By Doug Ahlgren
Staff Writer

City College’s board of trustees unanimously approved Dr. Don Q. Griffin’s contract as the chancellor of City College during the board’s public meeting on Dec. 18.

Griffin is slated to serve as chancellor through June 30, 2012 at an initial salary of $287,000 per year, according to his employment contract.

“The trustees recognized the difficult challenging budgetary times we are experiencing,” said board of trustees president Lawrence Wong. “Dr. Don Q. Griffin was in the best possible position to ‘hit the ground running’ to help City College through this historic budgetary crisis.”

Griffin has 38 years of service at City College as an instructor and an administrator, and has been the interim chancellor at City College since March 2008.

“My many years of experience in positions of ever-increasing responsibility at City College of San Francisco have prepared me for this new post,” said Griffin. “I look forward to working with the board of trustees as well as the faculty and staff to continue the college’s legacy of excellence and service to our students and communities.”

Both men and women’s basketball teams went on the road to play in tournaments over the Dec. 4 weekend.
The women’s basketball competed in the Contra Costa Tournament on Dec. 4-6 and took home a championship by winning all three games with a combined total of 82 points.

Sophomore Monique Calvello and freshman Mone Peoples were selected for the all-tournament team. Freshman Jazmin Holmes took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award as the record of the state’s No. 2 team moved to 11-0 for the season.

During the preseason, the Rams have taken three tournament championships. Next, they will compete in Santa Rosa Junior College’s invitational tournament on Dec. 11-13. In two weeks, the Rams will be back at home when they host the Golden Gate Classic Dec. 19-21 in the Community Health and Wellness Center.

The men’s team lost to the No. 4 ranked San Joaquin Delta Mustangs in the first game of the 71st Modesto Tournament 86-69. The Rams took out their frustrations in the next two games by smacking Sequoias College 77-60. In the fifth place game, the Rams blew out Chabot College 92-77 to move their record to 9-3 for the season. The Rams’ men’s basketball team will play at the San Jose City College tournament Dec. 11-13.

The City College woman’s basketball team is trying for their fourth tournament win of the season today at the Karen Franci Invitational in Fresno, Calif. The Rams will play against their tournament rivals the Foothill College Owls at 4 p.m.

The Rams beat the host team Fresno City College in the tournament’s opening round on Thursday 62-57, going on to beat Lassen College 71-63 Friday night to reach today’s championship round.

The Rams are ranked No. 2 in the state and are looking to start the season 14-0, one of the best starts in the team’s history at City College. Next week the Rams will be hosting the Golden Gate Classic at home in the Community Health and Wellness Center Dec. 12-14.

On the Men’s side, the Rams will play for the fifth place title tonight against Diablo Valley College at San Jose City College in San Jose, Calif.

The Rams lost their opening game of the tournament on Dec. 11 to Los Medanos 72-60, but rebounded last night in a big way to beat Contra Costa College 95-57. The Rams’ next game at home is in the Wellness Center against Contra Costa on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.

For more City College sports coverage, visit The Guardsman.

Science Hall seizure
Officers responded to a person having a seizure in Science hall on Nov. 3. The victim was reported to have become violent due to disorientation from the seizure. Police reassured him that he was all right. The victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital.

Box Office break-in
During a night patrol, campus police noticed a door open at the Wellness Center and proceeded to investigate. The officer noticed someone had broken into the Box Office with a fire extinguisher and ransacked the office. Nothing appeared to be missing. Campus police said the fire extinguisher discharged when the person broke in, expelling its contents across the floor.

De Avila Firearm Arrest
Campus police responded to a dispute of a stolen cell phone between three female students at the De Avila campus on Nov. 20.  During the dispute, a male trying to help became involved. Upon arriving, officers called for additional units because the male he said he was carrying a loaded gun. The male was then charged with possession of a firearm on a school zone, carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm.

San Joaquin Delta College wide receiver Garrett Andrews slips out of an attempted tackle by Rams’ linebacker Michael Tupai at the Hawaiian Punch Bowl on Dec. 6. The Mustangs won the game with a final score of 36-14. ERIC SUN / SPECIAL TO THE GUARDSMAN

By Bontã Hill
Editor

In a season that had its ups and downs, the Rams didn’t envision the 2008 season to end the way it did on Dec. 6. The Rams, riding on a four game winning streak coming into the Hawaiian Punch Bowl, lost 36-14 to the San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs.

The Rams finished the season with a record of 7-4, the program’s worst record in 20 years.

Turnovers, missed tackles and critical penalties all proved too much to overcome as the Rams dug themselves a hole they could not manage to climb out of.

