City College has applied for restoration status and if granted, would allow them two years to comply with accreditation stan-dards and keep the school open and accredited.

Chancellor Arthur Tyler spoke to approximately 30 people Aug.14 at the Chinatown/North Beach center about the plans he has to get City College back on track.

“We didn’t have all the systems in place,” Tyler said. “We didn’t have all the administrative practices that really great colleg-es should have and we’re in the process of changing that.”

Restoration status was recently created by the Accred-iting Commission for Commu-nity and Junior Colleges to give City College the time they had requested to meet the standards to maintain accreditation.

Restoration differs from the previous option of candidacy status because it allows the school to remain accredited during the process.

“The restoration process is going to be lengthy, probably two to two and a half years, but throughout that period we’re going to remain an accredited institution and were going to remain loyal to the legacy that was started almost 80 years ago,” Tyler said.

Tyler agreed to apply for the status despite his doubts. The ACCJC will analyze City Colleges self-evaluation report on Nov. 16 and determine in mid Janu-ary whether or not to grant City College restoration status. If denied, City College has no right to appeal.

Along with the submission for restoration status, there’s an ongoing lawsuit filed by City Attorney Dennis Herrera against the ACCJC with a trial set for October.

“Over the last few months, there has been a heroic effort by our faculty and our staff and our

administrators to continue to move the institution forward and help students achieve not only what they want to become but perhaps beyond what they ever

thought they could become,” Tyler said.

Tyler mentioned new changes to the enrollment process as well as being more student centered for the graduation process. This will allow students to know they are on a path towards something and are aware they are close to graduating.

Accompanying Tyler at the press conference was Rafael Mandelman, a member of the Boards of Trustees and Jonathan Lightman, executive director of the Faculty Association of Cali-fornia Community Colleges.

Mandelman spoke on behalf of the 90,000 people who elected him onto the Board of Trustees and discussed the obstacles City

College faces ahead.“There are definitely strug-

gles ahead for City College and I don’t believe our battles with the accreditors is over,” Mandel-man said. “Whether because of all the fine work that the folks at the college have done or because of the city attorneys lawsuits or because of the simple fact that of political community have shown they will not allow City College to close, City College is open and here to stay.”

Along with the San Francisco city lawsuit that has kept City College open, there have been a number of protests including one in Sacramento. The overwhelm-ing support from the community has made an impact on the college

and is a major factor in the success of City College.

Lightman spoke highly of City College and expressed the support for the school is not only within the community, but statewide.

“I hear it across the state, everyone is rooting for this insti-tution,” Lightman said. “Even though it’s still a bumpy road, you have to know that you are not alone and we at the faculty asso-ciation are fighting for you.”

Tyler finished by showing his thanks and expressing his positive thoughts towards City College.

“City College is not too big to fail, it’s too important to fail,” Tyler said. “It’s your college and I’m here to tell you we’re gonna continue to be here for a very long time.”

“City College is not too big to fail, it’s too important to fail,” Tyler said.

City College Chancellor Arthur Tyler gestures during a media briefing on the school’s accreditation at the Chinatown center, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014. Photo by Santiago Mejia/The Guardsman

Restoration policy may be last chance to maintain accreditation

Accreditation

By Samantha Dennis@sfbreakingnews

sdennis@theguardsman.com

The Guardsman

Vol. 158, Issue 1, Aug. 20 - sept. 2, 2014 | CIty College of sAn frAnCIsCo | sInCe 1935 | www.theguArdsmAn.Com | @sfBreAkIngnews | Ig: theguArdsmAn | freeTHE GUARDSMAN

2 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | auG. 20 - sepT. 2, 2014

news

Editor-in-ChiefSantiago Mejia

Managing EditorAlex Lamp

News EditorSamantha Dennis

Culture EditorElisabetta Silvestro

Sports EditorPatrick Cochran

Photo EditorNathaniel Y. Downes

Multimedia EditorElisa Parrino

Production ManagerMadeline Collins

Online Content ManagerEkevara Kitpowsong

Advertising ManagerCalindra Revier

Staff WritersGina ScialabbaPatrick Cochran

Samantha DennisCalindra Revier

Charles Innis Elisabetta Silvestro

Staff PhotographersEkevara Kitpowsong

Elisa ParrinoKhaled Sayed

Contributing IllustratorOlivia Wise

Faculty AdvisorJuan Gonzales

Mail:50 Phelan Ave Box V-67San Francisco, CA 94112

Phone:(415) 239-3446

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A new smoking policy took effect Aug. 18 as City College moves towards becoming a smoke-free environment.

