By Matthew Gomez
STAFF WRITER

City College is harshly feeling the effects of the California budget crisis. Serving students from San Francisco, but also other parts of the greater Bay Area, City College is one of the largest community colleges in the country.

Funding is based proportionally on student numbers. As a large school, cuts to City College’s budget amount to more dollars than than those at smaller community colleges in the state. City College has more to lose.

When asked about which departments would be hit hardest by state cuts, Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration, simply said, “All.”

“We will not be able to offer the number of classes students need,” he said.

While enrollment is greater than ever before, City College funding might be cut again for future semesters, according to Goldstein.

“For students, the effect is obvious: Fewer classes mean there is greater competition for classes,” English teacher Jessica Nelson said. “Especially in areas like math and English, areas already heavily impacted.”

“I’m trying to add classes because I wasn’t able to register,” said Maire Fowler, a graduate student from San Francisco State University who is looking to study nursing at City College. “My registration date was mid-July and all the classes I needed were full.”

Jake Murphy transferred from SFSU because he couldn’t get the classes he needed. He wasn’t able to add the classes at City College either, so he just enrolled in enough classes to be a full-time student.

“I’ve been teaching at City College for 15 years and enrollment has never been like this,” said Matthew Kennedy, an instructor at the Behavioral Sciences Department. “Every single section in anthropology is full. That’s never happened before.”

The increase in student numbers and decrease in funding has especially impacted counseling and student support. Lindy McKnight, dean of counseling and student support at City College, said categorical funding for the school has been cut in half.

Services like Extended Opportunity Programs and Services won’t be able to assist as many students as in previous semesters. EOPS focuses on low-income students with educational and counseling service, but also provides them with MUNI passes and childcare services. Due to California state budget cuts, textbook vouchers won’t be available for the fall 2009 semester either, according to the the program’s website.

With a loss of some 3,000 counseling hours, the academic counseling department has shrunk considerably, McKnight said. Counseling for new students will only be available full-time Monday through Thursday. Only three counselors will be present on Fridays and their time will be limited to five minute sessions.

Charles Fracchia, department chair of the library and learning resources centers, said the solution can’t be found in more money but increased efficiency. While his department needs to keep up with the latest technology, its budget has been cut by 10 percent.

Library hours have also been cut from 8:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 4:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. on Fridays, which means evening classes will be affected if a teacher ever wants to hold a screening in the Rosenburg rooms or have a study session in the library.

“How can faculty and staff provide for the distinct needs of our students if the need to offer those services is removed?” Nelson said.

By Greg Zeman
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Lawsuits against City College not only carry a hefty price tag, but also cause changes that aren’t felt in the school’s checkbook.

Where does the money come from if and when City College needs to settle a lawsuit? For example, the more than $60,000 paid to Jews for Jesus.

According to Board of Trustees President Milton Marks III, “It depends. The college has a couple insurance policies it relies on. Sometimes some of it is covered by our deductible.”

Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration, said the college plans for lawsuits.

“As a large institution, we are sued on a fairly regular basis and we have a fund set aside for that purpose, [but] the Jews for Jesus settlement is being paid out of the operating budget,” Goldstein said. “It has not caused us to cut any programs or services.”

“I don’t recall if in the operating budget there’s a certain amount budgeted for settlements, but if there’s not, either something has to go or some things won’t get built as fast,” Marks said.

Such was the case when a settlement was reached in Cherry v. City College of San Francisco. The class action lawsuit was brought forth under the Americans with Disabilities Act and claimed City College was not accessible to physically disabled students. The judgment that both parties agreed to states, “Defendant [City College] shall expend no less than a minimum of $7.5 million, the minimum sum to be expended to improve disability access.”

“The ADA case forced the college to spend significantly more money on ADA improvements than planned,” Goldstein said. “That was money we had hoped to spend on a variety of small remodeling projects that will now have to wait.”

The impact these settlements have on City College is not strictly financial. The outcome of Jews for Jesus v. City College changed the policies concerning outside groups on campus. Groups have to check in at the Office of Student Activities and pick up a copy of the regulations, including a layout of the areas available and the rules for each area. Some examples of the new rules are, no sound amplification on Cloud Science Mall — the plaza between Cloud Hall and Science Hall –  and no soliciting of donations anywhere on Ocean campus.

“The reason why these colleges set up these free speech zones is to help with the function of the college. If groups exercise free speech outside of a building with a lot of windows where there’s a lot of classes, it’s extremely disruptive to the college environment,”  officer Christian Smith of the City College police department said.

