The Guardsman, Vol. 170, Issue 5, City College of San Francisco by The Guardsman

EOPS CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

LIVING IN A PANDEMIC

COPING WITH COVID-19

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The Mission

A typically lively and crowded corner of San Francisco’s Mission District, located at 24th and Alabama St., appears rather deserted. San Francisco, CA. June 23, 2020. Photograph by Liz Lopez/The Guardsman.

In The Midst Of The COVID-19 Pandemic By Liz Lopez Email: elopez32@mail.ccsf.edu

Summertime in The Mission was quiet. Boarded up stores, locked up parks and empty streets appeared to be in stark contrast to this typically crowded, vivacious district. COVID-19 drastically altered the landscape of this district and it is marked by the struggles of businesses, residents and the community at large. On the surface the tone of The Mission appeared to be one of resilience and cautious optimism. Some residents voiced their excitement about the reopening of the city but diving deeper, you heard authentic concerns for safety, worry over financial burdens and the longing for interaction with their community. Desperate for some semblance of normalcy, residents relied on local restaurants and venues to provide an escape from home-cooked meals, zoom fatigue, and isolation. SUMMER — THREE MONTHS POST SHELTER-IN-PLACE, SMALL BUSINESSES STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE David Quinby, the owner of Amados said,”When the shelter-in-place order happened, the Mission immediately became a ghost town. Small businesses did a great thing and shut down but many will never come back because of the financial devastation. The larger corporations have the luxury to shelter in place for months, even years, and work from a laptop. The working class and small businesses don’t have that luxury. I think that with the right preventive

measures in place — masks, social distancing, washing hands — most risks can be mediated.” Dolly Valdez Bautista, manager of Hawker Fare restaurant, expressed deep concerns for her employees and the San Francisco community at large. Bautista remarked, “If I close down, then all these employees don’t have jobs. This economic pandemic is going to be the worst one that we’re going to see. There are people who are three, four months behind on rent, and on top of that, are trying to figure out how to feed their families; so it’s definitely not over.” “I think we should be holding the government accountable. If they really are concerned about the economy, then they should be subsidizing the mom and pop stores and small businesses, like they were supposed to, instead of this phantom money that is not even being accounted for,” commented Miriam Mendoza-Moody, a Mission District resident. The National Restaurant Association released a survey citing that 89% of adults expressed concern for businesses in their community that might not be able to survive the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

serve customers indoors, up to 25% of capacity; however, with such narrow profit margins, in an industry that hands over a large portion of their profits to third-party delivery companies, more closures are sure to come. Without government aid many businesses may not survive. Businesses located within college campuses have a unique set of obstacles, as they do not have keys to their own businesses and their customer base (on-campus students) is currently non-existent. “If there are no students, there’s no business,” says Alberto Campos, owner of Cafe de la Mission, located at 1125 Valencia Street, within the City College Mission Center. Whether or not college campuses open their doors to students next semester is of paramount concern to businesses located on college campuses. Prior to the COVID-19 campus closure, Campos was gradually investing in inventory for his restaurant, but post-closure and with no sales, Campos must reassess his inventory and sell perishable merchandise at a loss. With temporary closures turning into permanent closures across the Bay Area, many restaurant owners found that FALL — SEVEN MONTHS POST SHELTER-IN-PLACE, restructuring their business for take-out orders or outdoor OVER HALF OF SF BUSINESSES CLOSE dining was not an across-the-board solution. KPIX reported As fall progresses, residents that are working from home, on survey results released by the San Francisco Chamber who don’t risk being evicted, are the most optimistic about of Commerce, which revealed that more than half of all the future. Those who were laid off and are behind on rent storefronts in San Francisco have closed since the onset of are most apprehensive about staying healthy, finding a job, the COVID-19 pandemic. The full economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of local small and providing for their families. Restaurants in San Francisco currently are allowed to businesses is uncertain at this time.

Ailing Coffers a Root Symptom of City College’s At-Risk Accreditation By JohnTaylor Wildfeuer jt.wildfeuer@gmail.com

Illustration by Burcu Ozdemir/The Guardsman. Instagram: @Ozdemrbrcu

The Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) has placed City College on “Enhanced Monitoring” after routine audits found a 98% drop in cash reserves, high administrative turnover, and deficits averaging $13.3 million over three years. Under the heavy pall of deficit

spending, a spring semester that saw College was faced with the inevitability some 300 classes cut a day before that it would lose a significant amount of Spring registration, and the COVID-19 state funding. pandemic, student enrollment is down “Under the old funding formula, this semester when compared with Fall 100% of it was based on headcount 2019 according to the Fall 2020 Census enrollment,” recounts Alan Wong, a City Enrollment Report. This may prove a Hall Education Policy Advisor and candiloss the college cannot afford. date in the upcoming Board of Trustees When California transitioned to election, “now it’s 70% based on enrollusing a new formula for determin- ment, 20% based on low-income students, ing community college funding, City Accreditation continues on page 5

2 | NEWS

Vol. 170, Issue 5 | Oct. 21 - Oct. 26, 2020

Borrowing from a “Rainy Day” Account By Sadie Peckens speckens@mail.ccsf.edu

City College must send a proposed budget to the state for review this November. The Board of Trustees approved a resolution to include $21 million in funds from a backup trust for retirement benefits, called the Retiree Health Care Trust Fund sub-trust (RHCTF), in the 2019 – 2020 and 2020 – 2021 budgets.

