Oct. 7-20, 2015 Campus Briefs

October 8, 2015February 25, 2020 The Guardsman

Town Hall Meeting

On September 29th, City College Interim Chancellor Susan Lamb held a town hall meeting held in the John Adams Center on the Civic Center campus, addressing concerns about accreditation and student success.

This year, Chancellor Lamb is advocating for equal access to success for all students. This is part of a four year plan to provide every credit and noncredit student with seven core services , including an educational plan and financial aid.

City College’s accreditation came under scrutiny by the accrediting commission in 2013, and they were given until 2018 to give the commission reason to restore the college’s accreditation.

When confronted with rumors of possible property loss of the Airport Campus, Lamb said that within the next 2 years when the lease is up the airport may want their land back. The Airport Campus is home to the Aeronautical Department as well as the Fire Academy. This decision is poorly timed as there have been discussions of reinstituting the the Police Academy among the Board of Trustees.

The newly relocated Civic Center campus on Market Street has run into unexpected complications with the building’s previous residents. While City College was supposed to have all five floors of the building, the Art Institute will remain in the top three floors until October 1, when they will be officially given to the City College.

While only approximately 23,000 students attend CCSF, the schedule is designed with 32,000 students in mind, Lamb said. This means there is a disproportionate amount of classes and a lack of teachers and students to fill them. Lamb said the current budget is not sustainable for the future, so there is a proposal to shrink size by five percent each year until there is an appropriate course load.

This meeting was part of a series Lamb is doing with the Vice Chancellor as well as the Board of Trustees. The next meeting will take place Wednesday, October 21 on the Downtown Campus, room 821.

–Margaret Weir

Crown Truck

For 24 years, students at City College’s Ocean campus saw the Crown Catering food truck open for business in front of the Visual Arts building. Sadly, the end of spring semester marked the end of an era for the company’s presence, a near-permanent fixture on campus.

Crown Catering offered a large array of artisan Italian sandwiches, produce, coffee, pastries, soft drinks and candy bars. It was an unofficial yet much-loved concession stand for the cinema department’s screening room next door.

Over the decades, students and teachers alike knew and anticipated seeing the truck’s managers George and Brenda. Funny, kind and generous with condiments, their banter and jokes often echoed down the halls.

City College first contracted Crown Catering Company in 1991 and, as time passed, the truck became as much of a school landmark as the El Rey sculpture in that courtyard. After Crown’s departure, The Lunchbox, Chasing Lions Cafe and City Cafe remain as options for quick snacks on Ocean campus.

The South San Francisco-based company is retiring its fleet of food trucks but is still open for catering orders. Mike Franco, who for many years personally operated the truck on Ocean campus, chose to end his contract with the school, in part, because of the accreditation crisis.

“There was a lot of change in the last three or four years. Enrollment was down and it just wasn’t feasible anymore,” Franco said. “Good memories, good business and I met a hell of a lot of nice people; pleasant memories but it was time to move on.”

-Otto Pippenger

Uber

Technologies Inc. is expanding their headquarter to the old Sears building, a historical landmark in Downtown Oakland.

The six-year-old transportation network company struck a deal purchasing the 85-year-old building. The 330,000-square-foot, seven story building was bought for $25 million.

With approximately 2000 Uber employees in the bay area, not including the drivers, the company is projecting up to 2500 positions to fill the once known Uptown Station.

Oakland has been eye candy for a “hot tech spot.” The Sears building is located near bart for convenience, providing a cheaper real-estate and more space for the employees.

Uber’s current headquarters in San Francisco will also expand 430,000-square-foot across the half-million-square-foot building. This will open in its new Mission Bay headquarters in 2017 along with opening their new headquarters in Oakland.

-Cassie Ordonio