The Guardsman, Vol 169, Issue 3, City College of San Francisco

Page 3 Student Artists Speak Out

Page 5 Exhibit Explores Emotions and Change

Page 8 Swimmers Rank Top Three

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE | www.theguardsman.com

Eliminated Classes at Southeast Center Reflect History of Underinvestment in Bayview 1

2

By Claudia Drdul claudiadrdul@gmail.com

At a Jan. 28 Board of Supervisors meeting Shamann Walton connected the removal of Spring 2020 classes from the Southeast Center to other issues that have long-plauged District 10.

“I'm shocked to find out that no classes will be offered at the Southeast community college at 1800 Oakdale. This is a neighborhood that has been left behind on so many occasions,” Walton said.

“Many of the public schools in this district struggle with limited resources. Our students need and deserve more support. To have this site shut down for the spring 2020 semester is unacceptable. This is an equity issue.”

This campus, alongside City College’s Evans Center, is part of the Bayview neighborhood which houses much of San Francisco’s black, working-class population.

US Census data from 2018 shows the Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods have a 13% black and 25% Hispanic population and 11.5% of the population lives below the poverty line.

A spokesperson for City College explained that originally, four courses were moved from the Southeast Center to Ocean Campus to "allow students to complete all of their coursework

3

at a single location, rather than having to travel to multiple locations across the city."

Added Courses

Latin American and Latino/a Studies Department Chair Edgar Torres said his Colonial History of Latin America class was originally cut in November alongside more than 300 other classes. On Jan. 29, Torres was asked by Social Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Ethnic Studies, and Social Justice Dean Jill Yee to teach this class at the Southeast Center, the day after Walton tweeted, “The cutting of ALL classes at the Southeast Campus by City College, underscores the need for the 2.7 million dollar supplemental to save classes for seniors and people of color.”

Torres said, “I don’t suspect we’ll reach the numbers” to keep the class offered, especially due to its late start date of March 16.

As of Feb. 15, only 10 students are enrolled in the course. Yee was unavailable to comment on whether or not the course will be allowed to continue without meeting the typical 20 student minimum threshold.

Labor Studies Department Chair William Shields, similarly to Torres, was also asked to teach a course at the Southeast Center

by Yee after Walton voiced his concerns. He too shared Torres’

apprehension about the feasibility of offering a course so late in the semester. His 3-unit Labor Rights in the American Workplace class would typically have to contain 54 hours of course-load work so shortening this program by two months will be difficult for both him and his students.

Equity Concerns

City college’s mission statement explicitly outlines that administrators are actively working to “close equity achievement gaps” and that the college “continually strives to provide an accessible, affordable, and high quality education to all its students”. However representatives from both the Black Student Union (BSU) and the African American Studies (AFAM) Resource Center feel black spaces on campus are few and far between.

BSU President Nikki Hatfield has raised concerns about what she describes as the disinvestment of the college’s administration in the success of black students. “We continuously divest from students of color, but we say in our mission statement, we're supporting students of color. It’s very backwards, and I feel like I'm in the twilight zone,” said Hatfield.

According to the California Community College’s 2018 Student Success Scorecard, only

37.3% of African-American students at City College “completed a degree, certificate or transfer-related outcomes” between 2011-2017. A percentage lower than white students, asian students, hispanic students and several other ethnic/racial groups.

Akeli Lord, City College’s African American Studies Student Ambassador recounted her frustration with the lack of full-time AFAM professors and lack of visibility of the AFAM resource center. “For some reason we're not on the map at all. There's several other resource centers, there's the Asian American, Latin American, there's a queer resource, Women's Resource, and they're all on the map, but we’re not anywhere to be found" said Lord.

Both Lord and Hatfield believe it is a disservice to not offer any African American Studies courses at either the Southeast Center or Evans Center. Lord pointed out the four AFAM classes offered this semester are all on Ocean Campus and “not everyone can dedicate three hours for an African American class. That's ridiculous.

Every African American class that they have is once a week and they’re block classes. That's crazy.”

History

As a Bayview resident, Lord is not new to her local government forgoing concerns of envrionemental contamination. "When I moved in the guy who showed me my apartment told me don't drink from the water faucet. He's like, the water isn't good here" she said.

Walton has referred to the pollution in his district, from the treatment plant which filters over 80% of San Francisco’s wastewater and the Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard, as “civil rights issues."

The building the Southeast Center is located in, the Southeast Community Facility, was originally “constructed to mitigate the adverse environmental and social impacts of the Southeast Treatment Plant expansion projects during the 1970’s and 1980” according to the sf.gov website.

Shields described the facility as a sort of “concession to the neighborhood” which community members saw as a “victory” in their long fight against pollution of their community by the treatment plant.

Above all, he believes the solution to keeping City College accessible to the Bayview neighborhood would be to hold "community meetings" to find out what kind of classes those who live in the area need.

8

7

5

6

(1, 5, 7) Facilities Plan of the Southeast Community Facility prepared by Jefferson Associates Inc. May 1979. Courtesy of San Francisco Public Library Internet Archive.

