The Guardsman, Vol. 149, Issue 5. City College of San Francisco

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Volume 149, Issue 5

www.theguardsman.com

March 24, 2010

Faculty divided on equity draft resolution

By Liska Koenig THE GUARDSMAN

A draft resolution by the City College Board of Trustees has some faculty up in arms because they feel the board is interfering with their responsibilities.

Based on data from the Student Equity Report and “Poppy Copy,” a study that evaluates basic skills as a foundation for students’ success at California community colleges, the resolution calls for major changes to the curriculum.

The resolution, which was presented to the board on Feb. 25, aims to bridge the student achievement gap and prepare students to more efficiently transfer to four-year colleges.

CURRICULUM: Page 5

MING LIM DICKSON LO / THE GUARDSMAN

City College students march towards the State Capitol to rally against cuts to education on March 22. Thousands of students, teachers and faculty from state colleges and universities gathered on the steps at the State Capitol.

MARCHING FOR EDUCATION

TAKING IT TO THE CAPITOL

By Greg Zeman THE GUARDSMAN

Approximately 5,000 pro-education activists from across the state flooded the steps of the Capitol Building in Sacramento on March 22 to decry what they view as an apathetic state legislature.

“It’s time for us to show anyone who has ears to listen and eyes to see “We’re that higher education is a priority in starting to California,” California State Student lose things Association President Steve Dixon we can’t get said.

“We’re starting to lose things we back.” can’t get back.”

According to the California — Steve Dixon Teacher’s Association, more than CSSA President 23,000 educators have received pink

slips since March 16.

Rigo Montalvo, a City College English tutor training to be a reading and English instructor, said he has seen the impact of teacher layoffs.

“As a tutor and a student I can see the problem,” Montalvo said. “Good teachers are losing their jobs, and when students can’t get an education, education is in crisis.”

City College students, some who rode chartered buses to Sacramento, participated in a march from Raley Field to the Capitol Mall. At the Capitol, a media conference was held to address the concerns of the crowd, including increased CC fees.

The Legislative Analyst Office, a MARCH IN MARCH: Page 4

5,000

Pro-education activists from around the state gathered on the steps of the State Capitol protesting the cuts to schools.

23,000

Educators have received pink slips since March 16, according to the California Teachers Union.

WELLS FARGO OPPOSES EXPANDING PELL GRANTS

By Don Clyde THE GUARDSMAN

City College is considering moving away from banking with Wells Fargo because of a statement made by the bank against education reform legislation that would end subsidies to lenders and dramatically increase funding for Pell grants.

Trustee Steve Ngo cited a July 2009 statement to the San Francisco Chronicle in which Wells Fargo said the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act “will have unintended consequences that are not in the best interest of the students and their families.”

Ngo is drafting a resolution calling for the college to align its banking practices with the WELLS FARGO: Page 2

“You can’t just brazenly take an antistudent, anti-education stance and just get away with it,” — Steve Ngo City College Trustee

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News

THE GUARDSMAN

MARCH 24, 2010

Demonstrators march against U.S. occupation

By Tania Cervantes THE GUARDSMAN

More than 1,500 demonstrators rallied at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza to protest the U.S. war in Iraq and the military’s

ROBERT ROMANO / THE GUARDSMAN

Hatem Bazian, UC Berkeley professor of ethnic studies, speaks to the anti-war demonstrators on March 20 at the Civic Center Plaza.

presence in the Middle East on March 20, the seventh anniversary of the invasion.

Demonstrators carried signs that read “Shut down the war machine,” “Stop using our taxes to fund brutality” and “We are not your soldiers.”

“We are against the war,” said Act Now to Stop War and End Racism coalition member Richard Becker. “We demand that instead of funding wars abroad, they fund education and health care here.”

Daniel Ellsberg, the former RAND Corporation employee and U.S. military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press during the Nixon administration, spoke at the event.

“Mr. Obama — people have a wrong impression that he will carry out his promise,” Ellsberg said to the crowd. “I am certain that there is no chance that he means to take out the troops in his lifetime.”

The event was comprised of a broad spectrum of community organizations and activist groups, including Code Pink, Women for

ROBERT ROMANO / THE GUARDSMAN

Jess Ghamman from the Free Palestine Alliance leads demonstrators to the Civic Center Plaza during the March 20 anti-occupation rally.

Peace, Unite Here Local 2, the Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition and MUNI Riders and Drivers United.

Buena Vista Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Antoinette Marquez said she always talks to her students about expressing and standing up for what they believe.

“We need to end war so kids have the resources they need in school,” fifth-grade student Kiera Collins said.

A second group also demon-

strated, holding up signs that read “Support our troops.”

Kevin Lane, a counter-protester, held up a sign that read, “It is getting old.”

“It’s the same thing over and over again,” Lane said. “We know that they are upset but what are they doing here? It’s just a release of energy, and the same old thing doesn’t really do much.”

As many as 104,427 civilian non-combatants have been killed according to Iraqbodycount.org, a project aimed at recording violent

civilian deaths resulting from the U.S. intervention in Iraq.

“We have to stand up on the side of the oppressed,” Chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party Omali Yeshitela said. “We must stand up to the force that requires the blood of the people of the world to remain successful.

It is not enough to say ‘peace.’”

Robert Romano contributed to this article.

E-mail: tcervantes@theguardsman.com

Board draft resolution encourages local banking WELLS FARGO: from front page

district’s commitment to doing business with small business enterprises and small local business enterprises.

“You can’t just brazenly take an anti-student, anti-education stance and just get away with it,” he said.

SAFRA, or House Resolution 3221, would have amounted to about $87 billion in savings over ten years by ending subsidies to banks. About $40 billion of those savings would have then been dedicated to Pell grants through 2019.

The legislation would have also provided billions to community colleges nationwide by funding new, green building projects, and college access and completion programs.

SAFRA passed the House of Representatives in September 2009, but stalled in the Senate.

The legislation has since been modified and attached to the massive health care reform legislation passed by the House on March 21.

“I want to make sure that we spend our dollars consistent with our values, and that we bank and do business with people who share our values, and I’m not very encouraged that they do,” Ngo said referring to Wells Fargo.

City College currently maintains an average of $12 million to $17 million in Wells Fargo accounts, Ngo said.

If Ngo’s resolution passes, a “request for proposal” would be issued within 45 days to begin

the process of reviewing banks.

Wells Fargo would not comment specifically by phone, but sent an e-mail statement to The Guardsman.

“During this time of uncertainty, when multiple legislative proposals concerning federal student lending are being discussed, we remain committed to serving the financial needs of students and families through responsible lending of student loan products and to our team members who serve these customers,” the statement said.

Rep. George Miller, from the seventh district of California, originally wrote the SAFRA legislation.

“It’s going to strengthen our community college system at a time when community colleges

are absorbing a whole new role at training and retraining of not only new students, but of workers returning to put together the skills necessary either to get a new job or to hold on to the job that they have,” Miller said during a news teleconference on March 18.

Ngo’s resolution also calls for the City College Financial Aid Office to fully transition to the Direct Lending Program by this July. Over 2,300 colleges and universities now use direct federal lending, according to Miller.

“Their compliments are high,” Miller said. “They find the program efficient, easy to use and good for their institutions and students.”

City College Dean of Finan-

cial Aid Jorge Bell said the college would be ready for a transition to direct lending.

