NEWS: Slutwalk photo story
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NEWS: Guardsman goes online for the summer
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CULTURE: Outside Lands Local Bands
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C I T Y C O L L E G E O F S A N F R A N C I S C O ’ S N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1 9 3 5
Volume 152, Issue 1
TheGuardsman.com
August 24, 2011
YOUTUBE USER THEONENONLY457 / STILL FROM CITIZEN VIDEO
San Francisco Police Department Officer, not identified by SFPD, hold crowds back as Kenneth Harding Jr. lays on the ground after being shot on July 16, 2011 in the Bayview District.
DISTRUST. TRAGEDY. REFORM. City College pushes to rebuild broken relationship between the SFPD and the Bayview District
By Joe Fitzgerald THE GUARDSMAN
When Kenneth Harding Jr. lay bleeding from a gunshot wound in the middle of the Bayview district on July 16, the last of the neighborhood’s trust in the SFPD bled out along with him. In response, City College Trustee Chris Jackson tabled the renewal of the college’s contract with the SFPD, delaying a deci-
sion on whether or not to continue to fund the police academy. “Everyone knows what happened in my neighborhood a week ago... they shot a guy and killed him,” he said at the July Board of Trustees meeting. Jackson intends to use the delay in the renewal of the contract, which puts City College in charge of disbursing the funding for the academy, to negotiate changes in it’s curriculum. “We’re
funding a new academy. So the best I can do is ask...do we have any kind of control over what they teach at the police academy?” he asked. Dr. Fred Chavaria, chair of the administration of justice department, explained to the board that the College’s role is to “approve their courses, and run their courses through our curriculum committee.” It was perfect timing - without
Dream Act comes true for California students By Brant Ozanich THE GUARDSMAN
California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Dream Act into law July 25 after it passed both houses of the state legislature, allowing undocumented students to receive funding from private scholarships. The bill, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2012, differs from the national DREAM Act, which is a path to citizenship for undocumented graduates and veterans. “I’m committed to expanding opportunity wherever I can find it, and certainly these kinds of bills promote a goal of a more inclusive California and a more educated California,” Brown said on Monday after signing the bill.
In addition to allowing eligible students to receive private scholarships, the bill – titled AB 130 – also allows the same qualified students to receive fee waivers from California’s Community Colleges if they meet existing financial requirements. The bill, which has been celebrated as a win for the Latino community and a campaign promise for Brown, may actually be more of an ideological win than a pragmatic one. “It’s seen as a civil rights issue in the Latino community, especially for youth. The farm workers’ struggle is not necessarily seen as what it once was. This is an issue of the now, an issue of the moment, part of the Latino
agenda and part of the future,” said Jaime Regalado, Director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs. A more controversial bill, AB 131, that allows the same students to receive public state funding and financial aid is waiting for approval in the state senate. Who will it effect? While the media reaction to the bill made it seem that all undocumented students in California could receive access to private scholarships, closer inspection shows that this is not entirely the case. Under the new legislation, only students who are paying in-state tuition under AB 540 DREAM ACT: Page 3
the contract the SFPD and City College’s relationship could be put into question, giving Jackson the leverage to change policy in the police academy for years to come. His proposed reform comes in three parts: new curriculum emphasizing neighborhood relations, a neighborhood “ambassador” program to introduce new recruits to people in the community, and a local hire law requiring a portion of new officers to live
within San Francisco city limits. “This is borne out of a young man being shot in the neck. I’m damned determined to, with my little piece of authority, make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Jackson said in a phone interview. Shock and Anger By all official police and mainstream media accounts, the SFPD made no missteps during or after the shooting. POLICE: Page 2
New challenges for English dept. By Yomi Akinyemi and Ryan Kuhn THE GUARDSMAN
City College’s English department is one of many victims affected by loss of state funds. Faced with its share of class cuts and budget cuts, the department has had to cater to more students yearly while operating under a leaner structure led by department chair Jessica Brown. “My main goal is to create a more organized department – one that is more systematized so everything within it runs a lot smoother,” she said. The English department is not expecting to see any major class cuts, but the fund shortfall means the department will be unable to
CLARIVEL FONG / THE GUARDSMAN
English Department Chair, Jessica Brown
add more classes. Looking to balance its budget for the 2011 fall semester, 350 to 400 classes will be cut next year, according to the June board of ENGLISH: Page 3