30 p.m.

Jungle Love: After Hours at the Conservatory of Flowers Golden Gate Park Conservatory of Flowers 100 John F. Kennedy Drive 6:00 pm to 9:00 p.m. $5 21+ only

The Underground Railroad: Lecture & slide presentation by Guy Washington, Ocean Campus Rosenberg Library Room 304 11 am - 12:30 p.m.

Free

“The Black History of the White House” book discussion.

City Lights Bookstore 261 Columbus Ave 7:00 p.m.

Free

CCSF Women’s Swimming Mills College Invitational 5000 MacArthur Blvd.

Oakland, CA 2:00 p.m.

23rd Annual Russian Festival 2011 Russian Center 2450 Sutter Street 5:30 p.m. $6.00 - $10.00 Last day to drop full-term coursework units without a “W”

Corazon Del Barrio Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Open House 2868 Mission St 12-4 p.m.

Free

“Next Gen” Ska, Reggae, Metal, Rock Concert + Ska~pUnK late show!

CELLspace 2050 Bryant St 1 p.m. $10

Latina Educational Support Group invites you to celebrate Valentine’s Day Mission Campus 1125 Valencia St 3:30 p.m. $20.00 15+

Lecture and slide presentation: Buffalo Soldiers, From the Presidio to the National Parks John Adams Campus Auditorium 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.

History Expo at the Old Mint KUSF’s The Old Mint Building Rock’n’Swap 88 Fifth Street Free Concert: USF campus 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Smith Westerns McLaren Hall Free Amoeba Music 2130 Fulton St 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 1855 Haight St 6 p.m. $3

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The Underground Railroad: Lecture & slide presentation by Guy Washington, Mission Campus Room 109 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Free

Inception & Hunter Prey Movie Night 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Variety Preview Room Theatre 582 Market St. FREE - $5 suggested donation

“México: Política y Poética,” Opening Reception San Francisco State Fine Arts Gallery 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Free

Barrio Bushido Book Presentation Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts 2868 Mission St 7:00 p.m.

Free

CCSF Track and Field Coast Preview at Hartnell 411 Central Ave Salinas, CA 2:00 p.m.

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra Concert: Now or Never Herbst Theatre 401 Van Ness Ave 8:00 p.m.

FREE

Last day for students to fulfill requirements to remove an Incomplete grade (I) received in the previous semester.

Chinatown Street Fair Grant Ave and Bush St 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Cannons, Ecology and Palace of Fine Arts Hike at the Presidio Arguello Gate at the Presidio Arguello and Jackson St 1:30 p.m.

Cheetah Chrome reading from his new book “Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy’s Tale” Hemlock Tavern 1131 Polk Street 6 p.m.

21+

Chinatown Street Fair Grant Ave and Bush St 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Presidents Day Weekend No Classes

Lecture and slide presentation: Buffalo Soldiers, From the Presidio to the National Parks Southeast Campus, Alex Pitcher Community Room 11 a.m. -1 p.m.

Free Last day to apply for credit/no-credit (P/ NP) grade option, where this option is available for all full-term classes.

Classifieds For sale: platinum prong-set Trilogy diamond ring containing two round cut diamonds on side and one diamond set in middle. Measurements are 5.47 by 5.21 by 3.06 mm.

If interested please contact musicamaria@yahoo.com. Will accept best offer.

Palestinian Queer Activists talk politics is featuring events in the Bay Area including a Public Forum on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at Mission High Auditorium 3750 18th St. and Community Conversation on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery 150 Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland with an after party at 2022 Telegraph Ave in Oakland. For more info call (415) 861-7444

Classified Ads 50 cents per word. $5 minimum for commercial advertisers. City College students, staff and faculty qualify for one free classified per semester. Multiple ads not accepted. Must show current student ID. Commercial ads not accepted from students. Acceptance of ads at the discretion of The Guardsman.

Article Submissions To submit tips on stories contact: Editor in Chief (415) 239-3446 Fax: (415) 239-3884 editor@theguardsman.com

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SPORTS THE GUARDSMAN

WWW.THEGUARDSMAN.COM

Rams remain undefeated in conference with win over Colts Page 12

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

10

PREVIEW: TRACK SEASON OFF TO A RUNNING START

Track and Field hungry as ever

By Laura Jackling THE GUARDSMAN

The City College track and field team is adding new and young talent this spring season and is looking to maintain their commitment to excellence.

“Every year we try to be one of the top in the state,” head coach Douglas Owyang said.