Ngo’s resolution also said Sallie Mae, the largest private U.S. student-loan provider, spent $3.48 million to lobby against SAFRA in 2009.

Sallie Mae will still be allowed to service student loans.

Ngo’s resolution requests the Department of Education that service loans made to students at City College will be replaced with loans serviced by Sallie Mae and Nelnet, another educational financing company.

E-mail: dclyde@theguardsman.com

News

MARCH 24, 2010

THE GUARDSMAN

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Exchange program aims to cut book costs and other solutions to make texts more accessible flourish.

Last fall, the Department of Education awarded the City College bookstore a $250,000 grant for the development of a program that would ease book prices for students.

Bookstore Manager N SMA ARD U Don Newton then G E I / TH UTH L allocated the funds A IC JESS to the Book Loan Program.

The Book Loan Program, where students can borrow textbooks for an entire semester, currently serves over 1,500 students, saving them

By Tania Cervantes THE GUARDSMAN each about $100 per semester.

The program is funded by the optional $5 As the price of textbooks at City College student activities fee students grant when remains unaffordable for many, attempts to paying tuition. develop a student book exchange program “It’s a really good program,” Book

$ $ $ $$

Loan Coordinator Deena Samii said. “We are run by students, funded by students and actually serve students.”

The grant’s co-author and Ocean campus Associated Students President Ryan Vanderpol said the money will aid in extending the Book Loan Program and help create an exchange system where students could lend textbooks and borrow others in return.

The exchange program, though still in development, is expected to begin in the spring of 2011.

“One of the things we are considering is the ability to negotiate prices with publishers,” Vanderpol said. “Teachers can negotiate prices and they may not even know it.”

The Textbook Affordability Task Force, one of many groups working to identify possible solutions, seeks to evaluate textbook costs and explore ways to help to students who cannot afford them.

President of the Academic Senate Hal Huntsman said sometimes publishers simply stop publishing old editions thereby forcing students to purchase new ones.

“Editions come out so often that sometimes we have just bought 20 books and the next semester a new edition is out and our books are then almost valueless,” Samii said. “It seems like a really good way to make money.”

The bookstore sells new books at 35 percent higher than the original price. The revenue goes to payroll and other expenses for running the store. Used books, however, are sold at a standard price of 23 percent less than new ones.

Students are now finding lower prices on the Internet at sites like Amazon.com and Half.com.

“If the books are too expensive, I just buy them online sometimes at half the price, except for new editions,” City College student Gabriel Hernandez said.

“If that doesn’t work then I just don’t buy them but I struggle a lot in class.”

E-books are another option under consideration by the task force, but the viability of this solution remains to be seen.

E-mail: tcervantes@theguardsman.com

Grant enables community science workshop expansion Mission Science Workshop.

“It’s always a struggle with nonprofits,” he said. “Year to year, you’re always A community science program that putting out your hand and hoping to get started in partnership with City College donations to keep you going.”

Mario Landau-Holdsworth, a teacher at nearly 20 years ago recently received a $40,000 planning grant to expand the the workshop who started as a student there network of nonprofit workshops focused in the mid-90s, said City College student on exposing K-12 students to the wonders participation is crucial to the program.

“They are here every day and they of science.

The Stephen J. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation are active teachers in the class,” he said. gave Mission Science Workshop found- “It makes a huge difference to have four or five adults around helping er Dan Sudran the grant to kids one-on-one instead of add to the six-city California just having one teacher.”

Community Science WorkOnline: After foundation represhop Network.

More on the Mission Science Workshop sentatives saw the Mission Outside of San Francisco, www.theguardsman.

Science Workshop, not only the network includes workcom/missionscience did they provide the small shops in Oakland, San Jose, grant to sustain it, they offered Watsonville, Fresno and Los $40,000 to start more.

Angeles. All were modeled The money will be used after Sudran’s creation, which to plan for additional commuhe started in his Mission nity science workshops District garage in 1991. Since then, the workshop has expanded substan- and pay a professional grant writer from tially and is now housed at Mission High Inverness Research Associates to write a final proposal, Sudran said.

School.

“It’s a model that lends itself to clon“Especially for kids without a legacy of education, the Mission Science Work- ing in neighborhoods anywhere,” Maynez shop opens exciting new doors at a time said, adding that the hard part is finding in their lives when it really matters,” City someone to serve in Sudran’s place.

Sudran has already started planning for College Physics Department Lab Manager Will Maynez said. Maynez helped Sudran two sites in the Salinas Valley — one in collect equipment to start the workshop. Salinas and one in Greenfield.

“It’s pretty much working class, low He said the physics department maintains income,” Sudran said about the valley. its commitment to helping Sudran.

Sudran initially asked the founda- “Some people call it under-served in terms tion for a small grant just to sustain the of science.”

By Alex Emslie and Estella Fuentes THE GUARDSMAN

RAMSEY EL-QARE / THE GUARDSMAN

Dan Sudran, (right), founder of Mission Science Workshop, ensures that homeschool students properly assemble their electronic devices on Jan. 21.

He hopes to open more workshops in San Francisco as well. The abandoned Schlage Lock building at 2401 Bayshore Blvd. in Visitacion Valley could house a workshop, Sudran said, but the building needs repairs.

“I have a feeling it would be very successful in Chinatown,” he added. “It could be kind of a lightning rod for kids getting really excited. It’s such a lively place.”

Sudran is also looking for people to manage future workshops. He said the three requirements are curiosity, a desire to work with kids and a willingness to work hard.

The payoff: “You just get so much positive feedback from the kids and their parents,” Sudran said. “You sort of get the feeling that if more people were doing things like this it might do some good for the world — that feeling of being curious and respectful and indulging our ability to wonder.”

For more information or to get involved go to www.missionscienceworkshop.org E-mail: aemslie@theguardsman.com efuentes@theguardsman.com

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News

THE GUARDSMAN

MARCH 24, 2010

Protesters blame budget process MARCH IN MARCH: from front page

California nonpartisan fiscal advisory group, recommended resident student fees raised to $40 per unit on Feb. 25. The office argued the most needy students already receive the Board of Governors Fee Waiver, and those who don’t could be reimbursed by new federal higher education tax credits, according to the LAO 2010-11 higher education budget report.

Jim Knudstrup, a City RAMSEY EL-QARE / THE GUARDSMAN College student and President of City College student Betania Bezerra speaks from the steps of the the City College Veterans Alli- State Capitol on March 22 about her inability to transfer to a 4-year ance expressed frustration with college due to the budget cuts. the groups analysis.