“We always get a permit so they know we’re here,” Jehovah’s Witness minister Norman Leiva said. “We’ve been coming for about ten years,” she said. “Even though we go door-to-door, some of these students are at school. This is our one opportunity to share with them.”

The reaction among students aware of the change has been positive. Victor Vargas, a Culinary Arts student at City College, said he thought the new policy was a good idea.

“It gives other people a chance to hear what message they [outside groups] have to express. As long as they don’t hassle me like I’m on a used car lot or something, I’m for it,” Vargas said.

By Fleur Bailey and Alex Luthi
STAFF WRITER AND ONLINE EDITOR

In the face of increasing concerns for public safety, a review of City College records by The Guardsman has revealed the college appears to be failing to comply with the Jeanne Clery Act, a federal law regulating the reporting of crime on college campuses.

While the college appears to be complying with portions of the law, the requirement of any college or university that employs a campus police department or security force to publish a regularly updated crime log has not been followed by City College.

According to the Clery Act, formerly the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, the college’s requirements can be simplified into three parts: A requirement to produce yearly statistics of crime of a certain nature on campus, a requirement to issue timely warnings regarding ongoing threats to the campus, and a daily crime log no more than two business days out of date.

Graph detailing City College's recent Clery Act compliance. INFOGRAPHIC BY ALEX LUTHI / THE GUARDSMAN

City College does not currently have a full-time chief of police, but Rod Santos, dean of public safety for City College has undertaken some of the responsibilities until a suitable replacement is found. Santos said although he was familiar with the Clery Act, he was unaware that City College was not fully complying with all requirements.

“It’s news to me that we might not be following the Clery Act,” he said. “I didn’t know that there was a 48 hour turnaround time [for crime log updates]. My definition of it is broad; I thought it was just about reporting campus crime.”

Although the San Francisco Community College District Police Department Web site does contain recent crime alerts and annual crime statistics, the last entry to the police log is a report of a stolen backpack that was recovered by the SFCCDPD on Feb. 12. As of press time, the college’s crime log would have to be up-to-date for all reported crimes as of March 6 to comply with the Clery Act.

“I think it is important for students to know what’s happening,” said Yuji Matsumoto, 23, a Japanese and English major and a docent of the Diego Rivera Mural at City College. “It’s in their job description to update their crime log. Accountability is the bottom line and I think it’s irresponsible if they’re not doing it.”

Currently, only one SFCCDPD officer undertakes the task of updating the campus’ crime log. Officer Christian Smith, who compiles the annual statistics for the college, says he uses any time he has outside of his regular duties to update the log. Smith is one of the two peace officers currently stationed at Ocean campus.

“There is no cover up, it’s not a conspiracy [why the log isn’t updated regularly], it’s just a lack of time,” he said. “We are understaffed. There are only two officers on Ocean campus right now, so we can’t be as proactive. I probably could make time, but it doesn’t feel right. I’d rather be out doing my job.”

“We have to be very careful how we handle things,” Smith said. “We’re careful how we release information without endangering the victim or making an already traumatized person more traumatized. We are very careful about victims’ rights, especially sexual battery or very sensitive cases.”

If a college is not complying fully with the Clery Act, a complaint can be filed with the U.S. Department of Education, which is in charge of enforcing Clery Act compliance.

If an ensuing investigation finds a college in violation of the Clery Act, the college can be fined a maximum $27,500 per violation. The total amount of fines can vary, depending on the gravity of the violation and the size of the institution. If the violations are severe enough, the college can lose all of its federal funding, including federal financial aid.

Eastern Michigan University is the most recent of four U.S. colleges to be fined for violating the Clery Act. The University received a $350,000 fine in June 2008 after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education uncovered that EMU had concealed the cause of death of one of its students in 2006.

Media reports stated that the student, Laura Dickinson, was raped and murdered in her dorm room. The university withheld information for 10 weeks after Dickinson’s death before announcing to her parents and the college’s community that her death was actually a homicide.

The Jeanne Clery Act, named after the daughter of Howard and Connie Clery, a freshman at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn. who was raped and murdered in her dorm room in 1986. After her death, Clery’s parents discovered Lehigh students had not been informed about 38 previous violent crimes that had occurred on campus during the three years prior to their daughter’s death.

The Clerys then pushed to have a law created to inform students and the public about crime on college campuses, in the hope that publishing information on campus crime would help students make more informed choices about their safety.