Before the team’s most recent winning streak from 2004 to 2006, the track and field team had not won state since 1973, Owyang said.

A few familiar faces will return from last season, including sprinter Joshua Calbert, distance runner Mario Escobedo and hurdlers Alvin Nguyen and Brandon Johnson.

“We won conference last year, so we're looking to duplicate that,” hurdles coach Gregory Bianchi said. “We've got a young crew this year, so we're just working on fundamentals.”

Distance runner, Stephanie Cano is also optimistic for the upcoming season, and she said team is working hard to come out on top.

“We're running more miles to improve our times and endurance,” Cano said. “Teamwork helps during practice. We've got a strong team bond.”

Some of the top athletes this spring include decathlete Adam Nikoseria, Rodka Kartousova and Erika Williams.

The team's first meet will be Feb. 18 at Hartnell College.

Ronald Ellison, an assistant coach for the track and field team, leads the runners in inverted bicycle warm-ups on Feb. 2.

Email: ljackling@theguardsman.com

MATT LAMBERT / THE GUARDSMAN

PREVIEW: SOFTBALL SEASON IN FULL SWING

After a year’s abscense, softball program is back

By Ryan Kuhn THE GUARDSMAN

Preparing for the start of the season, freshman shortstop Ray Walsworth warms up during practice in Pacifica, Calif. The Rams next game will be a Feb. 12 double header in Mendocino.

DONALD HAMILTON / THE GUARDSMAN

After a year-long absence, softball has returned to the diamond at City College with a new coach, new players and a new identity.

Sophomores Megan McGuire and Luisa Sausedo, who played for City College two years ago, were excited to put their gloves back on as part of the women’s softball team. A lack of players and new head coach Jack McGuire’s serious leg injury forced the Rams to forgo last year’s softball season.

McGuire is returning as head coach of the team this year and is looking to turn the Rams around from a dismal 4-25-5 record in 2009.

The new coach, who also coaches the football team, is excited to get out on the field and implement his 30 years of softball experience.

“We are working on fundamentals right now and looking forward to getting better every day,” he said. “I just want them to enjoy themselves.”

McGuire will not be handling the team alone. He is joined by Jack Wolf, who has coached City College softball in the past and volunteer coach Rex Murphy.

McGuire’s two daughters, Megan and Shawn McGuire are also on the team and will be patrolling the outfield.

Megan McGuire, who led the Rams in batting two years ago and was second team all conference, looks to step up as a leader

in 2011.

“This year is definitely different,” she said. “I feel like the coach before wanted to get out. This is a new team, new chemistry and new coaches so I think the positivity is a new aspect here.”

Pitching and defense have been City College’s concentration throughout their early season practices. Their pitching staff is led by Sausedo, who pitched for the Rams in 2009.

“Pitching is very important in any league that you play in for softball, especially fast pitch,” Sausedo said. “Some of the new things we have been learning are completely breaking down our pitches and tweaking them to be better and more fluid pitches to make more strikes.”

The Rams pitcher ended her freshman season with a record of 4-20, a 7.44 ERA and 49 strikeouts.

Their first home game will be against Chabot College on Feb. 22 at 1 p.m.

Megan McGuire identified two big factors necessary to earn her team its first winning season since 2011.

“I feel that some of us have a great chemistry. A lot of it is the veterans and we need to express it to the new players,” McGuire said. “It’s also about experience so hopefully the new kids pick it up pretty quick because that’s probably going to be our biggest weakness.”

All home games will be played at Fairmont Field in Pacifica, Calif.

Email: rkuhn@theguardsman.com

Sports

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

THE GUARDSMAN

| 11

A REMARKABLE JOURNEY: Bishop’s road from the Rams to the Super Bowl

By Bontã Hill THE GUARDSMAN

W

ith the publicity the National Football League garners, the feel good stories that transpire over the course of a season often gets overshadowed by the negativity of the league.

The Desmond Bishop’s of the world are mere afterthoughts.

That’s the same Desmond Bishop who helped lead City College to a National Championship and helped the Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XLV on Sunday.

Bishop had eight tackles, including three for losses, and a game-changing fumble recovery that halted the Pittsburgh Steelers’ potential scoring drive and shifted all the game’s momentum back into his team’s favor.

For Bishop, 26, to even be on the field in that situation is a story in itself. His path from Fairfield High School to Super Bowl champion has been a tough, frustrating, yet remarkable journey.