(2) Foyer of the Southeast Center, Feb. 18, 2020. Photo By Claudia Drdul/ The Guardsman. (3) Southeast Community Facility groundbreaking Dec. 1984. Photo courtesy of SF Public Library Archive and S.F. Progress. (4) Supervisor Shamann Walton speaks at an anti-eviction press conference in front of City Hall on Feb. 13, 2020. Photo By Claudia Drdul/The Guardsman. (6) Southeast Community Facility Feb. 13, 2020. Photo by Claudia Drdul/The Guardsman. (8) Class offerings list inside the Southeast Community Facility, Feb. 13, 2020. Photo by Claudia Drdul/ The Guardsman.

4

2 | NEWS

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020

After 40 Years of Service, City College Phone Operator Retires

By Jay Sea jaycontere@mail.ccsf.edu

A lifelong City College faculty member retires this month, ending an era of human-to-phone receptionists and moving the college to a more automated system for telecommunications.

"Vicky", a Switchboard Operator in the Information Technology Services department (ITS), has worked at City College for forty years and has seen the school change through decades, under many different chancellors.

Originally hired in 1980, Vicky remembers when inter-campus communication were more, as she put it, “family oriented.”

Born and raised in San Francisco, Vicky's career began when her mother, a Sears phone operator, connected her to a woman who was employed as a City College phone operator.

Vicky, fresh out of high-school, excitedly took a job offered by the City College operator and has been employed at the college ever since.

When asked why she’s now retiring she said, “it’s time.”

One might imagine City College’s phone system to be a room full of boards and wires like from the very early days of telecommunications, “corkboards” as Vicky calls them. But, when she started at City College, in 1980, the corkboards were already gone.

Their remnants remain even today as, in her words, “a hole in the room” of the switchboard office where they used to be.

Vicky recounts what could be considered some very analog methods employed for years as the school’s means of directing calls through the campus. She spoke of when she had to write from memory a paper ticket for each call, referencing call details by rote and organizing them in small boxes.

She said that went on for at least five years, when she first started.

When reflecting on her professional time at City College, Vicky harkens back to a time whencampus culture was more “family-oriented, everybody helped each other.”

Over time she feels that she has seen the quality of campus culture “go downward,” describing how now departments have stopped answering and students have become more disgruntled. “Folks aren’t warm on the phone anymore,” she said.

When reaching out to other faculty for supporting students’ needs over the phone, she’s increasingly met with responses like “we don’t do that.”

Despite the challenges of the job, working at City College has made her happy. “I loved it,” she said when asked about how she felt working with the campus population every day. Tim Ryan, ITS supervisor and Vicky’s boss spoke highly of his employee doing “a

tremendous job.” “She’s a wonderful asset to the city, and a valuable service to the public,” he said.

A proud SEIU union member, Vicky’s role as phone operator is recognized as an official civil servant job for the City and County of San Francisco. Department management responded to an inquiry about the future of the role of phone operator as evolving, incorporating more features of modernization but still having some “human interaction.” Vicky is currently unaware of any person filling her role. As far as she knows, the department plans to go fully automated as soon as possible.

Vicky’s last day at City College is Feb. 21.

Illustration by Jon E. Greene/ CCSF Portfolio Club. @jonegreene

HEAT Rallies with Bay Area Labor Chorus for Bridge Funding

By Tyler Breisacher tbreisac@mail.ccsf.edu

Faculty and students from the Higher Education Action Team (HEAT) spoke, chanted, and sang in front of City Hall on Feb. 4 in hopes of swaying at least one more supervisor to approve $2.7 million in bridge funding intended to restore hundreds of classes to the spring 2020 semester.

The board had already approved the funding a week earlier, but the seven-vote majority was not enough to override a veto from Mayor London Breed.

The final vote was also 7-4, and Breed ultimately did veto the funding on Feb. 14. A representative from Breed’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Instructor Kate Frei’s speech at the rally highlighted some of the many ways City College is vital to the community in San Francisco. “When you go to the hospital and you want a nurse who can take care of you, you want someone who has gone through City College’s program,” she said.

Supervisor Shamann Walton, who introduced the legislation for the bridge fund, joined the

rally too. “We’re not going to stop until the resources are received,” he said.

After the speeches and chants, Pat Wynne from the Bay Area Labor Chorus led the crowd in a series of song parodies with lyrics changed to highlight some of the recent struggles at City College. For example, to the tune of “Solidarity Forever,” they sang, “They call themselves professional / Oh, please don’t make me laugh. / They double their own salaries / And underpay the staff. / They’re cutting classes left and right / It cuts your heart in half / But together we will win.”

Among the four supervisors who voted against the funding, one of their reasons for opposing it was that the college trustees and administration had not formally asked for the money.

However, Trustee John Rizzo said he “would not turn it down if it is not too late to start the classes,” but noted that by the time the mayor approved the funding, it may be too late into the spring semester to bring the classes back.