Ten designated smoking areas replace the “smoking within 20 feet of a door or window prohibited” policy at the Ocean campus.

According to the poli-cy, cigarettes (tobacco), e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookahs, water pipes, vapor and vapor-less equipment are banned outside desig-nated smoking areas.

In addition, any other smoking type device may be added to the policy by a campus administrator or appropriate designee.

“A tobacco-free campus creates a healthier environ-ment for students, faculty, staff, and visitors,” read an email by a City College offi-cial to the college commu-nity, explaining the policy.

Policy affects all City College centers

The Airport center has one designated smoking area located in the rear parking lot. The Civic Center center has two located at the North and South parking lots.

Evans center has one in the front patio area and another in the rear parking lot area by the back gate. The John Adams center has one in the front patio and anoth-er at the North-side rear area under the back stairwell.

All other centers forbid smoking entirely such as the Mission, Chinatown and Downtown centers.

EnforcementCampus police said that

citations will not yet be given out for smoking outside of designated areas.

“We’re going to give this program a little time to be introduced to give people an opportunity to learn about it and know about it,” City College Campus Police Offi-cer Tiffany Green said.

Repeat offenders will be asked to move into desig-nated areas and if necessary will be referred to the dean of student affairs, Samuel Santos.

“The campus is trying to move toward a smoke-free campus. This is a step in that direction with some accom-modations. We have a lot of folks who do smoke, and we don’t want to restrict them or have them feel like they’re not welcome,” Green said.

Elliot Leon, English major, smokes regularly around campus. He has heard about the new smok-ing policy, but doesn’t know much about it.

“I smoke almost a pack a day, usually in between classes, and I usually smoke next to the Creative Arts building,” Leon said.

Leon hasn’t heard about or seen the the areas that have been designated to smoke in.

“I smoke where ever I am and no one really bothers me.” Leon said. “If someone tells me to move away, sure thats fine, i’ll just put it out.”

Students who would like information and support regarding smoking cessation can contact the City College Student Health Services at 415-239-3110 or www.ccsf.edu/stuhealth.

By Alex Lamp@sfbreakingnews

alamp@theguardsman.com

The Guardsman

Smoking in designated areas only

New policy sets course to smoke-free environment

The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | auG 20 - sepT. 2, 2014| 3

news

This semester marks the beginning of the first certificate program to be offered in Pacific Island Studies, not only at City College but the first in the nation outside the region and states of Hawaii.

Program Coordinator Profes-

sor David Ga’oupu Palaita is offer-ing this17-unit program with a choice of an elective.

The program is for all students wishing to study and celebrate the “ocean” culture and participate in something that is first of its kind.

“The key question in our course is the concept of ocean. For islanders the ocean is central. In fact it is the organizing principle of their livelihoods, their lives, their cultures and the communi-

ty,” Palaita said, reflecting on the ocean inspired curriculum.

During the completion of the program Palaita explains that students will explore other themes such as what happens to culture when it’s transplanted from the Pacific to the U.S. mainland and how things like race and gender affect the Pacific Islander commu-nity as well as how islanders are perceived in the media.

Highlights of the program also include being published in an end of semester anthology titled “Mata (to see, vision) Mai (to summon, bring in).” The anthol-ogy can also be found published in Hawaiian press(Checking on name).

Although Professor Palai-ta and many other key faculty members are facilitating the program, he emphasizes that this has ultimately been a student-driven certificate.

The certificate has been advo-cated by students as far back as the year 2000.

Emani Herman Ilaoa, a student at City College, looks forward to completing the program at the end of the fall semester. He is majoring in Communications and Pacific Island studies.

Ilaoa stresses the importance of having this program happen now.