“It’s definitely been a long journey and the first thing that comes to mind is that I had doubts and could have easily just given up,” Bishop said. “My support team and my family just stayed behind me and stayed pushing me. I just kept preparing and kept trying to get better while waiting in the wings for my opportunity, so when it finally came I took advantage of it. I’m grateful for it.”

Before setting foot at City College, Bishop had his scholarship reneged by the University of Nevada, Reno, because they wanted him to wait a semester to enroll.

Unwilling to wait, Bishop followed in his father’s footsteps and enrolled at City College.

“Initially I was disappointed because Nevada took away my scholarship right before the semester, but I knew about coach

George Rush and the whole tradition there from when my father played,” Bishop said.

“Living in San Francisco, being expensive and not having a lot of money, not having the benefits of being at a big college, it was a grind.”

Bishop won defensive conference player of the year two seasons in a row, made the Junior College All-American team, and helped lead the Rams to the 2003 National Championship. By the end of his two years at City College, he had scholarship offers from all over the country.

In the 2004 season for the Rams, Bishop was named the Northern California Conference Defensive Most Valuable Player and was a First-team JC Gridwire All-American.

“He always had great instincts and he worked hard, was a great guy with great leadership qualities,” Rush said. “He was track fast, but was a really a tough kid, and always got his best effort.”

After City College Bishop decided to stay local and attend Cal-Berkeley where he joined fellow Rams teammates Joe Ayoob and LaVelle Hawkins.

Bishop’s senior season as a Bear went down as one of the best-ever for a Cal linebacker. He was named to first team Pac-10 and led the conference in tackles.

Cashing in on his opportunity at Cal, Bishop established himself as one of the best linebackers in the Pac-10 conference, and had hopes of becoming one of the first linebackers taken in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Instead, Bishop was the 192nd player

BENNY SIEU/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL/MCT CAMPUS

taken off the draft board, a low sixth-round pick. Adding salt to the wound was the fact that he was picked by Green Bay, an industrious city far from home.

“To be drafted sixth-round was kind of a slap in the face; to go from being the guy to just being a regular guy definitely took a toll on my ego,” Bishop said chuckling.

“It was different, definitely a culture shock, but the people there are really cool. They eat, sleep, and drink Packer football.”

The first two seasons of his professional career didn’t go as planned. Bishop was relegated to special teams duty, spending a lot of time on the sideline.

But in the NFL you’re always only one play away from being thrown into the fire, and when Nick Barnett went down with a season-ending injury, Bishop was thrust into a starting role. He’s taken advantage of the opportunity and finished second on the team with 103 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception this season.

For Bishop’s hard work the Packers rewarded him last month with a four-year, $19 million contract extension.

“The time I had to put into it, the hard work, you appreciate it that much more. It all happened so fast this year,” a humbled Bishop said. “I’m still in the moment right now living out my dream.”

Of all the stops on the remarkable road that started during his pop-warner football days through Fairfield High School and all the way to being the starting middle linebacker on a Super Bowl-winning team, Bishop points to the experience at City College that shaped the rest of his life.

“Being at the junior college level, you’re at that pivotal point. It’s either you keep going forward or just give up football and go into a different career,” Bishop said.

“For the players at City now, I know it’s hard right now, but stay focused on school work first and continue to grow on the field. Never give up and chase your dreams relentlessly.”

“Appreciate the practices, appreciate coach Rush because you’ll never play for another coach like him,” Bishop added. “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”

Email: email@theguardsman.com

2004

2005 - 2006

2007 - PRESENT

Bishop during his days at City College

Bishop sacking Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter

Bishop recovering a fumble, helping the Packers win Super Bowl XLV

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THE GUARDSMAN

Sports

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

MEN’S BASKETBALL: CITY COLLEGE — 78 V. CAÑADA — 71

Rams hang on for 19th consecutive victory

By Ryan Kuhn THE GUARDSMAN

With everything coming at them, including the Coast Conference’s leading scorer and a late second half run, the Rams escaped Cañada College with their 19th consecutive win.

After being up by only three points with two minutes Upcoming Games left in the game, City City College vs.

College defeated Ohlone College at Cañada 78-71 Feb. Ohlone on Feb. 9 4 to improve their at 7 p.m. record to a state’s City College vs. best 24-1 (9-0).

Chabot College at the City College head Wellness Center on Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. coach Justin LaBagh knew this would be a City College vs. Las tough game against a Positas at Las Positas on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. tough opponent.

“They made some really good shots,” he said. “[Cañada] is one of the top teams in Northern California and we knew they were going to hit shots.”