“We can’t just take these cuts, wrong. For the first time in Cali- save higher education.” because a lot of these temporary fornia’s history, the state is spendOne proposed solution is the solutions, like budget cuts and ing more money on prisons than California Democracy Act, which layoffs, have a way of becoming colleges,” Torrico said. “Sixty would remove California constipermanent when people get too percent of inmates are function- tutional language requiring a twocomfortable,” Knudstrup said. ally illiterate.” thirds majority to approve a state “It’s a creep, slowly diminishing Torrico said that the result of budget. our education, and it’s not going increased incarceration in Cali“We’re one of only three to stop at $40 — it might not stop fornia was a “total failure, moral states that take two-thirds to at $100. Remember when it went and economic bankruptcy.” pass a state budget,” said Brady up to $25, how outraged we all “I hate to tell you, but the Reed, a member of the California were? Here we are again.” answer isn’t in that building,” School Employees Association Some state assembly said Assembly member Warren soliciting signatures for a petimembers addressed the crowd, Furutani, motioning to the Capi- tion to put the act on the ballot. including California Assembly tol Building. “The answer is in Majority Leader Alberto Torrico. your voice, in your activism, in E-mail: “There is something terribly putting on the ballot to gzeman@theguardsman.com NDNU_Ad_031610Guardsman.pdf 1 3/16/10 12:15something PM

Police nab Wellness Center theft suspect

By Don Clyde THE GUARDSMAN

An adult male was arrested in connection with thefts at the City College Wellness Center on March 19 at approximately 11:15 a.m., according to a San Francisco Community College District Police Department media release.

San Francisco resident Maifala Tusi, 24, was arrested for one count of grand theft, three counts of burglary, one count of possession of burglary tools and two counts of possession of stolen property, public information officer Connie Hector said.

Tusi told police he is not a City College student.

Undercover San Francisco Police Department officers arrested Tusi at the Wellness Center during a sting operation. The City College Police Department has been working closely with Captain David

Lazar, commanding officer of Ingleside Police Station, to curb on-campus thefts, the media release said.

Tusi was arrested after stealing a laptop from a storage area in the Wellness Center, but property from two lockers in the men’s locker room was also found in his possession.

He admitted to working with three other friends in over 20 recent thefts, not all at City College. Information about the others was not available due to an on-going investigation, according to Hector.

“He also admitted to thefts at the College of San Mateo, Gold’s Gym and other fitness facilities,” Hector said.

Anyone with information is requested to call the campus police at (415) 239-3200.

E-mail: dclyde@theguardsman.com

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City College — The Guardsman Size: 6" x 6" Insertion date: March 24, 2010 Ad #N1019

News

MARCH 24, 2010

Board seeks to bridge achievement gap CURRICULUM: from front page

Students who identify as AfricanAmerican, Native American, Filipino, Latino or Pacific Islander are 19 to 21 percent less likely to complete two- or four-year degrees than their white and Asian counterparts, according to the 2009 City College Student Achievement Gap and Social Equity Report.

“The role of the English and math curriculum is very important in how we understand the problem facing different groups at the college,” Trustee Steve Ngo said. “We need to intensify our basic efforts to get students college-ready and if we can't do that, then we aren't doing our job.”

A student entering at the lowest possible level may need to take six English classes and four math classes to finally take transferable math and English courses.

Ngo said these classes will have to be restructured so students don't have to slowly work their way up in 3-unit increments. To speed up the process, the board is debating turning them into 11- or 12-unit classes.

Under the new resolution students would have the option to take these subjects as pass/no pass. The board also wants to give students better access to English and math classes and improve professional development training programs to teach basic skills.

“Fact is, if students can get through

these classes during their first year of college, the rate at which they complete college increases,” Ngo said.

“Most people take longer than two semesters to complete their math requirements, but just by reducing the number of steps you are making it more likely for students to succeed,” said Hal Huntsman, math instructor and president of the Academic Senate.

Darlene Alioto, chair of the social sciences department, disagreed.

“One needs to remember that students are coming to us from the Unified School District very unprepared. To expect some of them to reach college level within two semesters is fantasy,” she wrote in an e-mail to the Board of Trustees on March 15.

“I feel the draft resolution before the Board of Trustees amounts to political grandstanding,” math department Chair Dennis Piontkowski wrote in an e-mail to the Department Chairs Council. “It is not in the best interest of our students. We need to fight this flagrant abuse of power.”

Among the 114 California community colleges, City College has one of the longest basic education sequences. Other community colleges, like Santa Rosa or De Anza, have already changed their curriculum to cater to student's needs, Ngo said.

“With this long sequence of English and math classes, you are not producing

confident happy people who are ready to enter a career,” broadcast major Jason Grohman said. “Instead people drop out because they feel like failures. In the end the school is making money from it,” Grohman originally placed into basic English and math classes. After six years at City College, he is still not ready to transfer because he needs to pass English 1B. The current placement test system at the school also poses a significant problem for students’ progress, Ngo and Huntsman said.

“If the board passes the resolution, students will be allowed to retake the test twice any time during a semester,” Huntsman added. “With the current system, they need to wait until the next semester to be tested again, and there is no law, no good reason to make them wait until they can take it again.”

By petition of 100 Academic Senate members, an emergency meeting was scheduled for March 23.

In an e-mail to Chancellor Don Griffin, board members Steve Ngo and Chris Jackson stated that none of the present parties objected to the resolution at the time it was presented to the board.

“I asked them to say openly if they would agree that we need to do that, and all of them said yes,” Ngo said.

E-mail: lkoenig@theguardsman.com

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Sequence of English courses (from basic to transfer level)

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|5

Opinions&Editorials

MARCH 24, 2010

Texas should not rewrite U.S. history to suit their delusions The board proposal includes the removal of Thomas Jefferson and Seneca Falls Convention while ‘pretending Hispanics don’t exist’

By Greg Zeman THE GUARDSMAN

Texas has seceded from the United States of sanity.

I know I’m not supposed to “mess” with Texas, but enough is enough. I apologize in advance if my vitriol boils-over here, but I’m not going to tiptoe around the feelings of the cowboy dumbasses who let JFK get shot and invented Tex-Mex — a bastardization of Mexican cuisine so awful it borders on racist.

The Texas Board of Education is trying to rewrite U.S. history to read like a fascist-evangelical fairy tale. They’ve proposed removing from textbooks any mention of the Seneca Falls Convention, which kick-started the women’s equality movement in America, and the Double-V campaign, black WWII veterans’ demand for full equality. So, let’s just say, Texas isn’t big on the whole “full equality” thing.

The Double V campaign was an unprecedented, self-generated campaign created by the black press during WWII to promote the interests of the U.S. at war and the freedom and equality of returning black veterans. It should come as no surprise that Texas, a place with an abundance of suspected “sundown towns” – towns where blacks are not allowed after sunset – would reject the campaign’s historical significance.

Also, their SeaWorld sucks — especially when compared to the one in San Diego.

When board member Mary Helen Berlanga tried repeatedly to have Latino historical figures added to the curriculum, she was obstructed by the 15-to-10 Republican majority every time.

Exasperated, Berlanga finally walked out of the hearings because the board was “pretending Hispanics don’t exist.”

It is one thing to add some-

thing to a textbook; we progressives have made additions to include neglected chapters of history — those not performed by white men — and the country is better for it. It is altogether different to remove something.

The board has also proposed removing Thomas Jefferson from the list of individuals whose writings and ideas inspired the U.S. revolution. That isn’t a typo.

Thomas Jefferson — the third President of the U.S., the guy on the nickel, the guy who purchased Louisiana and — oh yeah — the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence — he’s off the list.

So who will take Jefferson’s place? A few gentleman you may have heard of, namely John Calvin and St. Thomas Aquinas, who are thinkers of the 13th and 16th century, respectively. So, why didn’t they just add these thinkers?

Because the stone-age, hocuspocus theories of Calvin and Aquinas generally wither like so many fig leaves when exposed to the enlightened glow of Jeffersonian philosophy.