The Mustangs took control of the game early as they recovered a fumble on a punt return by Myles Gates at the 13-yard line. During the next play, Delta quarterback Alesana Sausau completed a 13-yard pass to receiver Zuri Nance for a quick 7-0 lead.

“Things didn’t go well from the first punt on,” Head Coach George Rush said. “The first series, we made them go three and out, they punted, and it went downhill from there. [We] have no excuses. Their [the Mustangs’] kids played great.”

The Rams could not find an offensive rhythm with their first three offensive possessions, all ending with turnovers.

Rams running back Andre Patterson and quarterback Kevin Vye each threw interceptions, and on fourth-and-one at the end of the first quarter, running back Monte Davis was stuffed short of the first down.

Midway through the second quarter, the Rams’ offense was still struggling. Delta took the advantage and scored on a 23-yard touchdown pass to receiver Garrett Andrews from quarterback Peitro Murdaca. Andrews went on to score four touchdowns that day. During the play, the Rams’ defense was unable to react after an offsides penalty was thrown, allowing Delta to take a 16-0 lead with just under five minutes of play left in the first half.

“We thought it was a false start,” Rams Jarrell Harrison said of the touchdown play. “ I think D.J. [Gomes] saw something else that made him jump up, and the receiver kept going. It’s real unfortunate.”

With the Rams feeling a sense of urgency, they quickly drove 82 yards to get themselves back in the game. Vye hit Patterson on a screen pass, and with some great blocks down field, Patterson took the catch 32 yards for a touchdown bring the Rams closer with a score of 16-7.

Delta though, playing with nothing to lose drove right back. Quarterback Murdaca came and hit Andrews for a 42-yard touchdown to put the Mustangs up 22-7 going into halftime.

“With the early turnovers, we basically couldn’t build up any rhythm offensively,” Vye said.

Beginning the second half, Vye threw another interception halting a Rams drive, but the defense tightened up and forced the Mustangs to punt. The Rams then got in gear as Vye completed a 25-yard pass to receiver to Daniel Cannon. A play later, Vye threw to receiver Randell Washington for a touchdown cutting Delta’s lead to 22-14.

Whenever the Rams would seize the momentum, Delta had an answer. Delta quickly drove into Rams territory, and again Murdaca hit Andrews down the right sideline for a 44-yard catch and run. It was Andrews third touchdown of the game as he beat All-league cornerback Gomes for the third time of the day, making the score 29-14, seemingly sucking the life out of the Rams.

“For the first time in a long time we didn’t tackle well and our pass coverage wasn’t what it normally was,” said Rush. “For the most part [pass coverage] was pretty good.”

Delta scored another touchdown making the score 36-14 as the Rams remained offensively out of sync. With the Rams struggling to run the ball and showing no passing rhythm, the Rams fought to the final whistle, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“I have no problems with our players, they played real hard,” Rush said. “What they need to remember is what they did to get here playing shorthanded. They won some big games down the stretch. I’m real proud of our kids with the way they fought.”

“It’s disappointing for players and coaching staff because we had such a great run to get here, but I’m real proud of how we played, we played hard,” Rush said. “In the end, it just wasn’t our day.

The Rams’ Corey Jackson looks for an opening as he returns the Mustangs’ kickoff in the Hawaiian Punch Bowl at Rams Stadium on Dec. 6. The Rams would go on to lose to the Mustangs 36-14. ERIC SUN / SPECIAL TO THE GUARDSMAN

Construction work and geothermal well drilling continue on the portion of the reservoir parking where the Performing Arts Center is slated to be built on Dec. 9. ALEX LUTHI / GUARDSMAN

By Arcel Cunanan
Staff Writer

The board of trustees approved the Balboa Reservoir land exchange on Nov. 20, which will allow the construction of the Joint Use Facility and Performing Arts Center on the Ocean campus to continue as scheduled, said James Blomquist, associate vice chancellor of facilities planning / management.

With the construction happening in the reservoir, available parking spaces have been reduced from 2094 to 1700 and a new entrance was added to the north end. To offset the reduction of parking in the reservoir, an additional 340 parking spaces have been created for students and faculty where the old North and South gymnasiums once stood.

The spaces are distributed among Lot “N” and “S”, which are in the same spots as the old North and South gymnasiums. Lot “N” is reserved for faculty and staff parking Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Lot “S” is available for students throughout the week when the campus is open. Blomquist recommends this as an alternative to parking the reservoir.

Even though the construction has rerouted parking and traffic on the Ocean campus, Blomquist said he has not received any complaints regarding the project.