The act was revised in 1998 to include the requirement of updating the crime logs within two days of the last reported incident. While the annual statistics need only cover crimes of a certain severity, a college’s crime log must include all incidents reported to the security force or police department for the college. The log must be made available to any member of the public for inspection.

“I generally feel safe on campus,” said Akira Wong, a 27-year-old English major. “I see the crime alerts posted around campus and I’m curious so I always read them. I don’t go looking for the information, but it’s surprising that there have been so many unreported crimes.”

City College’s police department also falls under the jurisdiction of Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration. Goldstein said that he will work with Santos to keep the crime log up-to-date, and that Santos will ensure a second person is trained to update the log so the college will no longer rely on a single individual.

“The law is the law and we have to comply,” Goldstein said.

This is the first installment of a series highlighting public safety on community college campuses in The Guardsman. The next installment in the series will be in the March 25 issue of The Guardsman.

Hundreds of San Francisco State University students protest the new proposed budgets cuts to education. Education could be cut an additional $3 billion. KAREN M. KINNEY / GUARDSMAN

By Lauren Tyler
Staff Writer

A few hundred San Francisco State University students gathered on their campus on Nov. 12 to protest proposed budget cuts to the California State University system.

SFSU students were in an uproar because the university has proposed to move early registration dates back and eliminate many upper division courses.

“I may not be able to graduate with the classes that may be cut,” said Colin Cahill, a third year anthropology student, stating a common fear of SFSU students.

Katrina Perigo, also a SFSU student, said with an additional $61 million in possible cuts to the annual budget, the budget will “leave no upper level segment three courses,” which are required to graduate.

“We are just holding our breath,” said City College Vice Chancellor of Finance Peter Goldstein at the Sept. 26 board of trustee’s meeting about the state’s tumultuous impact on City College’s budget, though from the information provided by the state last month Goldstein said, “we do have a balanced budget.”

The Community College League released an updated budget on Nov. 11, which said the Legislative Analyst’s Office has proposed community colleges receive a reduced reimbursement rate for non-credit classes. Also, the analyst proposed that community colleges should raise the tuition rate from $20 per unit to $26 per unit starting on Jan. 1, 2009 and increase it to $30 per unit on July 1, 2009.

Community colleges are expected to lose $290 million from the lack of reimbursement. In addition, “colleges would not be able to keep the $120 million from increased rates,” said the LAO.

City College has approximately “$200 million in operating expenses annually,” Goldstein said. There is a sufficient amount “of resources to cover that with a small surplus,” this semester and to protect the school from upcoming cuts, according to Goldstein.

Preventative measures were also taken to protect City College from mid-year cuts. The college has held back on counting on some of the “If we [the college’s revenue] get adjusted downward by $2.7 million, then we don’t have to dip into our reserves,” said Goldstein, referring to the college’s budget, was built upon higher revenue than the current expected state income.

The legislature’s delay in coming to an agreement on next year’s budget made deciding on City College’s 2008-2009 budget a difficult task. The college had not received funding checks from the state for three months, hence the budget was overdue. The college began receiving checks again in mid-October.

According to John Bilmont, City College’s Chief Financial Officer, City College used approximately $25 million over the three month period in day-to-day costs before receiving any checks from the state. In addition, there was also a surplus from the last budget year. City College in the end “checked out” with $2.9 million surplus, but this amount would not even cover two weeks of the college’s payroll, which is approximately $7 million, said Goldstein.

According to Goldstein, City College borrowed money from the City and County of San Francisco to cover funding during the first three months of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, with the option to borrow up to $40 million. City College is now paying three percent interest to the city on the money that it borrowed, as it had no other choice without state assistance.

“[City College] had to borrow more than ever, and it will cost us more than ever,” Goldstein said.
A few pivotal steps were taken to decrease spending during the planning of the present budget. City College reduced its reliance on outside consultants thus saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and has left vacant classified positions unfilled, according to Goldstein.

Taxes and cuts are the big issues at hand for balancing the 2009-2010 California state budget. In a Oct. 29 Los Angeles Times article, the governor told education leaders in a private meeting to expect an additional cut of $2-4 billion “to close the state’s yawning budget gap.”

In the article, Kevin Gordon, a lobbyist representing hundreds of the state’s school districts said “they put together a budget with fake numbers … I don’t know how schools would keep their doors open with cuts of this magnitude.”

At the end of the day, the chancellor’s philosophy is to protect the students, Goldstein said. “To ensure there is no change to the cost of tuition and the abundance of programs offered at City College.”

If the worst-case scenario does happen and there are mid-year cuts, the college’s budget may have to be revisited in January 2009, Goldstein said.

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