“Our kids need it. Our kids are different now, they’re challenges are learning to survive amongst a western civilization as well as balance the cultural responsibili-ties,” he said.

He added that a big struggle is having students aware that the program is offered.

“It is the only program outside of Hawaii that is established on the continent of America. So not only is it a big deal to us, but it is historical on its own,” Ilaoa said.

The importance of commu-nity at public events, often team-ing up with Poetry for the People throughout the semester includ-ing an incorporation of live performances.

Ilaoa explains that all the gath-erings are open to the community and they encourage community members to come and see what the Pacific Islanders program have been doing.

Among those students who helped advocate and ultimately create this groundbreaking certifi-cate, four have passed away while attending City College.

Rachel Fisi’iahi and Virginia Mancenido have received their honorary certificate degrees while plans are in the works of the same recognition for Bree Gutu and Samuel Elekiko Afoa.

“This certificate means more

than just our accomplishment of getting something like this in our college. This certificate is recog-nizing those that have also passed away and given so much to our college and to our community,” Palaita said. “As a college, as a department, as a teacher, I am so happy that we have been able to fulfill this for them.”

Congressman Eni Faleo-mavaega applauded those who worked to have the program enacted at City College.

“I extend my gratitude and best wishes to CCSF faculty, staff, allies and community members on the launching of this pioneer-ing program,” Faleomavaega said. “I have every confidence that the Certificate Program will be met with success and will assist CCSF in increasing success rates among our Pacific Islander students for years to come.”

City College’s budget of near-ly $199 million moves forward towards final approval from the Board of Trustees by Sept. 15. The budget provides a blueprint for operations during the 2014-15 fiscal year.

The tentative budget is predi-cated on 2012-13 enrollment levels of 33,119 full-time equiva-lent students, a recent high mark.

Since then enrollment has fallen, believed largely due to an ongoing accreditation controversy.

“As we prepare our budget of fiscal year 2014-2015 we face great uncertainty and risk,” said Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Ron Gerhard in a budget memo dated Feb. 13.

To mitigate this risk, three budget scenarios were developed, factoring in enrollment decline to plan for an orderly downsizing of operations if funding and/or

accreditation issues develop. The first scenario assumes

no access to an outside funding sources and an enrollment decline of 4,000 full time equivalent students resulting in a budgetary shortfall greater than $18 million, approximately nine percent of total revenue. Subsequent opera-tions and personnel reduction, including faculty, would be imple-mented to balance the budget.

The second scenario projects the same enrollment decline but

assumes access to outside fund-ing to make up the $18 million-plus shortfall. The third scenar-io optimal, where enrollment equals or exceeds 2012-13 levels and the college resumes normal fiscal operations while working to resolve the outstanding accredita-tion issues.

Last year, the college was permitted to access stability fund-ing from the state, offsetting an enrollment decline and resultant financial shortfall. It provided additional funds to match oper-ating expenses. As confirmed by Chancellor Arthur Tyler and according to the Governor’s May California Budget for 2014-15 posted online Aug. 4, access to stability funding will continue for at least another two years.

How heavily City College will rely on outside funding will depend on fall enrollment levels. Admission and Records declined to comment on preliminary Fall 2014 enrollment figures.

The tentative budget builds in a contingency fund of $7.5 million to meet unforeseen expenses as a further buffer. The budget assumes a deficit of $2.8 million. The planned shortfall will be resolved through efficiencies and focused cost savings measures as opposed to reducing department budgets proportionately.

City College must achieve enrollment levels equal to or

greater than 2012-13 levels to regain financial independence. The College has been working on the accreditation issues, having reportedly resolved 94 percent of the alleged violations. The administration continues making substantial progress toward removing the cloud of uncertainty hovering over the school‘s future.

Chancellor Arthur Tyler explains in his tentative budget letter dated May 19 that this year’s planning cycle as the first under the new Board Policies 8.01 and Administrative Procedures 8.01. These are guiding planning docu-ments.

Two chief criterions are that the budget supports the College’s educational mission and another specifies the final budget to be balanced with revenue equaling expenditures.