Trustee Ivy Lee said, “I support additional resources from any source

Staff Editor-in-Chief Claudia Drdul

News Editor Tyler Breisacher

to support City College.

However, I also think that the priority for the college right now is to ensure that our reserve meets the state-mandated minimum of 5%, which we currently do not.” Other members of the Board of Trustees did not respond to a request for comment.

Alan Wong, a Legislative Aide for Supervisor Gordon Mar and candidate for the Board of Trustees, noted that a revote to override Breed’s veto was unlikely, and emphasized the importance of long term solutions.

“I am working on legislation in Supervisor Gordon Mar’s office to expand the city’s Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF) to provide permanent and long-term support to community higher education,” he said. “This fund to support community higher education will be the game-changer.”

Anita Martinez, another candidate for the Board of Trustees, also expressed support for the bridge fund and had hoped Breed would approve it.

Culture Editor Jennifer Yin

Opinion Editor Caoilinn Goss Photo Editor Amal Ben Ghanem

Prop A Promises Urgent Safety Repairs and Job Training Improvements

By Caoilinn Goss cgoss2@mail.ccsf.edu

Proposition A on San Francisco’s March 3 ballot requests $845 million in bonds to renovate City College facilities.

The bond measure, if it passes, will fund wide sweeping repairs and the construction of new facilities, including a Science, Technology, Engineering Art and Math (STEAM) building, a permanent home for Diego Rivera’s Pan American Unity Mural, and a long-awaited Performing Arts Center.

Safety improvements include flood damage repair and prevention, improving accessibility, and updating dangerous electrical and plumbing conditions in campus facilities.

Roughly 10% of the funds will go toward seismic retrofitting and other necessary earthquake safety enhancements.

According to the proposition, 70% of Ocean Campus buildings are in need of urgent safety improvements as City College’s facilities have not received major repairs since the school first opened its doors in 1935.

The City College Board of Trustees voted

Asst. Photo Editor Fran Smith Sport Editor Meyer Gorelick Copy Editors Antoinette Barton

unanimously in favor of putting the bond measure on the ballot.

Student Trustee Bryan Daley, who has made sustainability and the city’s zero waste goals a priority of his tenure, endorsed the bond measure.

The proposition also states that improvements would reduce the cost of upkeep for facilities, ideally making room in the College’s already strained budget.

The San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board recommended a yes vote on the bond measure as well, stating that while the College has made many day to day operational spending mistakes, it has a proven track record with similar bond measures.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian also urged voters to look beyond the current political turmoil at the college and vote yes.

The only organization to voice opposition to the measure, the San Francisco Republican Party, has not mobilized a campaign or spent any funds to defeat it.

City College’s faculty union (AFT 2121) voted to endorse the Proposition after “a lot of debate and soul searching,” Political Director James Tracy said.

Design Director Nazli Ece Kandur Online Editor Matheus Maynard

Ad Manager Diana Guzman

Staff Writers Aminah Jalal Rachel Berning Alexa Bautista Jay Sea

“We are understandably angry to be asked to endorse the measure during a time of mass layoffs and lost health benefits,” Tracy said.

“We are fighting to restore our college and when we win, we want to make sure we can come back and teach in some modernized classrooms because that’s what our students deserve.”

“This should not be interpreted as a free pass for the Chancellor,” Tracy added.

The proposition includes strict accountability standards prohibiting the use of funds for faculty or administrator salaries and requiring annual audits to ensure that all funds are used as promised.

An independent citizen’s oversight committee, to be comprised of representatives from a senior citizens’ organization, a business organization, and a taxpayers’ association, will conduct the audits.

The bond will cover about half the needed facilities projects laid out in the Board of Trustees’ 2019 Master Plan, according to Trustee Alex Randolph.

Prop A is a special district tax measure that will need 55 percent of voters to approve it in order to pass.

Photographers Matheus Maynard Amal Ben Ghanem Fran Smith Faculty Adviser Juan Gonzales

NEWS | 3

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020

CCSF Activists Strive for Support at the Arts and Education Resource Fair

San Francisco’s reserve. The proposal, which later passed the Board of Supervisors but was vetoed by Mayor London Breed, would have taken $2.7 million out of that reserve and given it to City College to restore some of the classes for the spring 2020 term, including the 50 older adult education classes, 100 art related courses, self-defense courses, and various language courses.

City College student Josie Merer and her mother pose in front of City Hall alongside an art display created by advocacy group CCSF Collective on Jan. 29. Photo by Natalia Bogdanov/ The Guardsman.

By Natalia Bogdanov NataliaBogdanov@icloud.com

CCSF Collective presented at the Arts and Education Resource Fair on Wednesday, Jan. 29 to showcase and discuss how class cuts have affected students.

In 2019, 309 non-credit classes and 554 credit courses were cut. Because of this, CCSF Collective attended the fair to bring awareness to the class cuts.

They wanted to showcase which students were specifically affected by these cuts and to discuss future plans to bring these classes back. This included which board meetings to attend, future protests, budgeting propositions, and extensive knowledge on each board member.

