By Greg Zeman
The Guardsman

RAMSEY EL-QARE / THE GUARDSMAN

When City College Student Trustee Josh Nielsen tried to ask a question at a March 23 special meeting of the Academic Senate, he was told to “sit down” and “shut up” by members of the faculty.

“I asked just a point of process, just for clarification,” Nielsen said at a March 25 Board of Trustees meeting. “I was appalled as a student to see faculty and a lot of people that I’ve seen within the institution provide me the education, and now I’m seeing they really don’t value what students really want out of an education.”

Many faculty members, including City College music instructor Bob Davis, don’t see it that way.

“He was asked to leave the microphone and sit down more than once and would not relinquish the microphone. That’s not appropriate behavior,” Davis said. “I feel that there were some students who were inappropriate and rude, and that when you’re dealing with people who are out of order they should be treated as out of order.”

Academic Senate President Hal Huntsman, addressing the board on March 25, said he was deeply disturbed by the events at the special meeting and apologized to Nielsen and the student body for the behavior of his colleagues.

“You were literally shouted down and told to go away, and that was a low point in my personal career here,” he said.

When Nielsen refused to sit down at the March 23 special meeting, Fred Teti, the parliamentarian for the meeting called a security officer to enter the room.

Political science instructor Sue Homer, shocked by Teti’s request, advocated for Nielsen’s right to address the senate.

“I actually shouted out, ‘are you going to arrest our students? Are you calling for them to arrest our students simply for trying to speak?’ We heard, ‘go away, shut up, sit down, get out!’,” Homer said. “What kind of institution is it where educators are afraid of their own students sharing their point of view?”

Librarian Karen Saginor, who served as facilitator of the Academic Senate special meeting, said Nielsen is a member of the board which authored the resolution being considered.

“Josh himself has kind of a conflict of interest because he’s a member of the Board of Trustees,” Saginor said. “Was he speaking as a student or as a member of the board? There was some confusion there.”

Saginor said she wished she would have suggested that faculty concerned about allowing students to speak could have yielded their time to a student. In hindsight, she said a block of time could also have been allotted for students to speak at the beginning of the meeting.

Fears of disruption
“Up until the moment that the meeting began, the organizers’ intent was to completely deny student’s access to the meeting,” Homer said.

But meeting organizers and City College Police Department Chief Andre Barnes denied that allegation.

“We had heard rumors that some students were planning a disruption of the meeting, which made people nervous,” Saginor said, adding that there were seats provided for students and no effort was made to exclude them.

Barnes said his office provided only one uniformed officer for the event.

“We didn’t give any specific instructions for this meeting but to do what we normally do as a matter of course of our business,” he said. “It went uneventful, at least from our standpoint. We didn’t take any police action.”

All for equity
Darlene Alioto, chair of the social sciences department, addressed the Board of Trustees after Nielsen to “set the record straight” about the Academic Senate special meeting.

“The meeting of the Academic Senate was not a meeting to discuss the Achievement Gap and Equity Resolution, we have yet to get there, and we need to. That meeting was a governance meeting,” Alioto said.

The special meeting was called by petition to address the concerns of faculty who felt that the board recommendation authored by Trustees Chris Jackson, Milton Marks III and Steve Ngo was too prescriptive and overreaching regarding math and English sequence changes. Some senate members are concerned that the certain changes to curriculum proposed in the recommendation could negatively affect the college to the point of jeopardizing its accreditation.

All faculty interviewed said they are committed to complete equity in education and that their opposition to the nature of the board’s resolution does not in any way oppose equity.

“It wasn’t an area where we were discussing an equity resolution, where of course students would have had primacy in that discussion,” Alioto said.

Nielsen found that explanation inadequate.

“That’s ridiculous, that students don’t even have an opportunity to voice their concerns when it affects them primarily,” he said.

Francine Podenski, chair of the broadcast department, said all faculty are dedicated to equity.

“The average teacher at City College cares completely about this and will do anything they can think of to narrow the gap,” she said. “That’s why people work at City College and not Berkeley.”

Davis said the issues of governance discussed at that meeting do not concern students.