Other items of note in the proposed budget are that dollars allocated for faculty positions are projected to decrease across all categories; one category, Faculty Regular Hrs PBL, by over $4 million from 2013-14 level.

Health plan costs are to increase by almost $1.7 million as well as contributions to San Fran-cisco retirement system by $873 thousand. Overall, total figures are projected to remain flat in comparison to last year’s budget.

By Calindra Revier@sfbreakingnews

crevier@theguardsman.com

The Guardsman

Pacific Islands Studies certificate now offered

Budget continues to hold despite enrollment drop

By Patrick Fitzgerald@sfbreakingnews

pfitzgerald@theguardsman.com

Professor David Ga’oupu Palaita. Photo by Nathaniel Y. Downes/The Guardsman

Courtesy of David Ga’oupu Palaita

Illustration courtesy of MCT campus.

4 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | auG. 20 - sepT. 2, 2014

culture

Free Tree

Indoor tree needs a good home, needs nursing. Free to first

person who claims it. Come to Bungalow 615 at the Ocean

campus. For more information, call Juan at 415-239-3446

Art For Sale

For sale, framed art by noted Bay Area Latino artists. To view

the art, call Georgiana at 415-648-1045.

Basketball Hoop

Top of the line portable basketball hoop, net and pole, almost new, must

sell, $150 or best offer. If interested, call 415-517-4426.

Photography Services

Is it time to update your family photos? 35% OFF portrait and family

photo sessions. Visit www.Baystills.com or email santiago@baystills.com

CLASSIFIED ADS Students and faculty: First 50 words are free. 10 cents/word if you want to repeat the ad.

A new program for The Guardsman 2014 Fall semester.Send ads to crevier@theguardsman.com.

Ad deadline for the next issue is Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. Items must be sold by owner.

Note: We reserve the right to deny publishing of classified ads at our discretion.

City College ESL instruc-tor Ann Fontanella has been awarded Teacher of the Year by TESOL International Associa-tion. Students and teachers cele-brated the event May 6 2014 at the Downtown campus.

Fontanella has been teaching English as a second language at City College for 16 years and she is deeply admired by students and colleagues.

“I think the TESOL picked exactly the right person,” ESL Department Chair Greg Keech said.

The award honors excep-tional English language teach-ers at all levels. It was presented by TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) International Association and National Geographic Learning.

Any teacher throughout the world with at least three years of experience who didn’t win the award before was eligible to apply for the recognition.

When she found out she was the winner, Fontanella was “very moved, surprised and honored.”

Fontanella was officially awarded in March at the 2014 TESOL International Conven-tion and English Language Expo, where she delivered a presentation about instruction for student engagement and community leadership.

As an American with Italian

origins who also lived in Saudi Arabia, Italy and Japan, Fonta-nella said she has always been surrounded by people who spoke different languages.

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Italian with a minor in Spanish and a master’s degree in comparative literature, Fontanella got another master’s degree in

teaching English to speakers of other languages from San Fran-cisco State University and started doing what she is still doing today – teaching ESL.

Approximately 100 people between faculty and students attended the event hosted in the conference room of the Down-town campus.

“I’m very thankful that I have Ann as my former teacher,” student Yanhui Li said. Thanks to Fontanella, Li said, she became passionate about learning English and went from noncredit student, to credit student, to volunteer for the Project SHINE (Students Helping in the Naturalization of Elders), which Fontanella used to coordinate.

More than 10 people spoke

about Fontanella’s positive quali-ties, both as a teacher and as a person, during the two-hour-long event concluded by refreshments.

Bouchra Simmons, president of the Associated Students Coun-cil of the Downtown Campus, said Fontanella has a special gift. She doesn’t just teach English, she helps students find their way in life.

“Teaching is not about credentials, is about connection,” Simmons said.

Maricel Santos, TESOL professor at San Francisco State, attended the event proud of having their graduate achieving this recognition.

“(Fontanella) dignifies this profession,” Santos said. “She shows you what is possible with language.”

City College’s ESL instructor Kathleen Berkov said Fontanella is an inspiration for the students and for all the teachers.

“She finds the joy in impacting other people’s lives for the good,” Berkov said.