CCSF Collective was contacted by the Executive Director of the Arts Education Alliance of The Bay Area, Todd Berman, who coordinated the event. Todd explained that the organization is primarily focused on K-12, but now they fear they have to worry about college students as well, for the first time.

“Our principal goal is to give every student in the area the primary art resources that they are looking for. Because arts education is essential to learning and sometimes it will save lives,” Berman said.

At the event, one of CCSF Collective’s goals was to find one more Supervisors to support the emergency bridge funding to bring back the classes that were cut this spring semester. This funding would come from

Collective Goals Besides this, CCSF Collective was also trying to find student representation for the final reading on the emergency bridge funding on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The purpose of this would be to ask the mayor to not veto the emergency measure to restore the classes that were cut, and to ask the board members who voted no to the funding to switch to yes on Tuesday.

Eira Kien, a cognitive science major, said the point of this event was to “showcase the artwork from the students and faculty. What we have on display at the table is not only student artwork… It’s also a way to express that through the art classes here, there is a way to create a community. And why we want to promote it here is because we think that all of the organizations could be on board with supporting the mercy bridge funding,” she said.

She clarified that more classes were cut this spring semester because “the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Tom Boegel, released a list to the department chair that there was a $13 million shortfall, and because of this they had to cut 350 classes. And of those classes, 100 of them were art related...38 in art were cut, 12 in dance, two in fashion, one in museum studies, 23 in music, four in theatre arts, three in media design, and nine from the older adult program,” Kien said.

Outside of the Asian Arts Museum, CCSF Collective put together an art display. This display was a figurative piece attempting to express the literal impact the cuts had on the education of City College students.

For the art piece, Josie Merer, along with other CCSF Collective members, arranged various books from the cut classes and placed them on the floor painted and ruined. This display's purpose was to evoke compassion from everyone joining the Art and Education Resource Fair. More importantly, it was literally to show just a fragment of all the wasted knowledge.

Roasting in Rosenberg: Library Temperatures Uncomfortably High

By Rachel Berning Rachelo.berning@gmail.com

Students and faculty have been dealing with ongoing heat issues on the 5th floor of Rosenberg Library for over three months.

Temperatures coming from the vents have reached an alarming 107 degrees, leaving patrons sweating and hot while trying to accomplish their work. “We have been suffering and enduring extreme temperatures in the Rosenberg library 5th for more than 3 months now,” said IT Operations Support Administrator Alexandre Videvial.

According to Videvial, members of the library’s IT Department have put in 11 tickets to the Buildings and Grounds Department since September of last year. “Me and other employees have contacted the Buildings and Grounds department via tickets and phone for more than 3 months,” Vildevial said.

Vildevial wrote in one of the tickets, “The temperature on the Rosenberg Library 5th floor reached F102 on Tuesday december 8th. It was even hotter on Monday the 9th but the temperature was not documented. The current temperature right now is F86 with the library being closed to no employees. The new semester starts on Monday 13th and these temperatures are expected to increase with more bodies at

Follow us theguardsman.com ccsfjournalism.com

Twitter @theguardsman Instagram @CCSFjournalism

these locations.” This was ticketed on Jan. 8.

Vildevial also wrote in an older ticket, filed on Dec. 16, 2019, “It is still 80 (plus Fahrenheit) degrees in the Rosenberg library’s 5th floor.

Please address this unhealthy working environment. This temperature issue is also affecting the servers and machines that we work on a daily basis with.”

In response, Vildevial has received emails back from the Buildings and Grounds Department that say, “We have requested your concerns and will be working on it right away.

Sorry for the delay, we are always concerned when we receive complaints. During this time of year we receive a great deal of complaints related to heat adjustments and lack of heat.

The engineers are working with a heating and ventilation controls service provider to address your concerns.”

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act, employers have a duty to protect workers from recognized serious hazards in the workplace, including heatrelated hazards. The people who are working in the library are at a high risk level compared to the OSHA Act. City College's Buildings and Grounds Department did not respond to requests for comment by publication deadline.

Facebook @theguardsman

YouTube theguardsmanonline

Illustration by Tiffany Zhu / CCSF Portfolio Club.

Contact Us

advertise theguardsman.com

info@theguardsman.com (415) 239-3446

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

4 | CULTURE

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020

Project Survive Educators Face the Wrath of Funding Reductions

By Aminah Jalal

nima96290@gmail.com

Housed in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, Project Survive is a sexual violence prevention and healthy relationship promotion program initially designed and launched by Department Chair Leslie Simon, in 1994.

This program, which focuses on social justice, is dedicated to ending the abuse of power dynamics in personal relationships, social groups, and public institutions.

According to studies retrieved from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, more than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault, despite the statistics showing one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college.

Project Survive students are trained to be peer educators

and make classroom presentations throughout the college to offer students strategies for identifying, avoiding, and leaving abusive relationships.

Simon originally decided to found the program after seeing similiar rape prevention programs run successfully throughout the UC system. She noticed the peer educators behind these programs were merely volunteers who did not get paid for their work, and thus put an emphasis on ensuring students who volunteered their time were paid.

