I’m learning that the sales tactics I used while stripping don’t translate to waiting tables.

A customer purchased a bottle of champagne under the condition that I enjoy one glass with him — standard strip club etiquette. Still acclimating to what’s “normal,” I was startled by the tongue-lashing I got from my boss when he saw me, bubbly in hand, despite the sale I’d made for the restaurant.

Everyone has fantasies that help them get through a rough shift or numb the sting of a malevolent boss. For some, it’s imagining a future life of glamour and fame, for others, it’s striking it rich and buying out their former workplace to turn into a parking structure where they keep all their brand new cars.

My cure for a bad day at work is surfing the web for airline and hotel deals.

I like to remind myself that I haven’t been away from the stage for too long to toss my apron aside (or into an inferno), board a plane to Las Vegas and return a week later with my wallet $3,000 heavier.

But I’m tapping into my own daydream too often.

This month, for the first time since I’ve lived on my own, I didn’t make rent. It’s not that I don’t make enough money waitressing: I do, and have for three months. I’m just so comfortable with the idea of quitting and running off to Vegas that I’m not taking my new, tighter budget seriously.

I’ve been justifying small expenditures by constantly telling myself that I can make up the difference on stage. I have nickel-and-dimed myself to such a low balance that I wouldn’t even be able to afford a plane ticket to get my ass out of this.

It’s time to suck it up, and stop spending like a stripper.

In the Nov. 5 issue of The Guardsman, Interim Chancellor Dr. Don Q. Griffin was misindentified as Henry Der in a photo caption appearing on page 3.

In the same issue, the total percent of votes counted for the presidential popular vote was omitted. The total percent of votes counted as of press time was 95 percent.

Also in the same issue, the results for Proposition 8 were mislabeled. The results read 52 percent of California voters said no on Proposition 8 instead of saying the proposition passed with 52 percent of the votes.

City College receives grant to improve tech education

On Nov. 14 Jackie Speier, House Representative for the San Francisco-San Mateo district, announced a $3 million Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant would, over four years, establish the Mid-Pacific Information and Communication Technologies (MPICT) Regional Center at City College. MPICT’s goal is to improve and promote information and communication technology education at two-year colleges in northern California as well as in Hawaii, Nevada and Oregon. City College will be the MPICT headquarters

By Natalie Coreas
Staff Writer

San Francisco Community College District Police Department sergeant Darryl Lee Low, a father, husband and friend, died Oct. 27 of a heart attack in his Daly City home. Low died only two days after celebrating his 55th birthday.

Low was hired in 1983 by City College as a police officer working to keep the college safe at night. He was promoted to sergeant in 2003.

“I worked with him for about four years,” City College police officer Christian Smith said. “He was a generous guy, that sums it up. He would always take me out for dinner, he even sold me his IROC [Chevrolet Camaro] for cheap.”

A private funeral service for close family and friends was held at the Green Lawn Cemetery. A public event in his honor was held at the Ocean campus’ Pierre Coste Cafe on Nov. 7 for City College students, faculty or staff who wished to pay their respects.

In his spare time, Low liked playing the guitar and performed with his band in cities all over California. He had a passion for working with sports cars, riding motorcycles and playing billiards. He is survived by his wife Betty and their two children Donald and Melissa, who are students at City College.

A relief fund has been created in Sergeant Low’s remembrance. Donations can be made to the Darryl L. Low Relief Fund, ACCT #1371962 at the San Francisco Police Credit Union 2550 Irving Street, San Francisco, CA 94122.

By Nick Squires
STAFF WRITER

Blogging has come a long way in a short amount of time. From political blogs offering a personal point of view on national issues contrary to those of traditional media — to online journals full of idiosyncratic rants about what the blogger ate that day complete with mood emoticons. But blogs are still fighting to be taken seriously in the online community and society at large.

“Blogging has come a long way from its modest beginnings,” Kara Jesella wrote in a July 2008 New York Times story. “These days, there is money to be made, fame to be earned and influence to be gained.”

What can we expect from blogs?

Reading someone’s blog is like talking to people in cyberspace — you may never know what their underlying agenda may be and sarcasm is often lost in the type. Blogs offer authors an opportunity to write as they like while the reader can make their own decisions on the validity of the author’s arguments and the quality of their writing.

“I like that they’re free, and available to anyone with Internet access,” professor Cynthia McCune said in the keynote address at the 2008 Journalism Association of Community Colleges NorCal conference at San Jose State University.

People from every walk of life create blogs. Industries of all types are becoming more and more interested in this new media as an advertising outlet. By allowing ads on their blogs, bloggers have turned their online opinions into careers, with questions of journalistic integrity and literal qualifications validated by a paycheck. Blogs are promoted as the new personal form of media which integrates itself within our electronic obsession in this age of technology.