Some attendees sang and danced, while Fontanella’s students put together a video in which many of them talked about how she helped them achieve their objectives and even changed their lives.

“We wanted to do something special for her because she did something special for us every day,” student Olga Tsibulina said.

Fontanella described the event as “beautiful and moving.”

“This award is the result of all of that you’ve given me,” she said.

“I think the TESOL picked exactly the right person,” Greg Keech said.

Spotlight

Ann Fontanella, right, is celebrated Tuesday, May 6, 2014, at the City College Downtown campus for winning the TESOL award. Photo Nathaniel Y. Downes/The Guardsman

Instructor wins international TESOL award

By Elisabetta Silvestro@sfbreakingnews

esilvestro@theguardsman.com

The Guardsman

ANNOUNCEMENTS· AskCCSF, an online information service, is now avail-able. It allows students and faculty to ask any question and in any language. Take a test drive on the CCSF homepage (www.ccsf.edu).

· For MUB 140 reservations obtain the forms from Kim-berly Ng at kng@ccsf.edu/B213. If your event is outside of the Monday-Friday 8-5 p.m. timeframe, you will need to fill out the application for use of district property form. You can obtain the application from Brian Tom (btom@ccsf.edu/ 239.3547). The form needs to be sub-mitted at least two weeks in advance.

· AFT/2121 needs volunteer speakers who can answer questions about what’s going on at CCSF for community presentations. If you are available, contact Athena Waid at awaid@aft2121.or or 406-531-0503.

· To honor her husband and former Trustee and President of the Board of Trustees of City College of San Fran-cisco, Dr. Natalie Berg is establishing the Peter Finnegan Scholarship Fund in the CCSF Foundation. Donations can be sent to The Foundation of City College of SF, P.O. Box 40488, San Francisco, CA 94140.

EVENTS CALENDAR

The Guardsman Calendar is a f ree service to campusclubs and other non-profi t orga-nizat ions. I f you wish to have an i tem post-ed please keep i t to 50 words and email to a lamp@theguardsman,com. Deadl ine for the next issue is August 27 at 12 noon. We reserve the r ight not to pr int a submission at our dis-cret ion.

08/23Come celebrate the 44th anniversary of El

Tecolote newspaper 9 p.m at Cesar’s Latin Palace, 826-26th St . , San Francisco. Adelante and the Rico Ritmo All-Stars wil l be perform-ing. For more information, cal l 415-648-1045.

08/25Ram Plaza ral ly to protest c lass cancel la-

t ions 12 p.m.

08/29Forum: “Migration: Causes and Respons-

es: Perspectives from the U.S. and El Salva-dor.” Women’s Building, 3543-14th St . , SF. 6:30 p.m. Stay for refreshments , l ive music , DJs & dancing. Suggested donation: $10-$30. For more information contact Karl Kramer at bayarea@cispes.org. or cal l

415-503-0789.

09/07 Al Jazeera America wil l premiere “Edge of

Eighteen,” a new original documentary from Academy Award-winning f i lmmaker Alex Gibney about teens and education in Amer-ica on Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. PT, with s ix hour-long original episodes airing Sunday evenings through October.

09/10Save CCSF Coalit ion, General Assembly

Meeting, Mission Campus, 5-8 p.m., vis i t www.saveccsf .org for more info.

The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | auG. 20 - sepT. 2, 2014 | 5

culture

The Valley/El Valle: Photo-essays from California’s Heartland, the current photo exhibit hanging in City Hall was put on by The San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries and curated by Ann Jastrab, Rayko’s gallery director.

The exhibit highlights the work of nine photographers, two of which are City College instructors.

Ken Light who is teaching Business Practices of Photography this semester and teaches Documentary Photography in the spring shows selected works from his recent book Valley of Shadows and Dreams (Heyday 2012).

Lou Demmatteis teaches Intermedi-ate Photojournalism at City College shows a photo essay taken March 2, 1975 that features a march of United Farm Workers of

America led by Cesar Chavez. On Tuesday, Aug. 12, Ken Light and five other artists spoke about their work at the Koret Auditorium in the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch.

The photos can be seen at City Hall on the ground floor and in the North Light Court. The exhibition is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Sept. 19.