Illustration by Burcu Ozdemir/The Guardsman. Instagram: @Ozdemrbrcu

According to a written statement by a City College of Orr said that while there is some long-term staff in the San Francisco Spokesperson, “This is essential to ensure the administration who are trying to make things work, overall College can meet its fiscal obligations while maintaining a there has not been a stable team for a long time. “It’s basi5% reserve, and will not impact retired employees.” cally like trying to steer a ship without a rudder, because The initial suggestion was met with questions. Former you don’t have the people in place to advise the administraeconomics teacher Doug Orr and former accounting teacher tion and the Board of Trustees on what’s happening with Susana Atwood worked together to research and create a the budget,” Orr said. document that explains the plan and what it means for The money will have to be returned over time. A retirees. The document acknowledges that the concept statement in the resolution approved at the Oct. 8 meetsounds scary, but that the fund is “essentially a ‘rainy day’ ing references a proposed funding strategy to return the fund.” It is a backup fund specifically and only for retiree money over 26 years. According to a City College of health care benefits. The proposal is to use the funds for San Francisco Spokesperson, a letter from an actuary their intended purpose. was presented at the meeting which outlines a plan for At an Oct. 8 Board of Trustees Special Meeting, returning the funds. the funds were approved to be included in the tentative AFT2121 Faculty Union President Malaika Finkelstein budget. Two resolutions were presented. One resolution discussed the proposed use of funds in an interview with outlines disbursement limitations for the RHCTF. In other The Guardsman., words, it sets rules around how much can be taken out and “I think it is completely justified to worry about this and to on what grounds. The second resolution declares an watch them very, very carefully to make sure they do actually “extraordinary financial circumstance,” permitting the repay it,” she said. “But as long as they do actually repay it, District to use $21 million in funds from the sub-trust to it’s not going to hurt anyone to take this money out. It’s not pay for retiree medical benefits in the 2019 – 2020 and going to hurt current retirees, it's not going to hurt future 2020 – 2021 fiscal years. The resolutions were voted on retirees. It will hurt us to have this money not available for together and both were unanimously approved. instruction at a time when we're drastically underfunded.” The RHCTF was established after it was passed on the The district is next required to present the recomJune 2008 ballot. It is a reserve fund of money to save towards mendations to the Retiree Health Care Trust Fund Board something that is typically already covered by a different line for review and approval. The board webpage of the item. Retirement benefits are paid out of current revenues. Retiree Health Care Trust Fund website outlines that According to the second resolution approved at an Oct. 8 the board is made up of five members, each appointed Board of Trustees Special Meeting, City College has inten- by a different entity. tionally paid more into the fund than is required. The plan is to present the budget at an Oct. 22 A variety of factors have been attributed to the need to Board of Trustees Meeting. The use of the funds from use reserve funds. The second resolution presented at the the sub-trust is a portion of the budget that will be Oct. 8 meeting states that the financial circumstances are proposed for review. partly due to COVID-19.

EOPS Program, Born from 1960s Militancy, Celebrates 50 Years By Tobin Jones tobinjones@protonmail.com

The Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, or EOPS, has celebrated fifty years at City College. The program, which marked its half-centennial last year, offers special assistance to California community college students from marginalized backgrounds. “ON STRIKE, SHUT IT DOWN!” EOPS has its roots in student protests in the late 1960s at San Francisco State College, (Now San Francisco State University) culminating in the longest student strike in US history. The strike, which saw five months of bloody clashes between demonstrators and SFPD's notorious Tac Squad, were sparked by demands to increase admissions of Black and other nonwhite students, and the implementation of courses focusing on the history and experiences of these groups. Prior to 1969, “Approximately 60% of students in the public schools in San Francisco were nonwhite, but only 6-8% of the students at State,” according to Tomasita Medal, a strike organizer. At that time, state schools used a system called “Tracking” to plot students' educational paths and “students of color were given classes that did not give them enough to fulfill the requirements to get into college,” said Medal.

Anita Martinez, another striker who later headed the EOP office at SFSU, recalled that in most classes, “I was the only student of color. And it got pretty lonely.” (Full disclosure: Guardsman faculty supervisor Juan Gonzalez has endorsed Martinez in her bid Courtesy of EOPS on Facebook Page for City College Board of Trustees) Concessions to students included commitments to expand the school’s may play some part in correcting these resilient. But they may not have the financial special admissions program, which disparities. 29% of EOPS students gradu- resources or the cultural capital to navigate granted acceptance to applicants from ate, transfer to a four-year institution, or earn the system. And so when this happens, a marginalized backgrounds who would not a certificate, compared to just 14.1% of the lot of students come into our program otherwise meet state entry requirements, general student body. The difference is even because they need that type of support (that and provided institutional support to assist more pronounced when looking at the most we provide).” Evasco says that the services them in meeting their educational goals. historically disadvantaged groups. Data EOPS provides give students who otherwise Later that year, California passed legisla- from Spring 2020 for African-Americans may feel like the deck is stacked against them tion creating a similar initiative, Extended and Latinx show completion rates of 19.4% the confidence they need to achieve their Opportunity Programs and Services, at for EOPS participants and 13.2% and educational goals. “They feel more prepared, community colleges. 14.8%, respectively, for African-Americans they feel like they're ready to go, and that’s and Latinx in the general student population. something that we want our students to feel.” STATISTICS SHOW PROGRAM’S IMPACT Rashmi Adhikari, a nursing student who It also shows superior reading and math As the program celebrates five decades, scores among EOPS students when was part of EOPS and later was employed has it achieved its goals of redressing educa- compared to those not in the program. there as a student worker said that particitional inequalities? pating in the program changed the course STAFF, STUDENT PRAISE Issues of structural racial and economic of her college career. “They help you with inequality in higher education persist to this Katrina Evasco, the current interim- your books, transfer process, counseling... day, including throughout the California director of EOPS at City College, believes financial aid advising, all these great things,” Community College system. Studies after that the program remains essential. “We she told The Guardsman, and encourages study has shown a significant gap in educa- are serving students that are parents, first students who think they may be eligible to tional outcomes between racial groups. generation college students, foster youth, apply. “They actually do care for students, in But statistics on City College pupils that are experiencing homelessness, or terms of how they’re doing in their classes... enrolled in EOPS indicate that the program are immigrants,” she said. “They’re very and that they reach their end goal.”