“The meeting had nothing to do with whether people support equity or not; we’re all working very hard for equality. We have been for a long time now,” Davis said, adding that the board’s resolution did not present a new approach to the achievement gap.

“We’ve been trying to solve these problems with race-only and ethnicity-only solutions since the 70s and it doesn’t work,” he said.

Davis added that the equity report the board relied on in part to write the resolution did not address the academic performance of the LGBT community, women, veterans, non-native English speakers and other groups that “cut across racial and ethnic lines.”

Trustee Chris Jackson said he wants to see real progress on closing the equity gap.

“I understand their concerns about it being too narrow and specific. We can go back and forth, but that doesn’t really help the students,” Jackson said. “We’re not going to dictate. We’re going to ask the English and math departments to come up with specific requirements to attack the achievement gap specifically relating to issues of sequencing and Pass-No/Pass.”

Accreditation concerns
Some faculty members, including Davis, feel that City College’s accreditation could be jeopardized by an over-extension of the board’s authority.

“By state regulation and by the education code there are certain responsibilities for the administration, the board and the faculty, and this administration inadvertently entered into areas that are the purview of the faculty without consulting with the faculty,” Davis said. “Their enthusiasm to do the right thing clouded their judgement.”

California Education Code Sec. 53200 outlines 10 specific responsibilities that are reserved for the Academic Senate. This list of faculty responsibilities is called “ten plus one” because there are ten responsibilities plus an eleventh item reserving the right to take responsibility for other matters “mutually agreed upon” by shared governance.

Homer said that while there are some legitimate concerns being voiced, others are overblown.

“The irrational fears of loss of accreditation and the board taking over are just hype and fear-mongering by people with a political agenda,” Homer said. “I would classify it as a mob mentality that was completely irrational and not in the best interest of students.”

Huntsman said he was approached by organizers of the Academic Senate special meeting and asked how a petition containing at least 100 senate member signatures could be validated in order to call the meeting, and he told them he and  other senate officers should verify the signatures. But he was told the signatures would not be shown to him or be made public.

“I expressed to them that I thought that called the validity of their meeting into question,” Huntsman said. “However, I in no way wanted to stand in the way of that dialogue because I thought it was important.”

Jackson said the resolution does not violate any union contracts or education codes and wants to reassure teachers that the board is not trying to tell them how to teach, but he wants to see real action.

“I’m tired of arguing about the process, and I think the students in underserved communities are tired of arguing about the process,” Jackson said. “The status quo is not good enough for San Francisco. The status quo is not good enough for City College.”

By Don Clyde
The Guardsman

JESSICA LUTHI / THE GUARDSMAN

A resolution to set budget priorities presented at the City College Board of Trustees meeting on March 25 led to an admission by one trustee of a “culture of mistrust” between the board and the faculty, staff and students.

The comment came after a lengthy discussion about the resolution in which several board members said they had not seen the budget priority list and faculty and staff members said there were glaring omissions. Faculty and staff members said they were shut out of the budget decision-making process.

“I want to apologize to everyone at this college and to the chancellor to the extent that I have contributed in some ways to this very clear culture of mistrust between the board and everyone else here,” Trustee Steve Ngo said. “There is clearly something wrong in the way that we are interacting with each other.”

Meeting attendees applauded the admission that there appeared to be a disconnect between the board and various constituent groups on campus.

“Given that we have that shared interest, and we all acknowledge that shared interest, let’s communicate to each other in a way that acknowledges that we have those concerns and that deep devotion and care for the same people at this college,” Ngo said.

The resolution, written by Trustees Chris Jackson and Steve Ngo, determines that the budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 should incorporate priorities like maintaining fiscal solvency, retaining full-time faculty and resuming summer school in 2011 at about 40 percent of the 2009 level.

Ed Murray, vice president of American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121 said AFT hadn’t seen a draft of the priorities and requested retention of part-time faculty be added to the resolution.
Classified Senate President Attila Gabor said the trustees needed to add retention of full- and part-time classified staff.

“You all lock us out, we’re gonna vote you all out,” said Doretha Evans, a Service Employees International Union, Local 1021 member and community organizer.

Trustees Natalie Berg and Lawrence Wong said they opposed the resolution because they had not even seen it before the board meeting.