There are also 40 kiosks downtown featuring many of the photos included in the exhibit.

City Hall hosts City College instructors’ photo exhibit

Charlotte Niel’s landscapes are shown in City Hall’s North Light Court.

Photo and Story by Nathaniel Y. Downes

@shuttertospeaknydownes@theguardsman.com

The Guardsman

One of the 40 kiosks with poster-sized prints of selected images from the exhibit is located on Market Street at Powell Street and holds the work of Lou Demmatteis.

Ken Light and Lou Demmatteis’ work can be viewd on the ground floor aat City Hall.

Charlotte Niel’s landscapes are shown in City Hall’s North Light Court.

Ken Light and Lou Demmatteis featured

Ken Light discusses his work at a panel discussion at the Koret Audito-rium in the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch.

6 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | auG. 20 - sepT. 2, 2014

culture

City College Labor Studies instructor and chorus director Patricia Wynne took home the Joe Hill Award on June 21 for her work with the San Francisco Bay Area Labor Heritage/Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus.

The Joe Hill Award, given annually by the Labor Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, is awarded to persons based on their activism and commitment towards labor, labor arts, culture and history.

“It shines a spotlight on the cultural workers who give us music, movement, visual art, spoken word and song to lift our collective spirits so that we can do the work before us – bringing about economic, political and social justice for all,” Elise Bryant, Executive Director of the Labor Heritage Foundation told The

Guardsman through email.Previous recipients of the

award include folk singer and activist Pete Seeger and Latino-American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.

“In the tradition of Joe Hill, Pat uses contemporary popular music to raise consciousness around labor and human rights’ issues,” Bryant said, “You can see in her choral directing that she brings her whole self to this work.”

On the same day of receiv-ing the award, a personally autographed copy of her book of performance pieces “Singing Out and Fighting Back” was inducted into the Library of Congress, an experience she recalls with glow-ing enthusiasm.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” Wynne said.

Wynne directs the Labor Heritage/Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus through City College’s Labor Studies Department, where she instructs introduc-tory, intermediate, and advance

performance tiers.“In one way it’s sort of

a service organization—we perform where people want us to. They request us to perform at labor unions, nonprofits, marches, protests, pick-it lines, you know,” Wynne said.

For the chorus members, it functions as a way to learn labor history through song.

Membership isn’t exclusive to City College students. Anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area can join, regardless of vocal talent.

This open-arm approach to

membership could be problem-atic for a chorus if certain people can’t hold a tune, but Wynne bypasses such obstacles by including speaking parts.

“Not everyone is a solo sing-er, but with a performance piece then people can be narrators or

characters or what not,” Wynne said.

In her pieces, characters perform short skits relating to a labor or civil rights topic while choral interludes, consisting of mostly four-part harmonies, break the scenes up with song.

Her book “Singing Out and Fighting Back” holds about 80 songs and covers a range of topics, including immigration, globalization and the blunders of Capitalism.

The book was also designed by City College students in the Computer Design Department and assembled over the course of 3 semesters.

Wynne has been involved in the labor movement in some fashion for her entire life. A considerable amount of her inspi-ration comes from the political environment she grew up in.

“My father was a great union-ist and he was very inspirational to me. I also grew up in a sort of political oriented summer colony as an early child,” Wynne said.

She admitted that winning an award for her life’s work was something she had never imag-ined.

“It wasn’t a great or huge step for me to do this,” Wynne said, “This is like part of my growing up, you know. It’s who I am.”

These departments, with histories stretching back to the civil rights era, are out of marginalized peo-ple’s struggles, not gifts from ad-ministrators.

Patricia Wynne poses for a photo Aug. 11 with her Joe Hill Award and new book entitled “Singing Out and Fighting Back.” Photo by Nathaniel Y. Downes

By Charles Innis@sfbreakingnews

cinnis@theguardsman.com

The Guardsman

Spotlight

Chorus Director Patricia Wynne wins Joe Hill Award

The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | auG. 20 - sepT. 2, 2014 | 7

opinion

Letters to the editor must be under 250 words and may be edited for content. Send letters to: editor@theguardsman.com

DID YOU STUMBLE UPON SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? WRITE ABOUT IT! WE’D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE. SEND US YOUR STORIES, OPINIONS AND TIPS TO ALAMP@THEGUARDSMAN.COM

Editorial cartoon courtesy of Nate Beeler/MCT Campus.