Staff Co-Editors-in-Chief Jennifer Yin Meyer Gorelick News Editor Matheus Maynard

Culture Editor Alexa Bautista

Opinion Editor Andy Damian-Correa Photo Editor Emily Trinh

Layout Editor Peter Suter Designer Chiara Di Martino

Online Editor Fran Smith Social Media Editor

Diana Guzman Illustrators Manon Cadenaule Burcu Ozdemir Staff Writers Eleni Balakrishnan An Pham

Tim Hill Starr Wilson Hannah Patricia Asuncion

Elizabeth Lopez Tobin Jones Sadie Peckens

John Taylor Schneider Kaiyo Funaki Rachael Scarborough Photographers Jennifer Hsu Kevin Kelleher Melvin Wong

NEWS | 3

Vol. 170, Issue 5 | Oct. 21 - Oct. 26, 2020

City College Mourns the Loss of Five Prominent Figures of the City College Community University of California Berkeley for professional success. her undergraduate and graduate studWhen not working, Jones enjoyed ies until 1972. As an undergraduate, shopping and was an avid traveler. she was a member of the Delta Sigma “She loved the finer things in life,” Theta sorority. said her younger sister, Paula Carter, After briefly teaching in Rich- remembering how Jones once bought mond, CA, she began her long her a faux fur coat. career at City College in 1972. Jones After retiring in 2010, Rita spent moved to Pacifica, CA in 1973, where most of her time at church and with she started her family. Jones was family. “Rita was very protective of her very active in her church, serving family and kids,” said Carter. “She had as a church clerk and church coun- worked very hard, and I think toward cil member at Ocean View Bible her last years, when she retired, she Fellowship Church, and as a represen- really was interested in spending deditative for the San Francisco Peninsula cated time with her family.” Baptist Association. Jones is survived by her sons Terry “She just had a heart of giving,” and Brian, three of her sisters Anita said Rita Donahue of the SFMTA, Williams, Sandra Herbert, and Paula who became close with Jones after Carter, and four grandchildren. meeting her at church. “When Due to COVID-19, no formal you were in her space, you felt at funeral services were held. Friends and ease, comfortable.” Jones was also family attended an informal memoa giver in the workplace, spending rial at Nick’s Seafood Restaurant in time mentoring her colleagues for Pacifica on March 15.

RITA JONES City College’s first Black Dean of Library and Learning Resources, Rita Joyce Williams Jones, died Jan. 12, 2020 in South San Francisco. She was 71. Under Jones’ leadership, Rosenberg Library won the Excellence in Academic Libraries award from the Association of College and Research Libraries in 2003. Jones was also a founding member of the Friends of the Library organization. She spent nearly 38 years at City College. Jones was born June 17, 1948 in Memphis, TN, and moved to California before age two. She attended the

NEIL LAUGHLIN Devoted educator and coach Neil T. Laughlin died on Sept. 25, 2020, of natural causes after a long illness. He was 82. Laughlin was professor emeritus at the University of San Francisco

DANA GALLOWAY Broadcast Electronic Media Arts (BEMA) classified member Dana Galloway died on Sept. 30, 2020 due to natural causes. Galloway is remembered for her “big personality, generous spirit, and warm heart” according to the BEMA department. Just like most classified staff employees, she attended City College in 1983, where she was introduced to the BEMA department. She took all the BEMA classes and later on she began working in Media Services. Being a member of the Classified Staff consisted of her

Lady in red, Rita Jones poses for a portrait. Origin of photograph unavailable.

where he taught for 47 years. He also taught part-time in the City College of San Francisco’s physical education department for 30 years. Throughout his career, Laughlin published several research articles on physical and mental effects on athletics. A native San Franciscan, Laughlin was born Aug. 22, 1938. He attended St. Ignatius High School, then went on to San Francisco State University, where he was inducted into the football hall of fame.

Laughlin went on to earn his department in the 1970s, before such ‘old-school physical education,’ as they masters and doctorate of education advocacy was common. He was a called it,” Sean said. at Stanford University. Meanwhile, “wild guy,” Sean said, loved by people Laughlin is survived by Maryann he worked as a deputy sheriff in San from all walks of life. of Daly City, who he married in 1963, Francisco and began his teaching Now City College’s fitness center sons Sean, 56, and Jimmy, 53, and career at Oceana High School in director, Sean said he grew up with the grandsons Connor and Liam. Pacifica, where he coached wrestling school, eventually becoming a student Due to COVID-19 restrictions, and football for three years before and then a teacher alongside his father. the family held a private ceremony starting his career at USF. Today, the courses Laughlin built at Holy Angels Church to celebrate According to his son Sean, are still being taught. “He was very Laughlin’s life. Laughlin always thought outside the influential that way [even] as a partbox, marching for gay rights and time instructor, bringing more of the recruiting women to the sheriff’s lecture [and] academic side of the

being a part of various committees and workgroups for program reviews, enrollment management, facilities etc. “I remember her telling me that she had been a radio station student in the Broadcasting Department decades ago and had her own hard rock radio program,” Susan Boeckman longtime friend and co-worker recalls. The BEMA department was like a second family to Galloway and she was like a mother to everyone there. Whenever there was a party or event like baby showers or retirement parties, she was the one to plan it all out. “She was a hard worker and she loved her work and was dedicated to CCSF and our students. She had a large personality - a big heart and would do anything for you. She always kept my classroom running with the broadcast technology I needed,”

History and Political Science instructor Darlene Alioto said. Her favorite time of the year was Halloween and she always found ways to come up with creative costume ideas and encourage everyone else to do the same. Galloway is survived by her daughter Danielle and son Teddy. Due to COVID-19, the family won’t be holding a public gathering at this time, but her coworkers are hoping to plan a Halloweenthemed celebration of her life in the near future.