“During the program piloting in 1993, there were only two peer educators. We put up some posters and put together some meetings and tested it out,” Simon said. "With the help of some funding from Associated Students, we were able to pay them for their work.”

Aside from on-campus presentations, students of this program have the ability to dive more into this field of work by aiming for a Sexual

Health Educator certificate to expand the academic aspect of healthy relationships and layers of sexual assault further. This way, students are able to turn this part-time, paid, on-campus job into a career in which they can bring this knowledge learned at City College back to their community.

Project Survive prides itself as a loving and supporting community and holds events aside from just academics in order to connect with it's members. For example, Project Survive’s healing trauma events typically were designed to take place three times through each semester with one at the beginning, middle, and end.

These healing events included experts coming in with different healing modalities including writing, movement, and laughter. These series of healing events are specifically about healing from both historical and individual trauma so that levels and layers of different forms of trauma and strategies to heal are

explored and not just individual traumas.

“What we felt like we could make a difference on is how students respond to those stresses that they can potentially more effective strategies to deal with those real stresses of life,” Harrison said. “So the idea was to formalize what we already saw happening informally, the peer mentorship to say we’re going to value this work that students are doing to support one another and pay them.”

The program offered it's last set of funded events in Spring 2019 as without the proper funds from the college, the Project Survive community is unable to hire experts in the field to present. Despite this financial obstacle, students leaders of the project survive community have stepped up on their own to do club activities and independently decided to organize the Writing as Alchemy for Healing which will be taking

place this semester on March 12.

“It was profound that they are committed to continue to offer that,” Harrison said.

Harrison described her student's contination of the program as "a testament to how strong the peer educator community is. They look out for one another and looking for was to support one another and help one another heal.”

The program’s many layers of events, courses, presentations, and resources give students the opportunity to learn more about what healthy intimate relationships looks like and how to prevent and heal from exposure to sexual violence in an open space.

“It showed me how powerful it can be for there to be conversations opened around these topics with an intergenerational dialogue. The program was very influential to me. It’s what made City College really stand out as special and unique" said Professor Adele Failes-Carpenter.

Illustration courtesy of Freepik.

Broken Glass!

City College’s Family Owned Business, The Lunch Box, Victimized by Robbery.

The Lunch Box is a family owned and operated business located in the center of City College's Phelan Loop. Feb. 11, 2020.

Photo by Jennifer Yin/ The Guardsman.

By Jennifer Yin jyin4@mail.ccsf.edu

Campus police contacted Danny Chin, 73, to inform him of a break-in at his restaurant, The Lunch Box, located at the center of Phelan Loop at 10pm on Feb. 12.

The thief or thieves left their mark by destroying two of Chin’s refrigerators containing bottled and canned beverages. Shattered glass littered the floor while workers meticulously cleaned shard after shard.

Thankfully, Chin and his

employees retired from their night’s work prior to the robbery.

Chin speculated the thief or thieves gained access to the inside of his restaurant by scaling the surrounding fence.

However, Chin continued to operate his business despite the robbery and vandalism.

“They can break my stuff but they can never break my spirit,” said Chin.

The Lunch Box is one of City College’s hidden gems and has been in operation since 2004. The restaurant serves a wide variety of

Danny Chin serves Asian cuisine at the Lunch Box. Feb. 10, 2020.

Photo by Jennifer Yin/ The Guardsman.

foods such as breakfast sandwiches, piroshki, and dishes fused from a combination of Chinese and Malaysian flavors.

One item in particular is Chin’s take on Malaysian curry where he adds chicken, potatoes, boiled eggs, and coconut milk to add a rich and sweet element to the dish.

Chin then covers the curry with ramen noodles, carrots, onions, and lettuce.

“We are a very interesting outlet for the school because we have a different variety of food considering the limited resources

Danny Chin, 73, owner of the Lunch Box at City College continues to serve customers after robbery. Feb. 13, 2020.

Photo by Jennifer Yin/The Guardsman.

we have for cooking. So right now we don’t even have an oven. We only have a barbecue oven, but the fire department and City Hall approves us because it’s outside,” Chin said.

Chin has been able to keep his business afloat for 13 years regardless of his restaurants limited resources, City College’s accreditation crisis, and being robbed multiple times.

“Thirteen years ago the restaurant was much busier then it is now.

It [the accreditation crisis] had affected the business and student

population,” Chin said. “Since we first started the student population has dropped by about 30% or more. Now we are not that busy and because the volume of business has gone down we had to cut slightly down on the hours.”

Regardless of his trials and tribulations, Chin continues to feel confident in the prosperity of his business. “I think us being here speaks something on why we are here for so long, but I think when it's time to move on, we'll move on," Chin said.

CULTURE | 5

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020

Tulay Students Celebrate New Semester Through the Sound of Music

Art Display Explores Emotional Trials and Tribulations

By Natalia Bogdanov nataliabogdanov@icloud.com

Rise to Resilience by artist Lauren Van Duren, a former City College instructor, ran from January 13th through February 4th at City College’s Sunset Center, explored themes of anxiety and perseverance in the face of volatile change at the college and in the world.