Also under construction are 400 geothermal wells for the buildings new eco-friendly heating and cooling systems. In total, 300 wells have already been dug, with each well being 400 feet deep said Blomquist. Piping for 50 of the wells are complete, and the foundation for the joint use building will be laid this month.

“After all the piping is installed they are networked to an underground vault where they are collected and then routed to the central plant. The central plant is a room in the basement of the Joint Use Facility under construction currently,” said Blomquist. “The water that has circulated through the wells is heated or cooled in the central plant and then routed to the various buildings that the plant will serve.”

City College psychology major Josh Motta drives to school Monday, Wednesday and Friday and parks in the reservoir. Other than the expected pedestrian versus driver battle at the crosswalks, Motta has had no problems with finding a parking spot. As far as construction goes “I haven’t noticed any changes,” he said. “The way the reservoir is set up now is a lot better than how it was before. It is difficult to go when people are crossing the street. I could care less about the center entrance because I like to use the entrance closest to Riordan. The center is where the most traffic happens because of the amount of pedestrians, drivers, and the stoplights.”

City College already has the permits for the Joint Use Facility and the bidding process for the building is underway. Bidding for projects, like the Joint Use facility, are broken up into components of the building. Subcontracts for individual components like steel, concrete, flooring, dry wall and painting are advertised publicly to contractors. The contractors in turn provide an estimated price for one or more of the projects.

Generally, the lowest bid is awarded the contract, said Blomquist.

The next step in construction will be to install traffic signals at the south and north ends of Phelan Avenue. The new traffic signals will improve the flow of traffic and pedestrian safety, according to the department of Facilities Planning / Management.

Once the signals are in place, the center entrance to the reservoir will be closed and more focus will be put on traffic on the north end. The construction of the signals should be completed by the beginning of the Spring 2009 semester, said Blomquist.

The Crystal Springs Reservoir in San Mateo County supplies drinking water to San Francisco and many peninsula communities. The reservoir is filled partly by local precipitation, but is most of the water is piped in from Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite. JENNIFER NICHOLS / GUARDSMAN

By Graham Henderson
Staff Writer

California is facing its worst drought in 15 years with water reserves around the state at a fraction of their capacity severely affecting several counties throughout the state, according to a senior state meteorologist.

According to Elissa Lynn, senior meteorologist for the California Water Resources Board, it takes more than just one abnormally dry year to trigger a drought. The central valley counties of San Joaquin, Merced, Madera and Fresno among others have been the hit hardest by California’s drought conditions.

California’s water supply has also been affected by a series of court rulings that have drastically reduced the amount of water allowed to be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The most recent ruling, on Nov. 14, will cause a further reduction of 17 percent, or 1.1 million acre-feet of water per year, according to a Nov. 15 article in the Contra Costa Times.

With all the rulings combined, delta water exports have fallen 65 percent.

Two out of three Californians receive water from the delta, according the Association of California Water Agencies, which represents 450 public water agencies across the state that receive water allocations from the California Water Resources Board.

“The initial allocation was 15 percent,” Lynn said. “That’s one of the impacts statewide.”

San Francisco currently does not receive water allocations from the California Water Resources Board. Eighty-five percent of San Francisco’s water comes from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite, according to Chandra Johnson, spokesperson for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The remaining 15 percent of San Francisco’s water is taken from groundwater. The reservoir is currently at 70 percent of its normal capacity, said Johnson.

While the SFPUC supplies water directly to customers in San Francisco, but it also supplies some of the water for outlying counties. “We supply water to 28 wholesale customers,” said Johnson.

Because SFPUC still has adequate water reserves, their efforts so far have been focused on voluntary reduction. “Most of our outreach is to [individual] customers,” said Johnson. “We have worked with our local customers doing a voluntary 10 percent cutback, followed up with a public education campaign.”

Last year, the SFPUC changed the language of the ads to make it clearer to customers that “we are in a drought,” said Johnson. Since the change, San Francisco residents have cut back water use by about 15 percent, said Johnson. The SFPUC currently has no plans to require water rationing.

If winter weather lasts all the way through April, Lynn is hopeful the reservoirs will at least remain at their current levels. However, rain alone is not enough.

“If the ground is really dry, you won’t get runoff,” Lynn said. “Snow is more important for filling the reservoir.”

Reservoirs are filled in the spring when the snowpack melts. The frozen ground does not absorb much water, which allows more water to flow into streams and reservoirs, Lynn said.

Scientists are hesitant to immediately blame the drought directly on global warming.

Professor Darrell Hess, chair of the earth science department at City College, said that it is still too early to blame the drought on climate change, but said that the increase in droughts are consistent with predictions associated with global warming. Effects of climate change on weather can only be confirmed by looking at long term trends.