Blogs give us the choice to receive information at the click of a button, and to be relayed to us from someone whose voice we enjoy. For this reason, blogs have become popular.

Not to say that blogs are not taken seriously. Josh Wolf spent 226 days in prison for refusing to cooperate with authorities, who wanted him to disclose information about a video of a G8 Summit protest in 2005, which he had posted on his blog. This case proved that bloggers are subject to the same journalistic laws and standards as other media outlets and added to bloggers cultural recognition.

One issue which cannot be debated: blogs are cheap and easy to maintain, and can be updated quickly.

Arianna Huffington’s Huffington Post blog is constantly updated, and was particularly helpful and informative when the Post fact-checked statements during the presidential debates, and made updates available up to the minute. Blogs offer readers a chance stay immersed in content, and can operate in a more productive manner than printed media.

The bottom line is blogs must be taken at face value. It is up the author to provide the blog’s worth.

Faculty permit confiscated

An officer on duty observed a female who appeared to be studying in her car that was parked in an area designated for faculty on Nov. 5.

The officer suspected that the person was not a faculty member, and proceeded to approach and question the suspect. Upon conducting an interview with the alleged suspect, the officer found that the alleged suspect was a student instead of a faculty member and misusing a faculty parking permit.

The permit confiscated and a report was forwarded to the Dean of Student Affairs.

Police respond to Marina disturbance

A male suspect was reported by security personnel at Marina Middle School as acting agitated and breaking car windows while classes were being held on the evening of Nov. 6.

College police were dispatched to the location of the alleged disturbance. When officers arrived, the alleged suspect was found on the ground with cuts on his hand.

Officers also reported observing a car window and driver side mirror were shattered at the same location. Paramedics were called to bandage the suspect’s hand, who then was transported to San Francisco General Hospital for a 72-hour mental Health evaluation.

Angry student kicks car, police say
Officers responded to an employee that was reporting vandalism to his car by a female student on Cloud Circle near the Creative Arts Building on the afternoon of Nov. 7.

The student allegedly kicked the employee’s car after she yelled for the driver to stop, accusing him of a almost hitting her service dog. Witnesses reportedly said the employee was driving at a safe speed, but that the dog was almost hit while the employee drove by, angering the student.

Officers respond to bloody nose

Paramedics were at the Science Building on the afternoon on Nov. 11 reportedly responding to a student’s husband who had a bloody nose.

Officers noticed the paramedics and inquired about the emergency. According to the report, the officers then assisted the student with her car that was parked in front of the science building. Custodians were called to clean up the blood left on the floor, according to the report.

By Graham Henderson
Staff Writer

The future construction in the Balboa Reservoir is hinged on the approval of changes to the reservoir’s ownership between City College and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, according to City College administrators.

Negotiations over the ownership of the Balboa Reservoir, currently owned by City College and the SFPUC, are almost complete, according to Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Peter Goldstein.

If an agreement is reached, the City College board of trustees could vote to approve the deal on Nov. 20.

“The future of City College’s academic facilities are dependent on this land swap being finalized,” said Goldstein, one of the negotiators working on the deal. The negotiations have been going on for several years, Goldstein said.

The land swap is required for City College’s Master Plan to move forward because some of the buildings to be built are planned for land currently controlled by the SFPUC.

Currently, the reservoir is divided into two portions, the southern and smaller portion of the reservoir is owned by City College, with the SFPUC owning the northern portion, which is larger. The proposed swap will redivide the reservoir, dividing the reservoir in half but with the split running east and west, instead of north and south. The SFPUC’s western portion would again be larger, with City College owning the smaller eastern portion, running along Phelan Avenue.

Even though the proposal would give City College a smaller piece of land than the SFPUC, City College’s parcel is more valuable because it boarders on Phelan Avenue, Goldstein said. City College will continue to use the western portion of the lot for parking, renting the land from the SFPUC for a small, symbolic price, said James Blomquist, associate vice chancellor of facilities panning / management.

For the land swap to go forward, the board of trustees, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the SFPUC and the Mayor would each need to approve the plan according to the agenda for the Nov. 20 board of trustees meeting.

The board declared its intent on June 12 in a published notice of the proposal. A unanimous vote is required to approve the land exchange.

Joe Gilmartin, Superintendent for Proven Management, said that 95 percent of the dirt being used to fill in the reservoir is coming from an excavation site at Candlestick. The dirt will be sealed with a different material.