And herein lies the key to all of this — Texas, as a shining beacon of “American conservatism” (Read: faith-based Fascism) has a case of ideological inadequacy way too massive to hide under 10 ten-gallon hats.

So Texas can shuffle the deck all it wants. They can even take out a few kings and queens and replace them with their favorite jokers. But the end result is all hat and no cattle.

And the next time a person says that Austin is the “Berkeley of Texas,” I will feel an overwhelming urge to spit in their mouth, but I won’t be able to because I’ll be too busy vomiting into my own.

E-mail: gzeman@theguardsman.com

THE GUARDSMAN

Editorial

Universal health care abandoned

Democrats are celebrating their first major legislative victory, Pyrrhic or otherwise, in a long time. But when the confetti settles, U.S. citizens will be no closer to universal access to health care.

Barack Obama took office with a promise to “sign a universal health care plan into law by the end of my first term in office.”

Unless the president has a plan to mend the bruised feelings on the other side of the aisle, it seems unlikely that he will be able to make good on this lofty goal.

The failure of the Democrats to secure anything remotely resembling universal health care is only slightly mitigated by the portions of the bill that eliminate loss of coverage for preexisting conditions and extend youth access to their parents insurance until age 26.

The Democrats are screaming “victory,” the Republicans are screaming “socialism” and the rest of the country is left scratching their heads trying to figure out the implications of more than two-thousand pages of dense legalese.

Some important questions remain unanswered. Like how does a bill that started as a move towards universal coverage for all U.S. citizens turn into mandating that more than 30 million people purchase health insurance from private companies, bolstering their profits?

One thing is certain: the once hopeful prospects of the Obama administration’s push for universal health care have all but evaporated.

Unless those “hopes” were just for show.

E-mail: email@theguardsman.com

Justice system at fault for murders

By William Chamberlin THE GUARDSMAN

The mishandled cases of Amy Bishop, who killed her brother, and Rodney Alcala, who raped a child, led twenty years later to a murderous professor and the conviction of a serial killer.

Bishop, 44, killed three of her fellow biology professors in February. In 1986, at age 21, Bishop shot and killed her brother with a shotgun, but was released without charges.

Alcala, 66, was found guilty in a series of murders that he committed in the 1970s, including those of four women and a child. He was tried twice for the rape and murder of Robin Samsoe, but was acquitted both times based on technicalities.

I guess that’s sweet home America, where our citizens pay taxes to keep the prisons full of drug violators while murderers get the chance to roam free.

Both Bishop and Alcala were recently apprehended and will have to face up to their crimes. They probably won’t be able to go out on any more killing sprees, but we’ll see. There has been a lot of slapping on the wrists recently in our justice system.

Justice is not too much to ask.

Bishop shot her brother in the abdomen after they had an argument, the Boston Globe reported. The police chief at the time ordered that the paperwork be stopped and Bishop released

to her mother; that paperwork has been missing since 1987.

Bishop killed her brother.

She admitted it, and they let her go home to her mother.

A revolutionary technique the respective authorities could try to implement would be to prevent preventable tragedies!

Let’s just make some basic across-the-board rules, like if you kill your brother or rape a child, you go to prison for a long time.

The current system of filling over-crowded prisons while more mass shootings and serial killers are materializing is faulty at best.

Now, to say that any law enforcement agency should be able to anticipate all serial killers and psychotic breaks of professors would be unfair. In fact it’s impossible. The only way to anticipate such a thing is if there were slight warning signs which drew attention … like fratricide or child rape.

When two stories of this nature are in the news in a month, maybe it’s time to analyze the processes by which we are pursuing and prosecuting our criminals.

Take the recent December exoneration of James Bain, a man who innocently served 35 years for the alleged kidnapping and rape of a boy, as reported by CNN. Donald Gates was also released last December, after 28 innocent years of incarceration for the murder of a Georgetown University student, according

to the Washington Post. DNA evidence proved Gates did not kill the student.

And good job on cracking down on the grandma with the ancient marijuana charge a few weeks back. Homenella Cole, 74, who caught a marijuana charge over 30 years ago, was recently jailed while committing the terrible crime of visiting the U.S. from her Canadian home. Oh, the lives that were saved in that epic apprehension!

The criminal justice system in this country is a sad joke at times and all at the expense of the citizens. Whether it’s spending an absurd amount of tax dollars to house “criminals” like Bain and Gates or the total absence of justice in the case of Seth Bishop, the system has big cracks.

Recently, the California prison system was ordered by three San Francisco federal judges to release up to 40 percent of its criminals due to overcrowding, which they ruled “violates the rights of prisoners,” according to the Examiner.

The criminal justice system in this country having its weak moments is fair. The criminal justice system in this country having its Johannes Mehserle moment: completely unacceptable.

Let’s keep it simple; put killers and rapists in prison. The concept is not that difficult.

E-mail: wchamberlin@theguardsman.com

|7

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Sports

THE GUARDSMAN

Rams defeated in state championship game Men’s basketball

By Bontã Hill THE GUARDSMAN

Sophomore forward Chris White finished with 27 points during the state tournament.

He scored 10 points against Saddleback.

As they headed to Thousand Oaks for the Elite Eight, the City College men’s basketball team was considered a long shot for the state title.

The Rams were a mere two minutes away from shocking the state and winning their first California Community College Athletic Association State Championship since 1962. Those hopes were dashed in a tough loss to the Saddleback Gauchos, 63-57, in the March 14 state title game at California Lutheran University’s Gilbert Arena.

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to make it that far, so it was an accomplishment to get to the title game,” sophomore Da’Ron Sims said. “It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but overall it was a good run.”

He

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC SUN

finished his Rams career by making the All-Tournament team.

That run to the state title game started with two home victories. A grueling 66-59 win on Feb. 27 against College of the Redwoods, followed by a 83-68 rout of Chabot College on March 6, earned the Rams their third straight trip to the tournament.

City College opened the Elite Eight by jumping out to a 15-point halftime lead against Irvine Valley College, beating them 70-64 in a game that was not as close as the score.

The San Bernardino Wolverines, then the No. 1 team in the state, awaited the Rams in the Final Four. City College opened a 14-point lead in the second half and withstood a late rally by the Wolverines, winning 72-68 to advance to the championship.

“The good thing about this team is that they’re very good at preparing for other teams,” head coach Justin Labagh said. “We had good match ups that complimented our style.”

“Coach Labagh had us mentally prepared for this tournament,” All-Conference forward Christopher White said. “We knew what plays the other teams were running, but at the end of the

day we didn’t have enough to beat Saddleback.”

In the championship game,

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to make it that far ...”

— Justin Labagh Men’s Basketball Head Coach

the Gauchos jumped out to a 13-2 lead as the Rams struggled to generate anything offensively for the first nine minutes.

Sophomore guard Calvin Douglas led the Rams back as he showed off his shooting touch, scoring ten first-half points. He would finish the game with 16.

“They were leaving our wings open to shoot the ball because they were collapsing on our post players,” Douglas said. “I was feeling it and just taking what they were giving me.”

The Rams went into halftime down 27-24, and Saddleback held onto to a tight lead most of the second half.

City College would tie things

up at 52 when freshman forward Jonathon Williams, who was also named to the All Tournament Team, came up with the steal and took it to the basket for a onehand slam dunk with two minutes remaining.