A group of City College students enjoy their time by singing Filipino and English songs during a Karaoke night event hosted at the Ocean Campus Tulay office on Feb. 5 to celebrate the Spring 2020 semester.

Photo by Amal Ben Ghanem/The Guardsman.

By Alexa Bautista abauti34@mail.ccsf.edu

On Feb. 5, the Tulay Program hosted a karaoke night to celebrate the Spring 2020 semester. The Tulay Program, “Bridge” in Tagalog, reaches out to City College’s Filipinix community through different student-centered services, and to help students promote a strong sense of community and identity.

With American songs such as “I’m Not The Only One” and “We Don’t Talk Anymore” to Filipino songs “Buwan” and “Diwata”, the atmosphere of Tulay was cheerful, and it created a good bonding experience for everyone who attended.

Through these songs, it made everyone feel like a family, and that there were no differences between all of them. With laughter, encores, and encouragement, the students attending the event made sure that everyone is accepted.

Community Many students such as Michael (MJ) Villanueva, who is a second generation Filipino American, found a loving community through the Tulay Program, “At first Tulay was able to get my lab hours and I knew I had a counselor here. I thought I could handle things alone until I started utilising it and getting more intimate with the space, and was able to create bonds and have a support system offered. It has become something I get to look forward to every day.”

Other students such as Guada Nobel, who is a first generation Filipino American, found Tulay helpful for her educational needs, and a way for the City College community could be surrounded with a place that is accepting.

“I think what people should know about Tulay is that it’s a safe space. I remember coming to CCSF and I was under a lot of stress because of what was happening at the time. Tulay was able to support

me emotionally and academically.

Many people might not have a place to turn to for help, and Tulay is the place to be for their needs.”

The Tulay Program, continuously promotes to “Bridge” the gap for Filipino immigrants to discover their true potential at City College, their academic careers, and future career goals. Tulay also does off campus outreaches where they would visit other Filipino communities such as West Bay, which serves elementary to high school students, for after school programs.

Program History In the early 2000’s, the students involved in the program PEACE (Philippinos in Education, Arts, Culture and Empowerment) and Tulay wanted a retention center that was comfortable and a space where they would be able to relate to one another. The program was able to have a space with APASS (Asian Pacific American Student Success Program), but later advocated for their own separate location.

Unfortunately, many disagreed on this notion and told PEACE that they must stay with APASS. This is because wherever there is a lot of foot traffic for a specific program, the more support they get from City College. By 2012, the two programs were able to retrieve a center, and in 2013, operations officially started.

Music has always been a big part of Filipino culture. In many Filipino households, it is highly unlikely that there would not be a karaoke machine. Through song, many Filipinos discover togetherness and happiness during family gatherings. Moreover, dances such as the tinikling and cariñosa, traditional Filipino dances, promote unity and connection with Filipino culture.

Music in the Philippines has been heavily influenced by the West because of 45 years of American rule and 333 years of Spanish rule.

There are many different types of

music such as pop music, indigineous songs, and religious songs.

For instance, in indigineous songs, there are many different kinds of instruments that are made of wood, bronze, or bamboo. The Kubig, a jaw harp, is used to communicate with ancestors and weddings.

Challenges The amount of Filipinos immigrating to the United States has increased exponentially over the past decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, there was an estimated 2 million Filipino immigrants living in the United States, whereas in the 1980’s, the population was around 500,000. This growth in population came from the Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished the National Origins Formula in 1965 which were quotas that favored immigrants from Europe.

The Philippines and the United States have created long-established educational and economic opportunities as well.

Despite these opportunities, many Filipinos are still at risk for isolation, violence, discrimination in the work force, and poverty which results in a decline in mental health.

Many of the stresses that Filipinos endure, root from the lack of sense of belonging and security for a better future.

Francesca Mauricio, program manager, actively encourages students from any race or ethnicity to join and to be part of a family at City College.

“Tulay is a place not only for the Filipino community, but for anyone who is looking for a place to connect to. For instance, high schoolers transitioning to college. I’m here for all students and Tulay is here for all students. This is a place where students can surround themselves with a community and even better themselves.”

For this specific exhibit, Lauren pulled her inspirations from a wide range of things and her varied materials remained somewhat implausible. “I love to push a material beyond what it was intended for,” Van Duren said.

The “resilience” in Rise to Resilience is exemplified in the materials she bends and manipulates. As she works, molds, and bends these materials there is an uncertainty within how the outcome will surface.

“Using a sewing machine as a drawing tool and inspiration from an antiquated medical textbook, I create bodies of vinyl that are filled with glycerin soap,” Van Duren said.

“Once the soap is poured into the forms, it can be twisted and pinched into positions that appear to be under pressure and flowing in a deceptive liquid state.”

Dealing with the uncertainty in her artwork aids her in dealing with feelings of anxiety when it comes to this rapid and unpredictable world.