8 | The Guardsman & TheGuardsman.com | auG. 20 - sepT. 2, 2014

sportsRams prepare for regular season

City College football only has one goal for the 2014 season, conquering another state champi-onship and adding to the legacy of winning at City College.

Football is a team sport, but it is undeniable the quarterback is one of the most important posi-tions on a team.

Last season the Rams were led by Turner Baty, who is now play-ing at University of California-Davis. Finding a good replace-ment for Baty is crucial for the Rams this season.

The race to replace Turner Baty at quarterback during the spring football practices seemed to be a two-man competition between Anthony Rodriguez and Jeremiah Peralta, but now it appears that a new competitor has entered the race.

Zach Masoli, a freshman who played at nearby Archbish-op Riordan High School and is the younger brother of former City College star player Jeremiah Masoli, could end up starting for the Rams.

The coaching staff is still undecided about who be under center for the season opener.

Head coach George Rush still hasn’t made up his mind on who’ll be the Rams’ starting quarterback when they play their first game against Sierra College on Sept. 6.

“We have had some good competition at the quarterback position so far,” Rush said. “Antho-ny has the most experience, and has a good arm. Zach is a great athlete and can throw the ball.”

During the spring it looked as though Rush would have to decide between Rodriguez and Peralta, but Masoli’s enrollment at City College has given him anoth-er option.

“We are close to the family. When Zach didn’t get the offers he wanted we had him come here,” said offensive coordinator Dan Hayes.

Jeremiah Masoli played at City College in 2007 and he helped lead City to a state and national championship. After that season

Masoli was a highly recruited junior college quarterback and he went on to be the starting quarterback for the University of Oregon, going all the way to the 2009 Rose Bowl. But prior to the 2010 season Masoli was kicked off the Oregon football team for the season because he was convicted of second-degree burglary.

One of the key returning play-ers for the Rams is running back Jaray Hayes. The sophomore is the leading returning rusher, and the coaches are happy to see Hayes in such great shape.

“Hayes came in at 220 pounds. He is looking really strong out on the field,” Rush said. “We expect him to have a big season.”

Hayes will be running behind a veteran offensive line unit.

Hayes said that the line is one of the strongest parts of the team.

“We have three or four Divi-sion 1 prospects on our offensive line. I really believe this group will be better than a year ago, and last year we had three guys go D-1,” Hayes said.

The team is hopeful the defense will be as good as last years if not better. The team has a number of returning starters, led by Oregon State commit Shalom Luani. The unit has coach Rush excited.

“Our front seven is real good. Shalom Luani is as good of a safe-ty to ever play at City. Top two or three safety. He is the crazy glue that holds this team together,” Rush said.

Luani is a superior athlete who

helps out the team in defending both the run and pass. He is the type of player just as likely to stuff a running back behind the line of scrimmage as he is to pick off an opposing quarterback. On top of being a playmaker, Luani is also an important team leader. After team practices Luani can be seen giving advice to other members of the defense.

“We’ve been working hard all off-season. We’re learning some new things for both sides of the ball, but also a lot of just getting better at the things we already do,” Luani said. “We only have one goal this year and that is to add another title to the board.”

Working extra hard to over-come last year’s shortfall seems to be a common goal throughout

the 2014 team. For a program accustomed to winning state and national championships, finish-ing the season 8-3 was seen as a failure.

“Everyone on the team is using that as motivation,” Rodri-guez said. “We know 8-3 is not enough, and that we have to win.”

Rush couldn’t agree more.“You only play for one trophy,

and that is the one they give to winners,” he said. “You won’t see any runner-up trophies in our case.”

City College football players set up at the line of scrimmage during a Monday, Aug. 11, practice at Ram Stadium. Photo by Nathaniel Y. Downes/The Guardsman

By Patrick Cochran@sfbreakingnews

pcochran@theguardsman.com

The Guardsman