That is the closest the Rams would get.

Saddleback forward Tyler McManaman hit a baseline jumper as the shot clock expired, and the Gauchos went 13 of 14 from the free throw line down the stretch, preventing the Rams from hoisting the championship trophy.

City College finished its season 28-5.

Even though the Rams had a great season and Labagh was proud of his team’s accomplishments, there was still disappointment about not winning the championship.

“I thought our sophomores did a good job of using their experience, and our freshmen developed more than any other freshmen class we’ve had here,” Labagh said.

“Our guys weren’t celebrating just because they got to the title game. It’s too bad it went down that way.”

Women come up short against Ventura THE GUARDSMAN

A historic season for the City College women’s basketball team came to a bitter end on March 13 in Thousand Oaks as the Rams fell 60-56 to Ventura College in front of a sold-out Gilbert Arena.

It was virtually a home game for the Ventura Pirates, who play merely 20 miles from California Lutheran University, and their raucous, orange-clad fans filled almost the entire gym.

Still, the Rams were able to go neck and neck with Ventura, and they nearly mounted a late second half comeback and victory.

“I thought the crowd was great,” Rams head coach Jamie Hayes said following the game. “We went into the game knowing what we needed to do.

Shooting 25 percent hurt us much more than the crowd.”

Poor shooting, along with 18 missed free throws were ultimately the Rams’ downfall. Still, sophomore guards Brittney Allen and Marlee Rice put up a spirited effort in their last game wearing

a Rams uniform.

“We all wanted this game so badly,” Allen said. “In the end, we just hurt ourselves though, and that’s why we lost.” She finished with 25 points against Ventura, to lead all scorers.

Allen, along with Rice, a transfer this season from San Francisco State University, and all-tournament sophomore Mone Peoples, anchored one of the most stellar back courts in the state.

“I accomplished more in one year then I did playing my whole life,” Rice said. “I absolutely loved playing here, alongside my two all-state guards.”

The Rams cruised into the state semifinals with three straight playoff victories, starting with two home victories over American River and Ohlone at home.

City College was then able to exact revenge on last year’s defending state champions Pasadena with a 75-58 victory on March 11, in the opening game at Gilbert Arena.

Falling behind early to Ventura 19-5, the Rams mounted a 15-3 run, to come within two of the Pirates.

City College was unable to capture

the lead, trailing trailed 29-23 at halftime.

Ventura guard Chanelle Brennan led the way for the Pirates, finishing with 23 points. She was named Tournament MVP. In the second half, the Rams would whittle away at Ventura’s lead slowly but surely. Led by Allen and Rice, they took a 53-52 lead with under four minutes to go in the game.

“Knowing this could be our last game kept us going strong until the end no matter what the score was,” Rice said.

The teams exchanged leads four times in the next three minutes, but Ventura was ultimately able to ice the game at the line, ending the most successful season in the program’s history “We had a great season, going into the tournament and making it to the final four for the first time for our program,” Hayes said. “I am extremely proud of our young women and the effort that they have put forward on the court.”

E-mail: aturner@theguardsman.com

Rams’ home games move to Pacifica

By William Courtney CONTRIBUTING WRITER

City College baseball is traveling a bit further to practice and compete in their remaining 2010 home games because they have moved from Balboa Park to Fairmont Field in Pacifica.

Despite the added distance, the change in venue might actually work in the Rams' favor, head coach John Vanocini said.

He added that conditions at Balboa Park are now unplayable due to kneehigh grass in the outfield and continuous drainage problems.

“Fairmont is a lot better,” sophomore catcher Tony Oropeza said. “Plus, it still gives us home-field advantage so the team didn’t mind switching.”

Online:

Read the full story online at www.theguardsman.com/ baseballfield

E-mail: bhill@theguardsman.com

Women’s basketball

By Aaron Turner

MARCH 24, 2010

Sophomore guard Brittney Allen scored 25 against Ventura to lead all scorers.

She finished with 40 points in two games at the state tournament.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC SUN

|9

Former City College quarterback pleads guilty to burglary charges

By William Chamberlin

Former City College student and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli plead guilty for burglary on March 12.

THE GUARDSMAN

Former City College quarterback Jeremiah Masoli pleaded guilty at a Lane County Circuit Court on March 12 to seconddegree burglary in the Jan. 25 theft of two laptops and a guitar from a University of Oregon fraternity.

The Daly City native, who is currently on scholarship at Oregon and entering his senior year, took the plea offered him that drops the felony charge to a misdemeanor and keeps him out of jail. He was given 12 months probation and 140 hours of community service.

Oregon wide receiver Garret Embry was charged with Masoli for the same incident and the two will pay $5,000 in restitution.

Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly announced just hours after the sentencing that Masoli would be suspended for the entirety of the 2010 season. The punishment is one of the strongest a player can receive.

“The actions that our play-

ers take when they are in the community, not on the field or in the classroom, are just as important to us,” Kelly said at a news conference held by the Oregon football program.

“We feel we have taken the steps necessary to make sure this does not happen with these young men again,” he said.

Oregon’s football program has had to deal with a slew of recent legal problems concerning its players as of late.

Sophomore LaMichael James, who set a PAC-10 rushing record with more than 1,500

yards last season, was recently charged in a domestic dispute with menacing, assault and strangulation. He pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of harassment and will be suspended from the season opener.

Kicker Rob Beard has also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge and will a miss the season opener.

After attending Serra High School in San Mateo, where Masoli was a three-sport star, and graduating from St. Louis High School in Hawaii, he led City College to a JC Grid-Wire’s National Championship in 2007.

Masoli was also named the 2007 northern California offensive player of the year.

The championship was City College’s fifth in nine seasons, and Masoli’s performance caught the interest of Oregon recruiters because of his athleticism and dual-threat abilities. The following May, Masoli signed with Oregon after only one season with the Rams.

“Masoli was a fabulous player with great leadership abilities,”

City College head football coach George Rush said. “I have nothing but good things to say about him.”

Rush also commented on the discipline handed down to Masoli

by Kelly.

“He’s caught in a double jeopardy,” he said. “How many times do you get punished for the same thing?”

This season would have been Masoli’s third and final with Oregon. Under the terms of his suspension though, he will retain eligibility and be able to play in the 2011 season.

His name had filled blogs and Web sites like ESPN.com and CBSSports.com as a pre-season candidate for the 2010 Heisman trophy race. The Heisman trophy is the highest individual honor a college football player can receive.

The impact this will have on Masoli’s football career remains unseen. For the 2010 season however, Masoli himself will be unseen.

E-mail: wchamberlin@theguardsman.com

Football team holds St. Patrick’s Day blood drive

By Bontã Hill THE GUARDSMAN

On a day when the color green was on everyone's mind, the City College football team was busy giving love to the color red.

Rams head coach George Rush, along with four assistants, brought more than 40 players to each give a pint of blood at the Blood Center of the Pacific Irwin Center, located at 270 Masonic Ave. in San Francisco, for a special St. Patrick's Day donation.

Rush was initially looking for the team to donate to the U.S. military, but he found that military personnel handle donations internally. He then contacted the Blood Center, which was waiting with open arms to receive more than 40 donations.

“I’m a firm believer that playing intercollegiate athletics is a real privilege,” Rush said. “With some of the advantages our student athletes have, the least they can do is give something back to the community.”