Dana Galloway (center) poses for a photo with her friends, Rob Sham (back center) and fellow Broadcast Electronic Media Arts Department (BEMA) faculty member, Dana Jae Labrecque (left), during a late spring San Francisco Giants baseball game at AT&T park. San Francisco, CA. 2015. Photo courtesy of Teri Ferrell.

LINDA SQUIRES GROHE Retired Dean of City College’s School of Health and Physical Education Linda Squires Grohe died on Sept. 29, 2020 due to AML Leukemia. According to the SF Examiner, she is the recipient of The California Wellness Foundation’s Champion of Health Professions Diversity Award. She worked at City College for 41 years. Grohe believed that community colleges like City College allowed

Faculty Advisor Juan Gonzales

Linda Squires Grohe smiles bright for a portrait. Photograph courtesy from Grohe's Facebook profile.

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students to have an education that was accessible to students with different backgrounds. She helped create an emergency medical technician program at Galileo High School, where students are allowed to get high school and college credit for taking a medical terminology class. It’s a way for students to gain employment opportunities and give them the chance to feel like a college student. Timothy Berthold, former Chair of Health Education, believed that Grohe was never afraid of different opinions and “she was the very best that City College has ever had in terms of leadership.” She also helped create the Metro Academy Program, which is a 30-year partnership transfer program with San Francisco State University. It focuses

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on students of color and 1st generation students. It has a “82% success rate helping students at CCSF to transfer to four years... it’s still thriving and growing,” Berthold said. Grohe went to George Washington High School in 1961 and went to San Jose State University after graduating. “Her legacy and support still remains at City College,” Berthold said. Grohe is survived by her sister Carol, two nephews Chris and Rico, stepchildren William and Sara, and grandchildren Brain, Michelle, Stuart, and Jacquelyn. Due to COVID-19, there won’t be a public memorial service until able to do so.

Mailing Address 50 Frida Kahlo Way, Box V-67 San Francisco, CA 94112 Bungalow 615

Prominent Figures continues on page 4

4 | CULTURE

Vol. 170, Issue 5 | Oct. 21 - Oct. 26, 2020

Jason Cortez, CCSF Alumnus and Firefighter-Paramedic, Dead at 42 In an official report, SFFD detailed how COVID-19 restrictions forced a reduction in firelbonifa2@mail.ccsf.edu fighters during training drills. Eight firefighters were Jason Cortez, a San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) typically involved in the pump drill, but only four firefighter-paramedic, died Oct. 7 at the SFFD Division of participated when the accident occurred. Training Tower at 19th and Folsom streets after an on-duty “Each firefighter was required to carry out tasks individupump drill accident. ally, which are normally done as part of a team,” SFFD said. Cortez, 42, fell three stories after he lost his balance Fire officials staged a memorial procession as when a water valve’s high-powered stream struck him in Cortez’s body was transferred from the hospital to the the chest. The valve was not connected to a hose. medical examiner. He was rushed to Zuckerberg San Francisco General The 13-year SFFD veteran and 3rd generation San Hospital, where he later died of his injuries just before 11 a.m. Franciscan was born on Sept. 16, 1978 in San Francisco. He grew up in Potrero Hill. He attended Cathedral School for Boys and Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory. He then went to Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. Before attending St. Mary’s, Cortez remained in San Francisco. Cortez and his partner, Patricia, “Pattie,” Leung, shared an apartment with friends, LeRoid David and Khalil De Mesa, from 1999 to 2000. “Jason was such a funny, goofy guy. He was the type to roll with the punches and punch you at the same time,” David said. “We all built this synergy right away.” David and De Mesa remember their old friend’s ambition vividly. “Jason always talked about working for SFFD to follow in his Dad’s footsteps,” De Mesa said. “We were so young, but he was already focused on his career,” David added. Cortez trained in the Paramedic Program at City College and graduated in 2005. Megan Corry is Program Director of the Paramedic Program, and trained Cortez directly. “Everyone is just shocked. I’m getting calls from his classmates who work in other states and just heard about it. And they graduated 15 years ago,” Corry said. Corry reflected on how Cortez’s kindness manifested “in his patient care, friendships, and even if you were just meeting him for the first time.” “He was such a warm and considerate Khalil De Mesa (left), Jason Cortez (center), Patricia Leung (right), and person who valued family and friendships. LeRoid David (far right) enjoy Christmas festivities with David calling It was just who he was, and he did it without the event a, “holiday roommate family photo.” The photo was taken any expectation of recognition or appreciaby David using a self-timer and photographed in their shared aparttion,” Corry said. ment. San Francisco, CA. Dec. 1999. Courtesy photograph by LeRoid By Loretta Bonifacio