Van Duren was born in Pittsburgh, PA and she completed her Bachelor of Arts with a Focus on Drawing at Carnegie Mellon University.

“I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil. I drew on anything and with any tool I could get my hands on,” Van Duren said. “Drawing became a place I could escape to and have a positive identity, so it was

a natural progression for me to embrace the arts.”

Van Duren finished her schooling with a Masters Degree in Sculpture at San Francisco State University in 2017 and began teaching classes at City College in the Fall term of 2018. She taught Beginning Drawing and two semesters of Sculpture. Both of her classes were cut this current semester, Spring 2020.

The Beginning Drawing course was completely full “so it was not done because of low enrollment as Rocha claimed,” Van Duren said. “Many of the classes were ruthlessly cut even after the schedule was printed, which did not give teachers like me a chance to find other positions.”

She further explained that with the financial reduction along with losing her other teaching job at Diablo Valley College, “because a prior faculty member returned and he had seniority over my class.,” she would have to leave the Bay Area to find a full time teaching position.

“Being an adjunct professor is a fairly unstable job,” Van Duren said.

Besides this, Van Duren loves teaching and her students and stated that teaching brings her such a unique sense of joy.

Not only did the class cuts affect teachers like Van Duren, it also has a massive impact on the students. Van Duren explained that most of her students had such a hard time attempting to rearrange their work schedules and other priorities with the limited classes.

Some students debated—and some followed through with— quitting school all together.

This is because there are so few resources currently available at City College now.

Sprung a Leak," by Laura Van Duren. Made of recycled furniture, glycerin, and vinyl thread. Jan. 30, 2020 Photo by Natalia Bogdanov/The Guardsman.

6 | OPINION

HAVE YOUR SAY

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020

“WHAT DO YOU THINK CITY COLLEGE'S MISSION/PURPOSE IS/SHOULD BE?”

BY JOEL WAGNER jcw0341@gmail.com

“Their mission purpose is to save “To be a community college for money, regardless of what happens the community... whether they be to the students. I think the admina senior citizen, a stay-at-home istrators want to be paid, and I mom or anybody that wants to think they kind of collude amongst improve themselves. If you look the higher paid executives or the at the classes they’ve cut, it’s the administrators up top, and to just art classes, and especially the keep their money flowing, they cut physical education classes and classes. I think it should be more the health classes. I know a lot of focused on the student, and like senior citizens that were taking what they want, and maybe they those and now they don’t have the can figure out other ways to generopportunity.” ate revenue.”

— Regina Buoni — Thilanka Rodrigo, Undeclared Business

“Well to definitely support students that are here and get them through the program that they’re in, because some students are clueless. Giving direction I think, give them a start: ‘Ok this is what I should do.’ When I first got here, I was like ok, you know, you see counselors. They ask questions about what your interests are and all that, but then, there’s a sense it’s not really personal. There’s a gap between the counselor and the student, in my experience anyway.”

“So, what I think the mission is of City College is to provide higher education for anybody whether they’re young, old, anything in-between. I think they are doing that well, definitely for sure, and just to be able to provide resources for students to be able to go into high levels, or anything like that.”

— Alyssa Hilzinger Business Administration

— Sam Savangsy,

Philosophy

Coronavirus Fears Reveal Racism and Ignorance

By Matheus Maynard mmaynar7@mail.ccsf.edu

The recent outbreak of coronavirus is spreading symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath amongst those infected, and it’s spreading racism amongst those not infected.

The world is terrified by the fast spread and death rates of the coronavirus outbreak which started in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Since the outbreak began in late 2019, the virus has infected more than 60,000 people, killed several hundred, and has infected people in more than 20 countries.

Little is known about this virus, and both treatment and vaccines are being developed at high priority in several countries including the U.S. and China. COVID-19 is a newly discovered virus that belongs to the family of coronaviruses. Its origin is most likely from an infected animal since coronaviruses primarily infect animals.

According to research done by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, COVID-19 is 79.5% sequence identical to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), another type of coronavirus, and 96% identical at the genome level to a form of coronavirus that infects bats. Therefore, it is most likely that this virus infecting bats has mutated and jumped

Illustration by Dimas / CCSF Portfolio Club. instagram: @dimasaurusrex

into humans.

The assumption of the virus coming from the bat has created a whole racist debate, blaming the Chinese people for their eating habits with the utmost racist and xenophobic comments all over social media.

Many people in the U.S. and other countries are constantly making remarks on social media about this coronavirus outbreak and the fact that they eat bats in some parts of China.

However, food habits in America are also related to several disease outbreaks in the past. The 2009 flu pandemic of Swine Flu (H1N1) infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands. This particular virus came from an infected pig. However, there were no racist comments of Americans loving their bacon being the cause of the disease spread.

How is this situation any different?

The lack of knowledge has placed entire communities under an ignorant and racist mindset. The fear of the virus has also shown the true colors of systemic racism against different ethnic groups, and it has become an excuse to be racist. So much is assumed from a virus so recently discovered. Instead of caring and being concerned with the rational fear of the spread, people are enjoying the opportunity to be racist.