Don Burghardt, who is the director of donor recruitment at the Blood Center and has been affiliated with blood banks since the mid-80s, was excited and thankful by

AARON TURNER / THE GUARDSMAN

Freshman cornerback Anthony Woods prepares to have his blood drawn March 17 at Blood Centers of the Pacific Irwin Center in San Francisco.

the turnout. He admitted he was surprised by the number of donors Rush was able to bring from his team.

“This is one fantastic and outstanding production on everybody’s part,” he said.

“We get contacted by people all the time

saying that they're going to get 100 people to give blood. When push comes to shove, they may get 12 to 13 people to come. We get our expectations up and we get a little jaded.”

There are a total of 12 blood banks in

the Bay Area, and Burghardt said his center gets an average of 30 donors per day. Their goal is to get more than 400 donors per day from all of their blood banks combined, in an effort to meet the high demand of hospitals that receive donated blood.

Field Recruitment Supervisor Christina Mihalos said she hasn't seen a turnout like this from any athletic team in the city.

Once the football team got to the Blood Bank, her primary concern became whether or not she would have enough food to feed the team.

As players waited to give their blood, they were treated to a spread of spaghetti and lasagna. After that was consumed, the blood bank ordered several pizzas for the players who missed out on the pasta.

Once the day came to an end, and over 40 pints of blood were donated, Rush said he would love for his team to continue this community service.

“It makes a significant difference in the community and I'm proud of my players for signing up and volunteering to do this,” he said.

E-mail: bhill@theguardsman.com

10 |

Sports

THE GUARDSMAN

The Water Cooler

By Bontã Hill

I’d like to meet the person who came up with the idea of scheduling mid-term exams during the greatest tournament in the world, the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

They should be crucified.

Okay, that’s a bit much, but punishment should be considered.

As students, we’re not allowed to text or look at our phones in class. Not fair considering that Georgetown could potentially be destroying my bracket and giving me no hope at winning my office pool.

How am I supposed to focus on wind patterns and the different types of clouds in geography?

I was told by a teacher that I had spring fever. You know, with the flowers blooming, the anticipation of spring break, nice weather and girls starting to come to school wearing a little less clothing, who wouldn’t be?

Well, she’s right in saying I have a fever, but not because of spring. I have to blame it on something though, because the NCAA tournament has me discombobulated.

Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Baylor were my picks to make the Final Four, with Kansas cutting down the nets in Indianapolis, even though my heart is with Kentucky.

That said, Kansas has already let me down by losing in the second round to Northern Iowa — NORTHERN IOWA! However, the school’s schedule maker ought to be thrown into the Idiot Hall of Fame. Why would you — whoever is behind this — schedule March Madness, spring break and the great weather that we’re getting near midterms?

The faculty here just doesn’t know how tough it is being a student. They just don’t know...

Idiot of the Week I have to go local with this one, and due to my deadline to turn this column in — which I missed for the fourth straight issue — I won’t know the full extent of this situation due to The Guardsman going

into production, but I’m going with the San Francisco 49ers front office as this week’s Idiot of the Week.

The 49ers organization announced that General Manager Scot McCloughan was taking a “leave of absence.” Huh? Five weeks before one of the most important NFL drafts in recent history for the 49ers?

Great timing.

As of March 19, there have been reports released to the media that McCloughan’s office has been cleaned out. It’s also been noted that he is going through a divorce.

However, his representative, Peter Schaffer, is saying McCloughan is still on board with the franchise. Some say that is just to get full compensation for his contract as the 49ers are forcing him out.

Why the 49ers have not come out and spoken publicly about this issue is beyond me. This is the type of behavior that one would expect from their neighbors across the bay.

You have to feel bad for McCloughan and angry at the 49ers’ brass. McCloughan, who has been with the organization for five years, has been a big part of the rebuilding of this team through the draft.

The 49ers have the potential to fill some needs and become serious contenders to win the NFC West this season. With a distraction like this, how will it affect the 49ers in attracting free agents or decision making in the upcoming draft?

All this has done is cause confusion, and for the time being, put a halt to the momentum the franchise was starting to gain.

Now, all we know is we don’t have any leadership at the top — something that doesn’t mix with trying to be a winning organization in the NFL. Miscellaneous Manny Pacquiao defeated Joshua Clottey on March 13, in front of a crowd of 51,000 at the gorgeous stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was the third largest crowd in U.S. boxing history.

Too bad the fight was a stinker as Clottey decided to collect his check and cover-up instead of throwing a punch. At least I saved $50.

In other news, Texas Rangers’ manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine use. He also admitted to using drugs when he was a player in the 1980s.

On that note, I’ll see you folks after spring break.

E-mail: bhill@theguardsman.com

MARCH 24, 2010

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Features

MARCH 24, 2010

THE GUARDSMAN

| 11

Ending Point:

Manning Park, British Columbia, Canada David Durandet in Tuscany, Italy during his 800-mile pilgrimage with his mother in 2007. They travelled from the border of Switzerland to Rome.

Wash.

TREKKING 2,650 MILES BORDER TO BORDER PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID DURANDET

Ore.

I

Nev.

Calif.

N Key Pacific Crest Trail 300 mi.

300km

David Durandet will walk 2,650 miles from Campo, Calif. to Manning Park, British Columbia, Canada beginning April 15.

Starting Point: Campo, Calif.

JESSICA LUTHI / THE GUARDSMAN

By Fleur Bailey THE GUARDSMAN

n an effort to raise money for a local school and to gain a little personal enlightenment, David Durandet has decided to take a 2,650 mile walk.

Carrying food, water, clothes and shelter on his back, Durandet, 44, will step away from his life in San Francisco on April 15 to begin a six-month journey spanning the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail. He will walk from Campo, Calif. on the border of Mexico to Manning Park in British Columbia, Canada — through California, Oregon and Washington.

“I am at a stage in my life where I feel mentally and physically strong enough to take on this expedition,” he said.

Although Durandet is walking for his own personal achievement, he is also using the opportunity to raise money for the Pacific Crest Trail Association and the Claire Lilienthal Alternative School, part of the San Francisco Unified School District.

The Claire Lilienthal Alternative School includes both Korean immersion and general education programs. The school is focused on parent participation, improved instructional programs and racial integration, according to its Web site.

Durandet is using his journey as a fundraising initiative to aid the school's physical education program next year.

“I had the idea that this might motivate the children to maybe one day do something similar,” he said. “I want to motivate them to

get outdoors instead of watching TV. This country is so beautiful and it's so easy to see it.”

Durandet said learning about the landscape and appreciating the beauty of nature on foot was a big part of his childhood in France. In 2007, he went on an 800-mile, two-month hiking pilgrimage with his mother from the border of Switzerland through Italy to Rome.

“Since then I have wanted to do something bigger alone,” he said.

Durandet has been planning this trip for a year and expects it to take him up to six months. He has taken a snow survival course in South Lake Tahoe and said he feels prepared and in good physical condition for the journey.

“I know there may be a time where I want to stop,” he said.

“But I am just going to take one day at a time and give myself small goals.”

According to the PCTA Web site, fewer have walked the entire trail than have climbed Mount Everest, suggesting it might be tougher than climbing the tallest mountain on Earth. The trail has the greatest elevation changes in any of the United States’ National Scenic Trails, climbing nearly 60 major mountain passes and descending into 19 canyons.

