By Nelson Estrada
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Health and Safety Committee for a smoke-free campus is gaining awareness and support by implementing a new online “wiki” discussion group and posting signs around campus.

“We would like all constituent groups of City College to have a voice in going smoke-free and get their opinion on the designated smoking areas,” said Sunny Clark, the associate dean of student health services and director of the Student Health Center.

The “wiki” community is an online forum where people can post their thoughts about smoking on campus and get a chance to comment on other posts and current policy changes that are being discussed. This “wiki” recently went live on March 17 and is currently only open to administrators, department chairs, and a few select others. Although she cannot give a definite timeline, Clark said that eventually all constituencies will be allowed to give input on the “wiki.” The next to gain access will probably be the faculty and staff. The “wiki” will be slowly implemented to ensure it is working effectively.

The changes being discussed on the “wiki” are the placement of designated smoking areas in Ram Plaza, Cloud Plaza, Diego Rivera/Arts building, Batmale 4th floor deck, the area across from the Lunch Box and the Student Union outside the City Café.

The current campus smoking policy requires smokers to be at least 20 feet from government buildings. “The language of the current policy stipulates that agencies can regulate or even eliminate smoking,” Clark said.

Approximately 20 signs have been posted in the grass along the stairs leading from Ram Plaza to Cloud Hall and also from Phelan Avenue to the Science Building. These sign postings, informally referred to as “the stick in the grass campaign,” are used to raise awareness and are a testament to the increased support the “smoke-free” effort has gained.

The issue of whether the campus should be smoke-free has been an ongoing debate, with many non-smoking students claiming it jeopardizes their health. According to the American Lung Association, “It [secondhand smoke] is involuntarily inhaled by non-smokers, lingers in the air hours after cigarettes have been extinguished and can cause or exacerbate a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma.”

Clark warned non-smokers against the hazards of secondhand smoke, comparing it to the spreading of a disease.“The public’s health supersedes the individual’s rights,” she said.

Many people are now moving toward a healthier lifestyle, making it an ideal time to gain support for the changes to the smoking policy.

The newly created “wiki” can be viewed at http://www.ccsfsmokefree.pbwiki.com.

Paramedics prepare the female victim to be transported to San Francisco General Hospital after she was hit in the crosswalk near the health center on Phelan Avenue by a red Volkswagen New Beetle on March 2. RAMSEY EL-QARE / THE GUARDSMAN

By Ellen Silk
NEWS EDITOR

A City College student was hit by a car while crossing the street near the northern exit of the reservoir parking lot at 1 p.m. on March 2.

A red Volkswagen New Beetle, turning left out of the parking lot onto Phelan Avenue, collided with the female student, who was walking in the crosswalk towards the reservoir, said Michael Pama, a computer science major.

“The rain made it hard to see, she (the pedestrian) could have been in the car’s blind spot,” Pama said.

The San Francisco Community College District Police Department, as well as the San Francisco Police Department were on the scene, blocking off two lanes of traffic on Phelan Avenue near Judson Avenue. The victim complained of a hurt arm and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, according to police.

A red Volkswagen New Beetle (center) was involved in a collision with a female student in the crosswalk near City College's Student Health Center on Phelan Avenue on March 2. ALEX LUTHI / THE GUARDSMAN

The driver declined to give her name, but said she hoped the victim was all right.

Albert Cheong, a City College student, said he saw the victim laying in the crosswalk as he was walking up.

“When will they get traffic lights?” Cheong said.

SFCCDPD did not to comment on the accident, but said a traffic light for that intersection was “in the works.”

MIHAIL MATIKOV / THE GUARDSMAN

Tom Strange with The Judge

By Jen Houghton
COPY EDITOR

You often see “Bobbi,” a candy-red 2009 Honda Metropolitan sitting pretty on Phelan Avenue, minding her own business. But don’t be fooled, this young scooter has already gained the nickname “The Judge.”

“She judges other cars very harshly,” said owner Tom Strange , a history major at City College. Only one week after he got her from Golden Gate Cycles in the Tenderloin, the scooter showed her true colors when a Ford F-150 pickup cut Strange off. “The Judge made me kick his mirror off,” he said. “She’s very aggressive.”

MIHAIL MATIKOV / THE GUARDSMAN

The scooter’s appearance matches her attitude, with a custom pin-up girl seat cover from www.customscooters.com and skull valve stem covers found on Ebay. Other custom adornments are a POW MIA “Never Forget” license plate holder in honor of Strange’s tour in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He searched high and low for the holder, popular on four-wheeled vehicles, before finding the pint-sized scooter version on a specialty veteran’s Web Site.

“The Judge” even has a specialty horn that plays “The Dukes of Hazzard” theme song so loudly it can be heard all the way across campus. The horn, originally crafted for a full-size truck, saps battery power so fast that Strange will soon be outfitting the scooter with a new, larger battery just so he can use the horn.

MIHAIL MATIKOV / THE GUARDSMAN

The most custom accessory of all has yet to arrive: “The Judge” will soon be emblazoned on the scooter so that everyone will know her name.