Police Brutality

STAFF EDITORIAL

TESS DONOHOE / SPECIAL TO THE GUARDSMAN

As a call to arms against police living recklessly above the law, demonstrators dressed in black will march from the Mission District to the steps of City Hall Oct. 22 for the 10th annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Oppression and the Criminalization of a Generation.

What goes on behind the blue wall is a mystery to most, but too often police are sent away with a slap on the wrist when complications arise, like when Craig Holden, 22, died in the Bayview Police Station after officers used unidentified means to restrain him.

The division between police and civilians is no urban myth. A study by The Internal National Institute of Ethics in 2000 revealed that 79 percent of law enforcement academy recruits nationwide said the “code of silence” exists and 52 percent were accepting of it.

Tyrell Taylor, 18, was shot five times while running from officers in Hunters Point on Sept. 9. Taylor was known as one of five teens brutalized by police in the Bayview Martin Luther King incident of 2000, which is still under investigation.

These are not isolated incidents.

The SFPD’s Statement of Values says, “protection of human life” is its highest priority, providing all the more reason for observing on Oct. 22, because if the “code of silence” exists, it’s up to the public to provide checks and balances to law enforcement.

e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com

How The Media Think Women Should Look

BY CLAUDIA NOVOA
Contributing Writer

There was a time when curvy, voluptuous women were seen as beautiful — but then the stick-figure look began to appeal to society.

Since the early 1600s, women with curvaceous bodies had been considered attractive and stunning. Many were painted nude because of the natural splendor they possessed.

But somewhere along the way, shapely women were replaced by what we see on today’s magazine covers: thin, sultry and emaciated women.

The notion of beauty has changed with the speedy expansion of the media, which is dominant enough to change solidly embedded cultural attitudes. These cultural changes often happen so quickly that they don’t allow enough time for critical evaluation.

Ever since the first women’s magazine debuted in 1830, depictions of the “ideal” woman and the roles she should play in society have been a focus.

The pages of any issue of “Seventeen” magazine are filled with articles about fashion, beauty, romance and sex. The magazine industry is manipulating young teens by telling them how to look, dress and seduce at a critical point in their lives where they are easily influenced. Popular culture has replaced art. Skinny, well-dressed and sexy women make up society’s conformed view of women.

It is scary to see thousands of magazines target women and young girls and tell them how to look and what to wear. What’s more frightening is the advice on sex, romance and seduction many magazines contain.

e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com

Lively Halloween Night in the City

BY DAN VEREL
Editor

A Halloween participant strikes a pose in San Francisco’s Castro District back in 2000. COLLEEN CUMMINS / GUARDSMAN

Halloween is upon us, and that means it’s that great time of the year when women of all ages can dress any way they want and straight men can indulge in homoerotic behavior without being labeled gay — or worse — a promiscuous woman.

But this really isn’t much different than normal San Francisco behavior. This is precisely why thousands and thousands of people from all over the country consider our great city as one of the ultimate Halloween destinations.

In San Francisco, particularly in the Castro, all inhibitions are cast aside. In place, human indulgence is at its finest.

A city like San Francisco is wonderfully tolerant of such behavior, not just on Halloween, but also at every celebration that occurs in the city. Halloween just happens to be one of the culminating events that displays all of San Francisco’s public perversions and dramatic flair for style.

When the masses gather like sheep in the Castro, we get to see people astounded by the freedoms we take for granted here in this liberal enclave we call the Bay Area. Eager outsiders are given the chance to bask in the glory that they may not be able to express within the confines of, say, Stockton.

For visitors, this may seem new. But for the seasoned San Franciscan, acting eclectic is almost expected.

Although local residents must endure inebriated hordes of idiotic tourists, annoying college kids and drunken drag queens, Halloween gives us the chance to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the state, and the rest of the country — something San Francisco already takes great pride in.

e-mail: sports@theguardsman.com

COMING IN

Faculty Poll

Do you feel more of a police presence this semester?

Yes: 50% (8 out of 16)

No: 50% (8 out of 16)


“If you are counting the guys in the light blue shirts, then yes, I have noticed an increase of police presence. Those guys are everywhere.”

Stephan Johnson, speech

“It doesn't seem like there is more of a presence on campus but I do notice them around the parking structure a lot. They are very limited by the budget.”

Austin White, social sciences

ON THE RECORD

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Jasmine Drake

“I’m gonna be a vampire.”

Romark Basilio

“Eminem"

Ji Whang

“Maybe a hot dog.”

Leslie Valleyo

“A witch!"

Joey Johnson

“I’m going to dress up with friends as one of the Bush family mafia.”

Rafael Laden

“A gangster chef, like I did last year.”