Cortez also served as a mentor to interns enrolled in the program. “Although he was not officially a preceptor, he often mentored interns when his paramedic partner on the ambulance was the primary preceptor,” Corry added. Cortez’s technical prowess made him an ideal teacher. When his old roommate needed to prepare for his EMT exam, he knew exactly who to call. “Without hesitation, he helped me study: he brought all his notes, old exams, and some diagrams,” De Mesa said. “He took so much pride in helping me not just pass, but actually understand the material.” “He was my brother then, and he’s my brother still,” De Mesa added. He now works as a paramedic in Chicago and credits Cortez for helping him pass the EMT exam on his first attempt. Cortez’s dreams were finally realized when he joined SFFD in June 2007. He worked as an EMT and paramedic on ambulances at Station 49 in the Bayview. In 2015, he joined the 118th Fire Academy Recruit class and trained in fire suppression. In Jan. 2019, he was assigned to Station 3 in the Tenderloin as a firefighter-paramedic. “Station 3, Engine 3, is the busiest fire engine in the country,” said Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson. “So that should tell you something about him.” “He loved his job, he loved the people he worked with, and he loved his family,” Chief Nicholson added. “If I could clone him, I would. He was a really wonderful human being.” To honor Cortez, flags at the State Capitol and SFFD stations will be flown at half-staff indefinitely. Cortez is survived by his wife and partner of more than 20 years, Pattie, and two sons, Jackson and Greyson, along with his parents, Gilbert and Sonia Cortez, and brother, Gregory. A college fund created for his sons on GoFundMe has raised over $295,000, and has well surpassed the original goal amount of $75,000. All services were private and by invitation only. A family vigil took place on Monday, Oct. 19 at St. Ignatius Church on 650 Parker Ave. in San Francisco. A funeral service occurred on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Oracle Park at 24 Willie Mays Plaza in San Francisco, followed by interment at Holy Cross Cemetery on 1500 Mission Road in Colma, CA. Around the time of Cortez’s death, City College paramedic interns were doing rotations at the Division of Training Tower. For those adversely affected, Instructor Corry suggests connecting with a mental health counselor through the Student Health Virtual Counter at (415) 239-3110 or studenthealth@ccsf.edu.

David.

Prominent Figures continued from page 3 LGBT counseling office at the Brinson was a very active surviving her aneurysm. many from all walks of life. She will Ocean Campus, and the Castro member and officer in the AFT “Rosemary had a gregarious be missed by all,” retired counselValencia campus. 2121 for many years. She first personality and was beloved by ing faculty Sarah Thompson said. When Brinson first started started off as a precinct represenout her career at City College, tative and was a member of the she was the student peer adviser AFT2121 negotiation team. “Rosemary had the unique abilRetired counselor and coordinator in the general counExecutive Board Member of the seling department, which allowed ity to make each person feel very American Federation of Teachers students to pursue careers in coun- special and deeply appreciated. Several of her students stayed in (AFT 2121) Rosemary Brinson seling and politics. She was also a big supporter touch with her many years past died on Oct 1, 2020. She was 70. Brinson was hired at City of students and faculty of color. her retirement. Her humor was College as a fulltime counseling Brinson worked well with diverse often outrageous and her laughfaculty member in the General populations, which was reflected ter infectious,” retired counseling faculty member and close friend Counseling Department in 1980. in her work. For example, she was on Joan Vitorelo said. She even served as the Dean the board of the San Francisco Brinson had a brain aneurysm of Counseling. Brinson was a huge supporter Branch of the NAACP to help many years ago and was told by of LGBT students and the LGBT support the Philippine Studies her doctors that she would never Community. She was a trained Department, she supported all the be able to live alone or work, hospice volunteer during the various Multicultural Retention but she proved them wrong and AIDS crisis. She was an advocate Programs, and attended all campus returned to work at City College. for the creation of Gay Lesbian activities hosted by students of She was very open about talking studies, which was the first in the color and the various faculty of about her disability with students In black and white, Rosemary Brinson poses for a portrait. Origin and she’d tell stories about of photograph unavailable. nation. She counseled at both the color associations.

ROSEMARY BRINSON

COMMUNITY | 5

Vol. 170, Issue 5 | Oct. 21 - Oct. 26, 2020

ENGAGING WITH WRITING

With Pulitzer Prize Winner Jonathan Freedman

Reaching Out to CCSF Students Are you feeling Alienated by Covid-19 Lockdown? Jonathan Freedman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist “I love working with City College Students!” Author of Seven Books Hablo Español

Every human being has a voice, a story. I believe in the power of writing to change lives, beginning with your own. I’m reaching out to CCSF students who want a supportive and uplifting environment to build confidence in their writing!

Drop in! TUESDAYS: 12 noon to 1:30 pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88184556233 Meeting ID: 881 8455 6233 ENGLISH LAB of CITY COLLEGE of SAN FRANCISCO

STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES

Support Groups Fall 2020 WRAP (WELLNESS, RECOVERY ACTION PLAN) STAYING WELL DURING A PANDEMIC The Wellness Recovery Action Plan or WRAP is a self-designed prevention and wellness process that anyone can use to get well, stay well and make their life the way they want it to be. Our workshop will support students in creating their own wellness toolbox, a daily maintenance plan, and help students to identify upsetting events and early warning signs in order to develop action plans for responding at these times.

Accreditation continued from page 1 and 10%, based on graduations and transfers. We've been receiving a lot of grace periods. But it will come into effect and exacerbate the fiscal situation.” City College is one of just two entities granted a Hold Harmless extension by the state of California, giving them a grace period to adapt to the formula. This was expected to end this year but has been extended, and more widely applied, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “At the rate, we're going, once that ‘hold harmless’ ends, God knows what that drop in revenue will be for the school,” says Han Zou, another candidate for the Board, and City College alumnus. Doctor Victor Olivieri, a veteran, and public servant also seeking a seat on the Board of Trustees recalls that “City College financial planning was due to run out in 2017 / 2018. Instead of weaning themselves off that stabilization funding, which amassed about $53 million, they continued to operate at the same level, [and gave] the faculty a massive raise.” Marie Hurabiell who is also running for a Board seat and has more than twenty-two years of academic Board experience says reading the budget was physically painful to her. “A 10% administrative raise when there’s a 26% operating loss,” Hurabiel states, “No responsible human being would ever think that’s okay.” To her point, despite salaries and benefits making up 92.3% of total expenditures in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, former Chancellor Mark Rocha promoted an administrative pay increase with misleading costs. Three months later he resigned, accepting a $340,000 contract buyout and citing a “confidential personal matter”. Geramye Teeter, another Board candidate, and community organizer, says it gives him “goosebumps to think about”. “There’s no punishment, [he] didn’t work with the board and [he] didn't prioritize students. We shouldn’t be rewarding you for that, we should be showing you the door.” To that point, Wong remarks, “it really reduces confidence in our city and City College when they