Lynn agreed. “It’s too soon to tell, but in terms of climate change, we tend to see more extremes,” she said.
City College has taken steps to decrease its water use. “With the waterless urinals we’ve installed, water usage is down,” said James Keenan, director of buildings and grounds.

The school is also in the process of planting native plants for landscaping. Once the roots have taken, the plants will not require any water, Keenan said.

Some students at City College were aware of the drought.

“I’ve lived here all my life and I can remember times when the drought was more severe. This year isn’t that bad,” said City College student Sydney Pierce.

“We need more rain,” said music major Peter Tavaseiff. “It hasn’t rained that much.”

Water Saving Tips

Tip #1
While showering, be efficient by brushing your teeth while you shower. Turn the water off while washing your hair.

Tip #2
Car washes recycle water, so have your car cleaned by the pros.

Tip #3
Plants can die from over-watering, so water only as needed. If you want plants, consider a drought-resistant species.

Tip #4
Wash your dishes in a wash tub instead of leaving the water running. Once all the dishes are scrubbed, refill the tub with clean water to rinse.

Tip #5
Put food coloring in your toilet tank and let it sit overnight. If the water in the bowl is colored in the morning, your toilet is leaking. Make the landlord fix it.

Tip #6
Garbage disposals require a lot of water. Compost your leftover scraps instead.

Tip #7
Reduce the amount of dishes by using only one cup throughout a day for drinking water.

Tip #8
The toilet is not a trash can. Throw tissues, cigarette butts, and other waste in the trash can instead to reduce the number of flushes per day.

By Lauren Tyler
Staff Writer

Driven by passion, not by fame and certainly not money, Lou Dematteis has spent nearly three decades documenting war-torn countries, using photographs to tell stories that would otherwise not be seen by the wider global community.

An internationally acclaimed photographer, Dematteis received an award from the World Press Photo in 1986 for his photo of Sandinista soldiers leading CIA agent Eugene Hasenfus into the Nicaraguan jungle, an image that would eventually allow him into the ranks of photographers working for the New York Times.

Since then, Dematteis has released three documentary photography books including his most recent “Crude Reflections,” co-written by Kayana Szymczak. Dematteis’ “Crude Reflections” documents the oil exploration and drilling of the Ecuadorian Amazon and includes stories told by indigenous people who say their lives have been effected by the oil industry’s efforts to extract oil from the region.

* * *

Born in Palo Alto, Calif. in 1948, Dematteis grew up in an Italian-American family in nearby Redwood City. He is fluent in Italian, which he learned at home while growing up. Dematteis first began taking photographs in grade school, using a point-and-shoot camera known as a Kodak Brownie. Later, he began to learn about the technical side of photography after his uncle gave him his camera. Most of the photos Dematteis took at that time were of his family and at school.

The former Reuters bureau chief and staff photographer had always had a genuine interest in global, social and political issues, moving to San Francisco to study political science at the University of San Francisco.

While in college, Dematteis concurrently took photography courses at the De Young Museum Art school. It was during his first of many trips to Italy that he decided photography was what he wanted to do.

“I was impressed by all the beautiful art and architecture. [It] flipped a switch inside,” said Dematteis.

Dematteis’ political and social knowledge worked alongside with his visual sense. “I found with photojournalism I could combine creative inspiration with wanting to affect the world,” he said.

Dematteis would make a number of trips to Italy to meet relatives, travel through the country and work on his photography. In 1977, Dematteis had his first exhibit in San Francisco with the work he had done abroad, sponsored by San Francisco’s Museo Italio Americano, marking the beginning of his photography career.

In 1978, Dematteis began working part time mainly for the San Francisco Bay Guardian and El Tecolote, a bilingual neighborhood newspaper in the Mission district of San Francisco, as well as taking on assignments for other publications.

In 1981, Dematteis accepted a full-time position with United Press International where he covered daily news and sports. Beginning of 1985, Dematteis went on his first of many trips to Central America to work for Reuters, after being offered an opportunity to back up a Reuters photographer working in Nicaragua. Working with Reuters, he would go on to become a salaried staff photographer for the international wire service.

While in Nicaragua, Dematteis covered the Contra wars, the conflict between Nicaragua’s revolutionary Sandinista government and the counter-revolutionary Contras.

“[I was] captured by the Contras, there were several situations where I could have easily been killed,” Dematteis said.

Dematteis said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from the immense amounts of violence and destruction he had seen while in Central America. “It took me a long time to relax,” he said.

While working on assignments for Reuters, Dematteis also began compiling information and photos for his book, “Nicaragua: A Decade of Revolution”, which was published in 1991.