The PCT passes through three national monuments, seven national parks and 24 national forests as it runs through six out of seven of North America's ecozones — including high and low desert, arctic-alpine country and old-growth forest.

To save carrying extra weight, Durandet will be sending food

and clothes in advance to collect at specific locations on his journey.

He will experience many different environments, from sweltering desert valleys in Southern California, to rain forests in the Pacific Northwest and snow in the mountains. In parts of the trail in California, hikers can often expect to walk 20 to 30 miles between water sources.

The trail covers some of the most beautiful landscape in the West — the Mojave Desert, the Sierra Nevada and Mount Whitney, Yosemite National Park, Marble Mountain, the volcanoes of the Cascades including Mount Shasta and Mount Hood, Crater Lake, Columbia River Gorge, Mount Ranier and the remote Northern Cascades.

Durandet said he has tried not to think too much about the possible dangers or threats of taking this trip alone, adding that he will focus on being smart and listening to his body, nature and his surroundings. He said he is excited to push his physical being to its limit — to see how much he can endure and what he can learn from being on the journey.

“It is important for me to reach the end, to experience and enjoy every day, to get away from society, and to learn more about myself,” he said.

Durandet has a blog that he will update throughout his journey, and is accepting donations through his Web site http:// frogonthetrail.wordpress.com/ E-mail: fbailey@theguardsman.com

12 |

THE GUARDSMAN

Advertisement

MARCH 24, 2010

Culture&Trends

MARCH 24, 2010

THE GUARDSMAN

| 13

Planetarium hosts weekly astronomy flicks

By William Chamberlin THE GUARDSMAN

The astronomy club hosts its own movie every Monday at 4:30 p.m. in the Ocean campus Science Building planetarium followed by a lively discussion on the scientific issues of the film as they relate to modern society.

What began as a chance happening in the 2009 fall semester has become an evolving weekly astronomy club production.

When it was presented to City College astronomy professor Melinda Weil that the school could purchase the rights and have the San Francisco debut of the film “Blast!” it seemed like a great opportunity. The film, about telescopes that are lifted out of the Earth’s atmosphere with weather balloons, had its debut at City College.

“We wanted to make it a permanent fixture in the astronomy club,” said astronomy club president Jacquelyn Parsons.

Due to the amount of fog and rain in San Francisco, observation nights in the planetarium were already scarce. Showing a movie

in the planetarium became more common than ideal conditions to view the solar system.

Any City College student can attend the regular screenings and discussions providing an academic break and unique perspective.

“School can be pretty stressful,” City College student Carlos Arellano said. “I went there for an hour between class. It was relaxing and pretty sweet.”

The first Monday of the month is dedicated to hosting original episodes of Star Trek which are followed by a conversation about its relation to modern science. Any other commentary is welcome.

The astronomy club’s main goal is to get more students involved in the appreciation and fun of the sciences.

“The sciences are so isolated,” astronomy treasurer Aaron “Gonzo” Gonzales said. “One of the reasons we do this is to show how all the disciplines tie in with one another.”

The event has been able to continue with support of college staff. Astronomy department Chair Lancelot Kao approved the

ROBERT ROMANO / THE GUARDSMAN

City College’s astronomy club presents ‘From the Earth to the Moon,’ one of the weekly movie presentations shown at the Planetarium 4:30 p.m. every Monday.

event and professor Jim Gibson brought the first episode of Star Trek and hosted the first discussion.

Don’t Put Your Dreams On Hold.

Currently, Gonzales is in charge of deciding which movies will be shown, aside from the staple first of the month Star Trek episode. Gonzales tries to select films that relate, in some fashion, to the sciences and provides a format for a discussion.

The event, only in its sixth week, has been catering to a small crowd of about eight individuals but is open to the public and free to attend.

E-mail: wchamberlin@theguardsman.com

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14 |

Culture&Trends

THE GUARDSMAN

MARCH 24, 2010

Great food, smooth jazz served at KBLX Live Brunch

By Greg Zeman THE GUARDSMAN

Radio DJ Nikki Thomas keeps the Bay Area safe and warm on “The Quiet Storm” every day, spinning smooth R&B classics on 102.9 KBLX. And if you’ve got half a hundred to spare on a Sunday, you can watch her do her thing live and enjoy some excellent cuisine at the Anzu restaurant inside the Hotel Nikko.

Live radio?

I hope nobody in the broadcast department gets mad at me for revealing industry secrets, but what a radio DJ does on the air is generally not that exciting to watch in person. Basically, they push a few buttons and talk. I have to give the energetic Thomas credit for mixing things up and dancing behind the mike at 10 a.m.

Nom nom nom The food was pretty exceptional.

The fish was delicious and the grits were remarkably creamy. The colorful array of

desserts, ranging in size form tiny, one-bite tarts to elaborate, multi-layered cakes of all shapes and flavors was as tantalizing to look at as it was to sample. They also had sushi available and the coffee did not suck at all, which is so rarely the case at a brunch.

Did I mention that there is free-flowing champagne and mimosas?

It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere…

The warm glow of social acceptance that accompanies the consumption of breakfast-approved booze is already a thing of beauty and wonder, and when you add unlimited, free refills to that equation, you’ve got one happy columnist.

So as a reader, you’re probably wondering, if these people fed Zeman drinks the whole time he was there, where did the other star go?

Where indeed?

Maybe it’s because I paid $50 to listen to a free radio station “live,” or maybe it’s because they pack their guests like sardines into the back of a mostly empty restaurant causing everyone’s conversations to run together into a disorienting blur of noise.

Most likely the fifth star is missing because the ladies at the table next to mine got three mimosas into their breakfast and started loudly discussing their time in a Santa Rita jail. No detail was spared,

including how dry the soap made their skin, whom they fought and ate with and a few other things that were not at all tablefriendly.

Verdict: 4/5

THE GUARDSMAN Check us out on the Web www.theguardsman.com

Apart from being within earshot of a dramatic recounting of bloody shankings, the whole thing was pretty excellent.

Smooth music with no commercials, good food and free bubbly — it sure beats sitting in church.

E-mail: gzeman@theguardsman.com

Where: Hotel Nikko

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What: KBLX Live Brunch Cost: $45 per person, includes free-flowing champagne mimosas

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Calendar

MARCH 24, 2010

Calendar for March 24 - April 6

WED

24

31

THUR

FRI

25

26

THUR

FRI

SAT

SUN

27

SAT

3

Track Johnny Mathis meet at SF State Time: TBA

Track Johnny Mathis meet at SF State Time: TBA

MON

28

Men’s baseball Women’s badagainst Ohlone at minton against Fairmont Field Pasadena City Col12 p.m. lege at Pasadena 12 p.m.

Women’s badminton against History Exhibit: Pasadena City ColTreasure Island lege at Pasadena Salutes the Sea 12 p.m.

Services at Treasure Island Track Chabot Distance Carnival Building One, Room & Relays at Chabot 111 One Avenue of the Palms Time: TBA Treasure Island, CA Free 2 - 5 p.m.

2

1

Women’s tennis Edible Art Conagainst Cabrillo test at Omnivore at Cabrillo Books on Food 2 p.m.

3885a Cesar Chavez Street San Francisco, CA $5 6 -7 p.m.