see that an administrator leaves and takes a large severance package.” Mark Rocha is not the only high-level City College official to resign as the ACCJC cites high turnover as part of its reasoning for the College’s current classification. Trudy Walton, Daman Grewal, and Luther Aaberge (Vice-Chancellor of Student Services, Vice-Chancellor of Information Technology, and Vice-Chancellor of Finance and Administration respectively) resigned last fiscal year. City College has also had five Chancellors in the last six years. More than half of the candidates interviewed spoke of the need to appoint a financial overseer, perhaps in the form of a Chief Financial Officer, a key position in many other community colleges in the state. As of last July, Chancellor Vurdien has begun the process of hiring both a Chief Fiscal Officer as well as a Chief Student Services Officer. Despite his assurance that City College’s $53 Million drop in cash revenues was “a trend” and that it “wasn’t spent on anything extraordinary,” Interim Chancellor Vurdien says he has asked himself “Why would anyone spend $53 million dollars?” City College has until Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, to respond to the ACCJC findings with “plans undertaken to address the fiscal factors listed”. Institutions that fail to address the issues raised by the Commission “may receive an adverse action” according to a letter sent to and published by Chancellor Vurdien on September 23, 2020. “Believe me,” assures Chancellor Vurdien, “there is nothing serious in this. This is not a big deal.” That said, the Chancellor also acknowledges that the audit report is indicative of ACCJC’s concern that, “the College doesn’t have money, and we don’t even know whether this institution can continue”. The future of funding and the body of the Board is ultimately decided by students and votes. As the City College balances its budget, ultimately it is citizens and students who hold the scales.

Start Date: October 19, 2020: 11am - 12pm COLLEGE STUDENTS TRANSCENDING TODAY’S ANXIETY AND FEARS In the day of COVID-19, smoke darkened cities, and of the “virtual world,” uneasy feelings, intense emotions, concentration issues, and relationship stresses are even more generally dominant in our lives. Our workshop will support students’ natural abilities to triumph over such distressing responses to situations of this new day.

Start Date: October 21, 2020: 3pm - 4pm

TO REGISTER, PLEASE CONTACT STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES:

OCTOBER 20 20 DOM E S TIC VIOLENCE A W A RENE S S AT CCSF

CCSF VIRTUAL HELP COUNTER: (ZOOM MEETING ID: 930 1193 6116) EMAIL: STUDENTHEALTH@CCSF.EDU CALL: (415)239-3110

VI RTUAL CL OT HES LI NE

Oct 12-31

STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES

GET YOUR FREE FLU SHOT

Flu shot is free for currently enrolled credit and non-credit students only. Walk-ups will be accepted, but appointments are encouraged. Please visit bit.ly/CCSFFLU (*case sensitive) to make an appointment.

Online art installation visualizing the real impacts of domestic and sexual violence statistics. Submit a piece!

#S P EA KT O M E P OE TR Y F RO M S UR V I V OR S Live Online Poetry Event Thurs Oct 29 11:10-12:30 p

#DVAwareness Poetry

Flu Clinic Schedule: Date: Tuesday, 10/13/20 Time: 3-5pm Location: Ocean Campus, RAM Plaza

on instagram Oct 19-31

Date: Wednesday, 10/14/20 Time: 10am – 1pm Location: Ocean Campus, RAM Plaza Date: Tuesday, 10/27/20 Time: 3-5pm Location: Ocean Campus, RAM Plaza Date: Wednesday, 10/28/20 Time: 10am – 1pm Location: Ocean Campus, RAM Plaza

For more information, please contact Student Health Services: Visit: CCSF Virtual Help Counter Email: Studenthealth@ccsf.edu Call: (415)239-3110

QRC

Mon 10/26 4-6pm

WRC

Fri 10/16 12-1:30 pm & Fri 10/30 2:30-4:pm

HEALTHY RELATI ONS HI P WO RK SH OPS

6 | OPINION

Vol. 170, Issue 5 | Oct. 21 - Oct. 26, 2020

Learning to Live in a Pandemic John Shaver shaverjohnj@gmail.com

THE BEGINNING The cafe filled up earlier in the morning than usual that first week. Young San Francisco workers sat shoulder to shoulder, their MacBooks spanning the communal tables. Oat milk lattes and avocado toasts soften any seriousness regarding the recent work-from-home order. “You’re really close to me,” complained a customer as I squatted down to fit a few more loaves of bread onto the retail shelf. She seemed put out. I was definitely off-put. We exchanged glares and I got back to work. Over my many years working in the service industry, I’ve learned not to get too wound up by entitled customers, but this young woman’s comment at the onset of a global pandemic was hard to ignore. No one seemed to care much for working from home during those critical weeks in early March. In hindsight, I wasn’t exactly the model citizen either. I didn’t think twice about keeping on with my side hustle as a private chef. Technically, I was working from home, it just wasn’t my home. Besides, my clients asked for more meals that week. They, too, were stuck working from home. NOBODY REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON. So, just days after grumbling about anxious customers flooding my day job, I began to carefully lay out a bounty of ingredients onto my client’s soapstone countertop. As I unpacked my knives, strained voices whirred through the glass French doors that framed the perfectly manicured side yard. The couple I cook for spilled into the kitchen and hastily informed me that Mayor London Breed had just issued a citywide shelter in place order effective at midnight. They ran out the door to stock up on essentials. I finished preparing their food, packed up my equipment, and headed over to my girlfriend’s place to figure out my next steps. A novel coronavirus that has to this day infected nearly 40 million people around the world, killing over 1 million of us, was finally being taken seriously by a political leader in this country. With just 112 confirmed cases and little to no consensus regarding the threat of the virus, San Francisco was the first city in the country to announce a lockdown. We were standing at the brink. The uncertainties began to pour in. Is it safe to go back to work at the bakery? Am I going to get sick? Will I die? Can I get someone else sick? Will they die? Determining my next steps was an acute practice in risk assessment, but the lack of knowledge regarding the infection rate and lethality of COVID-19 was overwhelming. To cope, accurate information about the virus became my lifeblood. Aside from ensuring I had plenty of food and water, my next steps were emphatically unclear. THE PAST When the world catapults towards you, the chaos of the present moment begins to crystalize. I am familiar with the