Dematteis would leave his position at Reuters in 1990 in order to publish “Nicaragua”.
“In order to publish the book I had to quit Reuters. I took a point of view on the war,” Dematteis said. “I could understand [Reuters’] point of view because they could be charged with not being objective.” When on assignment, journalists attempt to forego their personal views on the assignment in an attempt to report the news objectively.

After Reuters, Dematteis focused on raising money to finance the publishing of “Nicaragua.” He said he had to do it on his own time, in addition to his regular assignments; in the end, he barely covered the costs.

“It was a financial hardship to do that book,” Dematteis said.

After the publication of “Nicaragua,” Dematteis returned to San Francisco, working again with Reuters as a contract photographer.

His next major project would focus on Vietnam, a country that had been cut off from most of the world since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. In “A portrait of Vietnam,” Dematteis wanted to document the reconciliation movement and show the world the human aspect of daily life in Vietnam as the country was becoming more accessible.

Dematteis focuses a great deal of attention on making connections and working with his sources in order to “develop an exchange” of contacts with the people that he meets.

Through his contacts, Dematteis was able to work with an acquaintance in the U.S. who was also working to normalize relations with Vietnam. After Dematteis’ “Nicaragua” was taken to Vietnam, Dematteis was invited into Vietnam by the Vietnamese Photography Association.
Since he was invited as a photographer and not a journalist, Dematteis was able to examine places and settings more thoroughly and with more freedom than a journalist would have. Although Dematteis could not converse as easily with the population in Vietnam as in Italy and Central America, he was still able to gather a cohesive story of people’s lives for his upcoming book.

“A Portrait of Viet Nam,” Dematteis’ second book, was started in 1992 and published in 1996. Dematteis said the book was distributed throughout the United States and Vietnam and was received very well. During the same year, President Clinton declared the normalization of relations with Vietnam.

After Vietnam, Dematteis returned to San Francisco and to Reuters. “I was working as a contract photographer, [and] the head of the photo bureau in San Francisco,” Dematteis said.

While he was based in San Francisco, Dematteis continued to travel throughout the world. In 2003, he was sent on assignment to Ecuador to follow-up on a legal battle between approximately 30,000 Ecuadorian Amazon residents and Texaco, now acquired by Chevron Corp. The Ecuadorians involved in the case alleged the waste from Texaco’s oil-drilling operations conducted from 1964 through 1990 is to blame for a range of health problems, cancers and birth defects afflicting inhabitants of the region.

Dematteis’s third book, “Crude Reflections” documents the stunning contrast between the pristine rain forest, the remnants of the region’s oil exploration and the effects of the exploration on the Ecuadorian Amazon, was printed in 2008.

Dematteis said people of the Ecuadorian Amazon want the toxic waste cleaned up so they can farm their lands for the cacao, corn and coffee, which used to grow abundant and healthy. In addition, he said they want the rivers to be clean again so they can bathe and drink without fear. Unfortunately though, “there are going to be some areas and aquifers that won’t be able to remediate,” said Dematteis.

Dematteis presented “Crude Reflections” to audiences twice at City College, and was exhibited in the Rayko Photo Center in downtown San Francisco from Nov. 7 to Dec. 6. Photojournalist Ed Kashi’s “Curse of the Black Gold,” a photo exhibit and book documenting the impact of oil exploration along the Niger Delta was shown along with Dematteis’ photographs.

The two photographers came together because as Kashi said, their work is “advocacy … these are issues that are pressing.”

Dematteis is promoting his book throughout the U.S. and continues to return to Ecuador to remind people there that “their efforts are not in vain.”

Madeline McKenna
Eclectic fashionista

When asked about her style, Madeline McKenna laughs and dodges the question. That’s because the San Diego native’s fashion is a mixture of styles and cannot be described as one or the other.

Madeline’s outfit is complete with black flats, a black vintage wool jacket, which was a gift and skinny jeans, which are from H&M. Other then H&M, Madeline said she likes to shop at boutiques like Held Over on Haight Street.

Madeline admits she went through punk rocker phase in high school, which is evident by her side swept bangs that were inspired JenniferHermma of the now-disbanded Royal Trux.

But beyond the shaggy bangs and punk bands, Madeline also has a soft spot for dead socialites like Sharon Tate , who was a victim of the Manson family in 1969 and is the inspiration for her collection of 60s dresses.

City College students and faculty watch as Lily Knobloch walks the runway at a the “Plum Voyage” fashion show held in the student cafeteria at the Ocean Campus on Dec. 2. CLIVE WALKER / GUARDSMAN