Americans should be more concerned about how the virus spreads here in this country. The Chinese have built a hospital to accommodate approximately 1500 beds in only 10 days, whereas the U.S. struggles to achieve affordable health care, let alone universal health coverage or an effective outbreak response system.

COVID-19 is spreading quickly, and while scientists and health organizations are battling to prevent a pandemic outbreak, Trump proposes to reduce the budget of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) by 16 % in his proposed 2021 budget.

At this time, the need for unity and help is utterly essential. Affected areas lack basic preventive care tools, such as masks. They play an important role in preventing further spread, and several Chinese families living abroad are sending masks and health supplies to their relatives in China.

Instead of showing hate, why not send some masks to help our friends in China?

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020

COMMUNITY | 7

8 | SPORTS

Vol. 169, Issue 3 | Feb. 5 – Feb. 19 , 2020

Rams Stomp Napa Valley Like Grapes

By Meyer Gorelick & Joel Wagner msggorelick@gmail.com jcw0341@gmail.com

On a perfect Saturday afternoon in wine country, the City College Rams beat the Napa Valley College Storm 9-4, improving their record to 3-5.

The win was a step forward in what players and coaches hope will be the team’s first winning season in years.

After jumping out to a 5-0 second inning lead, the Rams experienced a middle inning lull and found themselves locked in a 5-4 scrap at the end of six innings.

But they finished strong, shutting out the Storm over the final three frames thanks largely to workhorse freshman closer Luke Mar, and the bats woke up, providing four more runs.

Sophomore first baseman Alec White led the Rams with three RBIs. “I’ve been trying to relax and hit the ball hard and this game everything fell into place for me,” White said.

Morale hasn’t wavered this season despite losses and the players are working hard for each other and for their coach. White sees better chemistry and attitudes within the squad this season compared to last year.

This team feels different to White, who sees strong pitching, live bats, and is excited to see the team put those together consistently.

“The scoreboard was on our side,” Assistant Coach Dom Sebastiani said. “Nine to four ballgame, besides that, our pitchers all threw strikes well, attacked the zone, and our defense was making plays behind them.”

Sebastiani was serving as manager for this game, since Head Coach Mario Mendoza had been suspended for berating the umpire over what White said was a botched call at home plate.

The team and Mendoza returned home Tuesday and lost 11-3 to the Monterey Peninsula College Lobos.

They embark on a three game road trip Thursday, looking to pick up wins at West Hills College-Coalinga and Compton College.

City College sophomore wing Emeka Udenyi (3) is fouled by Las Positas sophomore guard Michael Hayes (3) on a layup attempt in the second half on Jan. 26, 2020. Photo by Kevin Kelleher/Special to The Guardsman.

Rams Stroking for Top Three Conference Finish

By Meyer Gorelick msggorelick@gmail.com

City College freshman forward Marlene Puni (35) coasts past a defender for a second half layup versus Las Positas on Jan. 26, 2020. Photo by Kevin Kelleher/Special to The Guardsman.

SPORTS CALENDAR Baseball

2/20 @ Gavilan 2 p.m.

Women's Basketball

2/27 vs Mission 2 p.m.

2/21 @ Las Positas 5 p.m.

2/25 @ Ohlone 2 p.m.

2/29 @ Gavilan 2 p.m.

3/3 @ West Valley TBA

Men's Basketball

2/19 vs Ohlone 7 p.m.

2/21@ Las Positas 7 p.m.

2/19 vs Ohlone 5 p.m.

2/26 Regional Playoffs TBA Track & Field

2/22 Jim Linthicum Invite @ De Anza 2/28 Chabot Relays @ Chabot

The Rams dove in smoothly this season, led by 11th year coach Phong Pham and a crop of standout swimmers who aim to lead the team to another top three conference finish.

Strong times by freshmen Santana Sizemore in freestyle sprints and Zoe Eichen in some longer distance events, and leadership from Sophomore co-captains Aryana Senel and Maia Haley have propelled the team to strong showings at their first three meets this season.

Pham was happy with how the home CCSF Invitational went over February seventh and eighth. “It went great, it went smoothly,” Pham said.

“We had some strong performances.” “Santana Sizemore so far, early in the rankings, is one of the top ten swimmers in the state,” he said.

Pham hopes that continued steady improvement, despite illnesses, injuries and

the stress of classwork ramping up, will have his team peaking at the end of the season, earn his squad a top three finish at the conference championships and land some swimmers in the state championships.

Beyond this season, Pham wants sustained success to attract more San Francisco public school swimmers to his team, and keep them committed to swimming beyond one season at City College.

As the conference season heats up, the Rams will compete again Friday, Feb. 21, at De Anza College.

Swimming

2/21 Quad Meet @ De Anza

2/29 Invitational @ Cosumnes River College, Sacramento Tennis

2/21 vs West Valley 2 p.m.

2/25 vs Chabot 2 p.m.

3/3 vs Cañada 2 p.m.