John Shaver sprinkles flour onto rounds of bread dough during his shift at, The Mill. San Francisco, CA. Oct. 10, 2020. Photograph by Jennifer Hsu/ The Guardsman.

John Shaver stands for a portrait inside the bakery kitchen at, The Mill. San Francisco, CA. Oct. 10, 2020. Photograph by Jennifer Hsu/The Guardsman.

THE PRESENT sudden uncertainties that life guarantees. Two years ago, my mother suffered an unexpected seizure that left her in The arc of one’s life is, if anything, uncertain, and the a coma. Early on, the doctors offered a diagnosis that held palpability of the pandemic forces a daily confrontation with space for recovery. Her body was healthy, but the condition that truth. My eyes are opening to see what was always there of her brain was unknown and what would be left of her in front of me. Living with just a little bit less has given me mind was equally unclear. As the days progressed, it became more. There is less attraction to an ideal. My attention is obvious that the initial diagnosis was too optimistic, and my shifting away from my plans, my aspirations... myself. I am siblings and I needed to make a decision. Fortunately, we left with the process, my process, to amend and tilt towards understood my mother and each other, and were able to any practice I choose. I am finally all here in the present. come to the most loving consensus. The limitations imposed by the pandemic taught me a It was best to let go and commit to end-of-life care at crucial lesson: I’m okay. More profoundly, I’m okay with a hospice facility. My siblings and I could never know with being okay. My agency in this world is being challenged. The certainty if my mother would wake up. We made the best agency I am left with is a pure privilege: The privilege to decision we could with the information we had. The month dig in at my job, to enjoy home-cooked meals, to take more or so from when my mom got sick to her passing was filled time to read, make art, and once and for all, the privilege with the spectrum of human emotion. The outside world fell to stop worrying about the future. This is the nature of the away, work obligations were skirted, and the present moment virus. It shines its spotlight on you and everything in your life. grew. The small rituals of the long, slow days were anchors We are no longer arranging the lights. Our shadows will to the passing of time. Napping in the ottoman next to my not stay put. We are forced to look where we once cast shades. dying mother each afternoon was everything. The important The entire social system is illuminated. Tears between us things in my life rose to the center. Love and family were it. all are now gaping wide. Before the pandemic, I was stuck navigating my life Vast economic inequality and systemic racism are on towards an ideal — reevaluating the trajectory of my career, vivid display. Environmental catastrophes are ravaging our organizing my life to optimize happiness, seeking to extract communities. The future of our country and our planet is far meaning through exciting future endeavors, and dreaming from certain. But, the thing is, our passage has never been about some critical move that would someday bring me secure. The pandemic is revealing what has always been true happiness. Life was an exercise in looking outwards for true: the future is a misplaced motivator for human behavior. fulfillment and acceptance. I was also adept at examining Just as my endless musings about the outcome of my life my past, looking to identify patterns that I felt no longer have been proven to be unproductive, humanity’s incentive served me. I dwelled on missed opportunities, regretted to secure a livable future cannot fully rest on the threat of missteps, and ruminated about who I was and who I wanted annihilation. It is too abstract an idea and the concept just to become. Do I need to figure out a better work situation? doesn’t carry enough weight, even as it is crushing us. Is this the right role for me? Am I living up to my potential? The forests are burning now. Sea levels are rising now. Should I have taken a different path? I was obsessed with Violent oppression is destroying lives now. A virus is infectcultivating a meaningful life and lost trying to make sense ing the world’s population now. We must react not to the of myself and the world. threat of a terrifying future but to the reality of a terrifying About a week into quarantine, I concluded that it was present, a terrifying now. relatively safe for me to continue working at the bakery. A The preservation of some idyllic future only exists in my mere two weeks later, a remarkable sense of gratitude began mind and the experience living under this pandemic has to wash over me. I was still receiving a regular paycheck, I taught me to let this illusion fade. We are not being called got to leave the house, and I had a community outside of to act now to secure a livable future, we are being called to my home to process all the madness. act now to live now. The blossoming solidarity and support at the bakery were inspirational. I was deeply moved and my default thinking slowed to a halt. Dreaming up a better work situation would have been absurd. Wasting time thinking about how to better position myself for success in the world felt depraved. Prioritizing gratification and attempting to suck the marrow out of every life experience didn’t make sense anymore. Maybe the recent experience of losing my mother has primed me for life under quarantine. When I left my client’s kitchen to figure out my next steps just a few hours before lockdown, I didn’t have any less information about the future than any other day on this planet. What I had less of were my illusions of accurately being able to predict an outcome. Under less harsh conditions, doubts about the future can often be paralyzing. But these days, doubts are the currency of our time, and like many, I have found myself going all in. Chef and fine artist, John Shaver, sketches art at his apartment in San Francisco's Outer Sunset District. Oct. 10, 2020. Photograph by Jennifer Hsu/ The Guardsman.