Cesar Chavez Holiday Breakfast at Mission Language & Vocational School Latino Culinary Academy 2929 19th Street San Francisco, CA 8 -10 a.m.

Community Events

Campus Events

Women’s Men’s baseball Cesar Chavez Day Resource Center against De Anze No School Open House at City at De Anza College, Smith Hall 2 p.m.

Women’s bad103-104 12-2 p.m. minton against Fresno at Fresno 3 p.m.

Querido Viejo Tequila Tasting “Careers in at The Terrace Room Track SF State Business” 1800 Madison Street Distance Carnipresented by Career Oakland, CA val at SF State Development and $2 Time: TBA Placement Center at 6 p.m.

City College, RosenTrack Chabot berg Library 304 Distance Carnival 3 - 4:30 p.m. & Relays at Chabot Time: TBA

WED

THE GUARDSMAN

SUN

29

Spring Break begins Men’s baseball against Canada at Canada 2 p.m.

Make My Monday: Artmaking, Music, Cocktails & Street Food at Fort Mason - Herbst Pavilion Laguna St. and Marina Blvd.

San Francisco, CA Free 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

30

Comedy Blast with Blinky the Rock God at the Rockit Room 406 Clement St. San Francisco, CA Tickets: 415-3876343 21+ 8 p.m.

MON

4

Easter

TUES

TUES

5

Classes resume

Women’s tennis against De Anza at City College 2 p.m.

6

Men’s baseball against Mission at Fairmont Field 2 p.m.

Women’s badminton against De Anza at City College 3 p.m.

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Classifieds Looking for a female student to study with. Must have at least 60 units completed. If interested, please contact Eric at (415) 518-9080.

Career Development and Placement Center present The Annual Career Information Fair April 14, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cafeteria, Ocean campus.

Students are encouraged to bring resumes and dress for success. There will be opportunities for internships, employment and more.

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Culture&Trends

THE GUARDSMAN

MARCH 24, 2010

Carlos Santana honored with 2010 art award

By Angela Penny THE GUARDSMAN

Internationally acclaimed musician and human rights advocate, Carlos Santana received the 2010 Mayor’s Art Award from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on March 18.

More than 300 invited guests filled the regal Green Room of the War Memorial Opera House for the two-hour ceremony sponsored by the San Francisco Examiner.

Santana’s family moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles in 1961. His father was a violinist in a mariachi band.

The Santana band made their debut at the Fillmore West theater on June 16, 1968.

The band achieved international acclaim as part of Woodstock ’69 and released their self-titled first album that same month, which became a massive hit and included their first top 10 Billboard hit “Evil Ways.”

During the ceremony Newsom noted that the public education Santana received in San Francisco contributed to his success.

Santana graduated from Mission High School in 1965 after attend-

ing James Lick Middle School.

“Carlos is one of the greatest artists of our time and any time,” Newsom said before presenting the award. “He is an international superstar who keeps his heart in San Francisco and has the humanity of a social worker.”

In 1998 Santana and his wife Deborah established the Milagro Foundation, which has granted over $3 million to nonprofit programs supporting underserved youth in the areas of arts, education and health.

“I am honored to be given this wonderful award from the city that helped launch my life as a musician,” Santana said. “I am proud to get it from the city of San Francisco, which will always be my home.”

At the ceremony, Santana expressed his allegiance to his roots in the San Francisco music scene of the 1960s and 1970s.

“San Francisco is not afraid to question authority,” he said. “We didn’t sanction the war in Vietnam and we don’t sanction this war. In my heart, I’ll always be a hippie, a rainbow warrior. We’re different in San Francisco.”

In his speech he warned

JOSEPH PHILLIPS / THE GUARDSMAN

Mayor Gavin Newsom (left) listens as Carlos Santana speaks to a crowd at the Veterans War Memorial Green Room after receiving the 2010 Mayor’s Art Award on March 18.

against the destructive nature of ego.

“When you perceive that you’re special, you get in trouble,” he said.

Santana ended his acceptance speech with a metaphor.

“Music is the water, people are the flowers and I’m a hose,” he said.

Futuro Picante, a youth Latin jazz ensemble lead by Jose Leon, music director for the San Francisco Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts, provided an energetic performance before the ceremony. Later, local musician Martin Luther McCoy accom-

panied them to play “Somebody Superstar,” a tribute to Santana.

“As a child I played for Mayor George Moscone in this room and 30 years later I’m playing for Mayor Newsom and Carlos Santana,” McCoy said.

After the ceremony, Santana was escorted around the room to take pictures with the caterers, members of Futuro Picante and various guests.

“As a bay area native and a true legend in the Hispanic community, Carlos Santana has educated us with his music for many years,” said Touchè Contreras, a City College student and

music director for KCSF 90.9 FM. “He continues to enlighten us in other ways. Both politically and geographically, the Mayor’s Art Award is well deserved and a true honor to both Carlos Santana and the Latin community.”

Newsom declined to name his favorite Santana song.

“You never say that in front of the artist,” he said. “It’s like asking which is your favorite child. They all embody the spirit of Carlos and San Francisco.”

E-mail: apenny@theguardsman.com

Phat Philly — classic cheesesteaks combined with a fun environment

By Carlos Silva THE GUARDSMAN

Phat Philly, located on 24th Street at Valencia, is a nice place for those who want a fast and delicious meal.

Opened in December 2008, Phat Philly combines a trendy restaurant vibe with a variety of sandwich options and is considered by many to be home to one of the best Philly cheesesteaks in the Mission District.

What makes this spot unique is the way the Phillies are made. The giant, 12-inch sandwiches are made with Wagyu beef — all-natural beef that is fed a 100 percent vegetarian diet — Amoroso rolls, homemade cheddar-beer sauce and the freshest of ingredients.

“It is trendy, fun, has music and we keep the food as authentic as possible,” said waitress Samantha Hernandez, who has worked at Phat Philly since January 2009. “People come in for an authentic cheesesteak and our cheddar-beer sauce.”

Along with providing great food, Phat Philly prides itself on its friendly service and environment.

CHLOE ASHCRAFT / THE GUARDSMAN

Phat Philly employee Miguel Poot prepares some beef for a sandwich on the grill at the 24th and Valencia St. restaurant on March 14.

“We consider the service the most important thing,” Hernandez said. “Whenever we offer good service, the clients will definitely come back soon.”

The chicken Philly sandwich, with a

soda and fries, was fresh and delicious and under $12.

“The food is very fresh and the customer service is great,” said Luis Balizone, a Phat Philly regular. “The Philly and hot

wings are to die for and the cheese sauce on the fries — I love it.”

A classic, seven-inch cheesesteak is only $6.50 and the giant 12-inch cheesesteak is $9.75.

There are a lot of choices to make your Philly special, including four cheese options: Cheese Whiz, provolone, white American and Phat Philly’s own cheddarbeer sauce.

For those who do not eat meat, Phat Philly offers a vegetarian menu at the same price.

Sodas come with free refills and the beer on tap is just $3.95. Sides like the waffle fries, which are $2.25 for a half order and $4 for a full order, are also very affordable.

Customers can find special deals on Phat Philly’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and every Tuesday beer, wings and fries are 50 percent off.

Phat Philly is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

E-mail: csilva@theguardsman.com