Currently the Balboa Reservoir is divided North to South but the completion of City College’s Master Plan is contingent on the land swap with the SFPUC. If approved, the land would be divided East to West. GRAPHIC COURTESY OF THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

Eyes on playoff, Volleyball

During the past two weeks, City College’s volleyball team landed two out of three wins on the road, and improved their record to 15-12 overall.

The Rams beat De Anza College on Nov. 7, winning in four sets (25-22, 15-25, 38-36, 25-20). The game’s third set broke a state record for most points in a single set by two teams.

The Rams traveled to Monterey Peninsula College on Nov. 12 and won in three sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-21).
To end the week, City College faced the undefeated Foothill Owls on Nov. 14 and lost in four sets (25-18, 9-25, 18-25, 21-25).

For their final match of the season, the Rams will play against the Skyline Trojans for second place at City College’s Health and Wellness Center on Nov. 19.

— Arcel Cunanan

Cross-country takes title

City College men’s cross-country team has won the Northern California Cross Country Championships with a 6 point win over pre-meet favorite and No. 1 ranked American River College, and 16 other NorCal JC’s that qualified for the Championship. This was the first NorCal title for City College since 1969. Four runners earned all Northern California status and Distance Coach Marc Dyer earned Coach of the Year honors.
The Rams also won the Coast Conference Championship on Nov. 8 by 3 points over last year’s NorCal Champion, Hartnell. Earning all conference were Chris Gerber, Fernando Diaz, twins Mark and Luke Frazier, and Sloane Cook.

— Bonta Hill

Basketball heats up

In basketball news, the woman’s basketball team has started the season off hot, winning the Hilton Garden Inn Classic in Pasadena, and the the Sierra College tournament on consecutive weekends. The women’s team is starting the season 6-0 with two tournament championships under their belt. Their next game is Nov. 20, in City College’s Health and Wellness Center at 6 p.m. against the Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs.

In men’s basketball, the Rams coasted to 77-66 victory over the Cabrillo College Seahawks Saturday Night at the Wellness Center. Beenie Rhodes led the Rams in scoring with 17 points, and De’Ron Sims chipped in 15 points as the Rams moved their record to 3-1. The Rams move on to compete in the highly anticipated Fresno City Tournament Nov. 21-23.

— Bonta Hill

By Clive Walker

Erick Steiner, 20
Artist, Cool and Collected

Not a lot of people like to dress with a cool, calm and collected style like City College student Erick Steiner.

With his blue hoodie from American Apparel, Boba Fett T-shirt from Hot Topic, borrowed blazer, and Metro Park hat, Steiner bodes a demeanor that screams out “artist.”

“My favorite places to shop are the stores on Haight Street, Metro Park, and Nordstrom Rack, which is sort of like a Ross or a Marshalls,” said Steiner.

A film major here at City College, Steiner hopes to eventually move to Hollywood and work with film. “I want to work with narratives in the main stream film industry,” he said.

When asked if there is anything or anyway to describe his particular fashion style, Steiner replied, “It just depends on the mood, man.”

Thousands of protesters gathered in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza on November 15 to protest the passing of the California ballot initiative Proposition 8. GRAHAM HENDERSON / THE GUARDSMAN

By Lauren Tyler
Staff Writer

Thousands of protesters gathered at San Francisco’s City Hall on Nov. 15 to protest the recent passage of Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California.

Several speakers presented their views on Proposition 8 and gave the crowd fuel and strategy about how to possibly overturn the proposition.

California state assemblyman Mark Leno compared the passing of Proposition 8 to the ballot initiative Proposition 22 in 2000, which prevented the recognition of same-sex marriage. Proposition 22 received eighteen more points than Proposition 8 did this in election.

“We picked up eighteen points, they [the supporters of Proposition 8] lost eighteen points. We have the momentum and they are hanging on by a thread,” Leno said.

Leno also questioned the motives of religious groups supporting Proposition 8, saying that the proposition denies citizen of their basic civil rights.

State Sen. Carol Migden told protesters their gathering presents “the fuel, the substance, the momentum … that we will use to propel from this day forward.”

Migden also spoke about the position taken by many religious organizations against same-sex marriages in their churches. “I’ll take it [same-sex marriage] through City Hall. You don’t want us in your church? I don’t go to your church,” Migden said.

From the opposite end of the political spectrum, the Rev. Amos Brown, head of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP and a devout baptist from Mississippi said, “I am heterosexual … though I am a baptist, I am not a bigot!”

He questioned the beliefs of the conservative religious right and the persistence on keeping marriage from same-sex couple when the divorce rate is highest in the bible belt.

Same-sex couples and their children also spoke to the crowd gathered at the Civic Center Plaza.

Join the Impact, the group that organized the protest, coordinated simultaneous protests in 150 U.S. cities, as well as international protests against Proposition 8.