“The process in the past has been far more full of sunshine,” Berg said.

However, after it became known during the board meeting that Chancellor Don Griffin sat in on a March 9 Budget and Planning Committee meeting to set the budget priorities, the faculty, staff and opposed board members began to express approval of the priorities. Griffin said most of them were necessary.

Griffin ran down the list of priorities and explained their importance.

“We must have a summer. It’s not even an option about having a summer,” Griffin said about summer school 2011. “Without the summer we cannot generate enough enrollment in fall and spring to maintain the solvency of the college.”

Trustee Anita Grier said the chancellor’s comments gave life to the priorities and Wong said he was more accepting of the budget priority list

“The minute that the chancellor said openly that he had a role in this, drafting of this document, people changed their minds,” Ngo said. “That’s important, because you clearly trust him.  So do I. Let’s trust him to do his job.”

Meeting attendees burst into applause.

After many amendments to the budget priorities resolution, including the retention of full- and part-time faculty and classified staff, a restoration of 2011 summer classes to the highest extent possible and the restoration of as many regular semester cut classes as possible, the resolution passed a board vote with only Trustee Milton Marks III objecting.

Marks said during the meeting the whole process had been sloppy.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on April 29 at 33 Gough St. in San Francisco.

By Fleur Bailey
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

With climate change moving at an expeditious pace and much attention being paid to global warming, City College is keeping green job training at the top of the list.

City College is currently in the process of identifying the new programs that will provide practical training to students for employment in solar, wind, energy efficiency and geothermal fields.

The Board of Trustees has passed a resolution to create a Bridge To Green Jobs Program, with an evaluation on the process every three months.

“The Bridge to Green Jobs Program is a bridge training program to teach job force skills,” trustee John Rizzo said. “Things are moving forward. We are meeting people in the city and working with the mayor’s Office of Workforce Development.”

The program will be based at the Southeast campus with the hope to remove barriers to employment, provide opportunities to traditionally under-represented groups and transform undeserved communities.

“We are working on bringing the employers to the table,” trustee Chris Jackson said. “We are meeting in the next few weeks to create employment agreements with solar panel installation companies, bio-diesel companies and grease collecting companies.”

Kristin Charles, dean of grants and resource development at City College is responsible for identifying sources and applying for funding. She hopes the funding for the programs will be available for classes to start in the fall.

“We are looking very closely as there are a lot of stimulus dollars related to green training,” she said. “We are also watching the labor market info as we need to know there’s a place for the students to go once they’re trained.”

Instructor Jerry Bernstein, bottom right, instructs students in the basics of solar panel installation during a public interest workshop at the Evans Campus on Feb. 7. ISSAC CRUMMEY / THE GUARDSMAN

By Fleur Bailey
STAFF WRITER

City College is implementing new educational programs as a pathway to new jobs in the green technology industry.

A directive to create green training programs and establish a green jobs industry advisory group was passed unanimously by the City College board of trustees on Jan. 29.

The board intends to establish a group to help the district’s faculty develop curriculum and establish major educational programs to provide training for employment in the green industry.

“This stimulus package from the government is going to make the renewable energy industry grow exponentially like we’ve never seen before,” Trustee John Rizzo said. “It’s going to be historic growth of this industry.”

The new programs will provide hands-on training that will  lead to employment opportunites in green energy industries like solar, wind, energy efficiency and geothermal fields. It may also lead to jobs in biodiversity and environmental sciences, and positions specialized for green industry, such as project management and sales.

“The green industry is excited to have this training program,” Rizzo said. “I believe the economy will change in the next ten years. We will switch over to green technologies and City College will be a part of it. This resolution makes the creation of a major green jobs training a priority for the board of trustees.”

New board member Chris Jackson is working with the Southeast Jobs Coalition, a group of community-based organizations which proposes to create jobs and workforce development in San Francisco’s Bayview and Hunter’s Point communities.

“An electricity of change needs to happen locally at our community college,” Jackson said. “I am very happy to see that people are looking forward to train our students for the next generation.”

The coalition provides access to all San Francisco residents, but it asks City College to target outreach to groups which are traditionally underrepresented.