Even though Cañada is led by sophomore Peter Pappageorge, who averages 20 points per game, the Rams were able to hold their lead secured early in the second half despite giving Cañada an opening with fouls.

“We screwed up with fouls. We fouled a lot,” LaBagh said. “We contributed to that run.”

The first half was controlled by point guard Daryl Cooper who hit three 3-pointers, to score nine of his total 12 points.

Coming out with energy, the Rams started the second half on a 16-5 run extending the game to a 20-point lead, 56-36, and put the Colts on their heels.

“Coach said come out and relax a little bit,” Rams forward Jonathon Williams said. “We came down, started executing and we found the open man. Shots started

CLARIVEL FONG / THE GUARDSMAN

City College guard De’End Parker (21) battles for a loose ball with Colt Steven Sanders (20) in the Rams 78-71 victory over Cañada Feb. 4. The win was the 19th straight win for City College, and they remain the No. 1 ranked team in the State of California.

falling for us.”

Williams, who is fourth in the conference in scoring, finished with 19 points, six shy of his season high.

Soon after, the Colts started chipping away at the lead. Rams’ leading scorer Colin Chiverton fouled out midway though the second half, and momentum switched toward Cañada.

With the Colts down by three and the crowd starting to come to life, City College was forced to take a time out.

“Coach said to try to get the ball out

of [Pappageorge’s] hands,” Williams said.

In the final two minutes, City College kept their composure and only allowed Pappageorge and the Colts to score three points, saving the lead and the game.

The previous game against Skyline College was a big margin of victory, and LaBagh said he learned a lot from this close game.

“You don’t get much out of a game like Skyline except playing a lot of guys,” he said. “This one, you get see what you are made of.”

City College’s next opponent will be Ohlone College in Fremont Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.

Even though the Rams lead the Coast Conference, they are always looking for improvement. LaBagh said he will address conditioning.

“We are not in shape,” Labagh said.

“We are playing a lot of guys and we need to get in better shape to be able to keep the pressure up.”

Email: rkuhn@theguardsman.com

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: CITY COLLEGE — 85 V. SKYLINE — 53

After slow start, women’s basketball team rolls

By Aaron Turner CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Freshman Tiffany Mariano (10) jumps for the ball at a home game against Skyline College on Feb. 2.

The Rams remained tied for first place with Foothill College in the Coast Conference

BROADUS PARKER / THE GUARDSMAN

Looking to keep pace with Foothill College and stay atop the Coast Conference standings, the City College women’s basketball team took Upcoming Games another step toward City College vs. locking up a top seed College of San Mateo at San in the California Mateo on Feb. 9 at State Playoffs with 5:30 p.m. a 85-53 shellacking City College vs. of Skyline College Chabot College at the Feb. 2 at the Wellness Wellness Center on Center.

Feb. 11 at 5 p.m.

Sophomore City College vs. Las forward Shawnte Positas at Las Positas Taylor led the Rams on Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. with 25 points, freshman point guard Hallie Meneses scored 20. Fellow freshman Janis Peterson added 17 points while going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, helping the Rams win their seventh consecutive game.

With the win, City College (20-5, 6-1) moved a half game ahead of Foothill (20-4, 5-1) in the Coast Conference, with three games remaining on the schedule.

Although the Rams started off slow in the opening minutes, they were able to build a 40-33 lead going into halftime thanks to Peterson’s three-pointer with time expiring.

The second half was all Rams as they went on a 10-2 run and never looked back.

“We came out lackadaisical, I thought, in the beginning of the game,” Taylor said.

“Coach pulled us in at halftime and told us to just do what we do best: play together and play city ball.”

After being limited to only one threepointer in the first half, City College’s sharp-shooting Peterson proceeded to hit four in the second half, helping push the Rams to their lopsided victory.

Peterson said Rams head coach Jamie Hayes was able to give her a boost of confidence at halftime with four simple words. “‘Good shooters keep shooting,’” Peterson quoted Hayes as saying. “We can’t take any team for granted, and she really gave me more confidence.”

“Janis is such a great shooter,” Hayes said. “She [shoots] 40 percent from the three-point line, and I think she should always have that confidence to take the shots that are there for her.”

With only one more home game in the regular season, the Rams know they can’t get ahead of themselves if they expect to claim a second straight Coast Conference title.

“We’re taking this one game at a time these last three games,” Taylor said. “Our goal is to get through these games, get through playoffs and try to get to State.”

The Rams next take the court on the road Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m. against the College of San Mateo.

Email: email@theguardsman.com