OPINION | 7

Vol. 170, Issue 5 | Oct. 21 - Oct. 26, 2020

How One Student Overcame COVID-19 and its Threats Toward his Livehood and Family Charles Butler cbutle41@mail.ccsf.edu

By the second week of April, the pandemic had taken both of my jobs, social life, health insurance and the ability to see my therapist. My work, education and daily existence were not just drastically different but largely eliminated. OK, I’m a dramatic person so let me rephrase. Like everyone else in the country, my life had been put on hold. The changes to everyday life brought on more questions than anything else. I was reading more news articles than I ever had in my life. And every conversation I had with family, friends, and coworkers was about living with the pandemic. People had lost their income, freedom, joy, confidence, and much more — even their lives. But what I kept harping on was that no one I knew had been exposed to coronavirus. The biggest question in my mind, and the minds of everyone who I had been talking to, was “How bad is it?” Then on May 11, I tested positive. I’d been feeling under the weather for two days before the test. My symptoms included constant chills, mild cough, insomnia, loss of appetite, loss of smell and taste, and, most importantly, constant

fear for my health. It took about nine days before I felt healthy again and the lack of taste and smell lasted about two weeks. My symptoms would be considered a mild reaction to the virus. Severe symptoms would include pneumonia, fever, sore throat, extreme cough, and finally death. What hurts the most and worried me daily was that I was going to have to isolate myself and not see my family for two weeks and worry that there was a chance I had put them in danger. I couldn’t afford to rent a hotel room so that was not an option. I had already been with my mom since the symptoms started, so at that point, I knew she was going to have to ride this out with me. My mom is 52 and in good health, but as far as what the news says, she’s at high risk. So every day I wore my mask and just worried, what am I going to do when I wake up and she’s very sick? But thank god, she wound up not coming down with any symptoms during those two weeks, or after. Not only did she not develop any symptoms but no one else in my family did either. I was in close contact with my whole family in the days leading up to testing positive. So I’m left with a huge question. How do multiple people that I’m living with and in close quarters with while having

Charles Butler hangs out by his home in the Sunset District of San Francisco, CA. Oct. 14, 2020. Photo by Kevin Kelleher/Special to The Guardsman.

the coronavirus not get sick as well? I have since read that there are people who have contracted the virus for a second time. So all I can do is stay healthy. Wear my mask and do everything that the CDC suggests and hope that I and my loved ones don’t have to go through that. I am still out of work and living from day to day. I have been healthy since my bout with COVID-19, and I hope it stays that way. I wake up everyday and try to be grateful for the people I have in my life and my health. I still live in a bit of fear but I am trying to overcome that. I look forward to when we can find a cure or vaccine but until then I will continue to live and do my part as a social distancing citizen.

The Trump Administration Crusades Against the Foreign Students Once Again By Matheus Maynard mmaynar7@mail.ccsf.edu

After their failed attempt last July, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is taking another shot at international students. Their proposal gives foreign students limited-term visa duration, and an even shorter duration for specific countries. Foreign students, who are mostly on F-1 or J-1 visas, have been granted an indefinite stay in the United States as long as they actively remain studying and show satisfactory progress toward their studies. The proposed new ruling would set fixed terms, and grounds for a visa extension are now extremely narrow and risky. This ruling proposes that international students are granted a four-year term for their visa, even though the proposal acknowledges that most students take longer to complete their programs. With this ruling, foreign students will have to apply for a visa extension mid-program with the risk of having their extension denied and having to leave the country right away under the new rules. ICE justified this new ruling on trying to limit visa overstays and frauds, but they seem to totally disregard the economic and cultural impact of this decision, which will make the United States less attractive than

it already is to prospective foreign students. require them to be enrolled in at least one Perhaps the direst consequence under in-person class during the pandemic, which this new rule is the granting of only two-year was revoked after many lawsuits and protests visas for students of specific countries. This throughout higher education institutions. decision, based on country of birth alone, Now, ICE tries again to make the lives excludes foreign students from these coun- of those students harder than it already is. tries from pursuing any level of education Student visas are one of the most stringently higher than an associate’s degree. regulated visas that the United States has The foreign nationals affected by this and the country has already seen a decline limited-term visa provision are from poor in its foreign student population through the and undeveloped countries including most years as other countries are more welcoming African nations, some Middle Eastern and and less strict. Not to mention that foreign Asian countries, Caribbean nations, and students compose 5.5% of the higher some island nations in the Pacific. education student body, and account for ICE argues that these countries have an economy estimated at $41 billion. the highest rate of visa fraud and overstays. If this policy goes through, the United However, ICE can argue and justify all they States will start experiencing further want, but what they can’t hide is the racist decreases in its foreign student population, nature of this policy. and all they bring with them: the cultural By limiting the stay of certain foreign diversity that opens and allows dialogue, nationals, the cultural diversity that these the language diversity, the ethnic diversity. people can bring to the table will also be Also, the exceptional scientific, academic, limited. In times where Black Lives Matter and talents that many of these individuals has become one of the most pressing issues bring into this country will be discouraged. in our society, limiting access to education for Many will choose more welcoming international students from black and brown countries like many already have. Canada, countries is a clear demonstration of the Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the anti-immigrant and anti-diversity stances United Kingdom are some of the angloof the Trump administration. phone countries that have become popular This July, ICE tried to impose restrictive destinations for foreign students in the past regulations on foreign students by trying to few years. They do, in fact, welcome them,

Illustration by Manon Cadenaule/The Guardsman. Instagram: @Cadenaulem

and understand the importance of their presence on their college campuses. It’s time for America to decide where they stand with their immigrants.

NATIONAL FOREIGNERS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES WILL BE RESTRICTED TO A TWO-YEAR VISA TERM BY NEW ICE RULING:

Afghanistan, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of the Congo (CongoKinshasa), Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Guyana, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zambia.