“We are specifically engineering the training to those of low-income, people of color, limited-English speakers and women,” extend the programs in the Southeast and Mission campuses. We hope to devote between $45,000-$50,000 to the Student Ambassador Program for outreach and recruitment.”

The coalition aims to involve all members of society, but especially residents in neighborhoods who have suffered the effects of an earlier era of a “pollution-based” economy.

“These are double-digit unemployment rate areas,” Jackson said. “Bayview and Hunters Point are in a serious recession. The country may have a cold right now, but Bayview has pneumonia.”

General education student Kendell Lewis has returned to college after he was laid off from his job at San Francisco City and County’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

“I’m going through a tough time right now,” the 25-year-old black man said. “Nobody is hiring. The economy is going down, things are changing and I have to change too. I came back to school to get some credentials as the recession is getting out of hand. The green jobs program is a good opportunity and the more help we can get the better. After all, green is where we’re going.”

Jackson said the lack of diversity in the bio-tech industry leaves little room for those with entry level skills. He believes the industry imploded as those with higher skills received more resources and those with lower skills received less.

“We hope to change that with this training,” he said. “We are providing an opportunity to unite the community with labor and business through sustainable technology and green jobs.”
City College is already offering a new solar technology workshop at the Evans campus and will be introducing a hybrid car technology class for the fall semester.

David Dias, project coordinator for the Alternative Transportation Technology and Energy Initiative at the Evans campus, has recruited students for the solar technology class.

“The program serves as a preview to the construction 101 class,” Dias said. “It prepares students to move into the workforce. There is a big push for the new technologies of the future to meet energy needs.”

With the work and enthusiasm of those involved, City College is on board with the crucial need for change in our environment and our economy.

“We hope to hit the ground running with this,” Rizzo said. “Within the next month we aim to create a road map of how we will do it. This training is not just for the underprivileged. The industry is going to need people who know what they are doing.”

By Ellen Silk & Doug Ahlgren
News Editor & Staff Writer

From left to right: Newly-elected board of trustees members Milton Marks III, Chris Jackson, Dr. Natalie Berg, and Steve Ngo were officiall sworn in on Jan. 5 at the Wellness Center. JESSICA LUTHI / THE GUARDSMAN

The 2008 board of trustees unanimously approved Dr. Don Griffin’s contract at a Dec. 19, 2008 meeting and confirmed him as chancellor through June 2012, at an initial salary of $287,000 per year according to his employment contract. Griffin has 38 years of service at City College, both as an instructor and administrator. He 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,” Griffin said. “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.”

Board of Trustee

New City College board of trustees members Steve Ngo and Chris Jackson, along with returning members Dr. Natalie Berg and Milton Marks III, were sworn-in during a ceremony at the Wellness Center on Jan. 5.

All four trustees won their four-year seats after a seven-month election process ending in November 2008. Incumbents Marks and Berg along with former members Rodel Rodis and former City College Police Chief Carl Kohler ran in the nine person, four seat election for the seven member board.  Nearly 200 people watched as Senator Mark Leno swore-in Berg and Ngo. San Francisco Supervisor David Campos and Superior Court Judge Teri Jackson officiated the oaths for Marks and Jackson respectively.

“The Trustees recognize the difficult challenging budgetary times we are experiencing,” said Board President Lawrence Wong.
The Budget Crisis was a major topic of the ceremony. “I am very privileged to serve City College students and the community. I am confident that we will get through this,” Ngo said. She feels, the crisis has to be a number one priority for the college board.

This is Ngo and Jackon’s first time to serve the City College Board of Trustees. However both have experience in other forms of civic government. Ngo has served on other boards including the South East Asian Community Center, CollegeWorks and as a student representative at Hastings College. He is currently an attorney at San Francisco legal firm Minami Tamaki. In his senior year at San Francisco State University, Jackson served as Associated Student President and created Project Connect, which helps K-12 students connect with college . He currently works as a policy analyst for the San Francisco Labor Council.

“This is a great opportunity to bring an under served voice to the halls of government through the board,” said Jackson. During his time on the board he hopes to protect basic skills-and-outreach programs, as well as bring more “green jobs” training and sustainability education to the college.