see us in this struggle and really bring us to a better day. so, thank you to all of you. (applause) >> thank you. next speaker, please. how y'all doing? i'd like to thank you guys for having integrity and being real -- (applause) and not, not just a puppet for various corporations and et cetera. i'd also like to thank the students who have been fighting, you know, from day one since the bus trip to sacramento, you know, and the people who even weren't there but have taken it upon themselves to continue the fight, to pick up the torch, you know. i think it's a beautiful thing that we are even in this

building talking about this right now. i was there yesterday and it was crazy. a few cops grabbed me, you know, and i don't take that lightly at all, you know. but i had to get out of there. but i just want to say a lot of things have to change. one of my classmates actually could not graduate this semester because one of her classes was discontinued in the middle of the semester -- not the middle, but -- well, while they were into the semester the class was canceled so she will not be able to graduate this semester. this is all because of this super trustee, as you call him or stupid trustee. [laughter] but i'd just like to say,

man, it's a good thing that we're trying to restore the democracy and the transparency at the university because the university has given me a second chance, you know. so, i think it's a lot of people like me who would like the opportunity but -- >> thank you. [speaker not understood]. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. next speaker. i've never felt so hot and so coiled ~ cold at the same time. i felt like sulfuric acid melting my corneas [speaker not understood]. i gasped for oxygen and seriously wondered if i was going to die. yesterday a group of passionate students protested peacefully requesting dialogue with the super trustee who seems to have the power of invisibility. [laughter] i was detained by the city college police fortress passing

the same public building i walked into three years ago as a nervous freshman. city college has served as a fountain of valuable education for blossoming artists, poetic musicians and scientists alike. i think that it's great that we have this resource for everyone to get together and learn what they need to learn or what they want to learn and do it for their entire life. and that's what city college is, it's a valuable education that's affordable, accessible, and it can be there for anyone who needs it to be there. and i think that what we're facing right now is a threat in the mission statement of our whole ideology of education, not just at city college, but nationally. and it's sad, but we're fighting on a daily basis and it's going to change if we generate enough support and really point out [speaker not understood] that are happening. i'm with the save the [speaker not understood] coalition. my name is philip demetrius, by

the way. [cheering and applauding] yeah, we're trying to save the [speaker not understood] center. i'll going to do this in 30 seconds. performing arts education center was voted for over 20 years ago and it's supposed to be built. but undemocratically its construction was canceled by bob ar dwell a and there's been no audit, no explanation other than we don't have enough funds but we'd like to see what funds we do have. if they'd like to spend that money anywhere else, they're going to have to run it through the election again. we're going to get that education center built that's what the people of san francisco want. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. thank you very much. >> next speaker, please. thank you.

yes, i'm peter lay. i'll keep this extremely short. because i'm excited, exhausted from the sleep over last night and being thrown around by a rag doll [speaker not understood]. city college meant a lot to me. when i came here i was homeless and i had no dreams of going to college. i had a dram but i knew it wasn't going to come true and city college really changed that for me. i went from getting cs and ds in high school to getting straight bs at city college and that's awesome. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. next speaker. thank you. hi, i'm diana scott and students are a really hard act to follow. [laughter] i'm moved really by all of you and your courage in joining a long history of of civil disobedience to protest [speaker not understood] of civil rights. (applause) i've been a member of the coalition to save city college for about a year.

i substitute taught occasionally in transitional studies. i've taken classes, i'm currently taking an advanced journalism course focused on investigative reporting. (applause) i do see this whole struggle as a very important civil rights struggle which will have ramifications way beyond the campus or even the state of california. i commend the thrust and the sponsors of this resolution, particularly calling for immediate removal of the special trustee. i know a week ago in sacramento brice harris, the state chancellor of community colleges, was not at all convinced of that when we visited him, a delegation of us, although he did meet with us. and i also like the fact that you are very aware of the implications of rushing through this education master plan which in no way should be -- become the rule.

there is an existing strategic plan that runs through 2016 that was done over a year of extensive outreach and functions well. and perhaps the reinstated board of supervisors can begin that process of review again as soon as they take office. and last, [speaker not understood] imposed by a turn around man needs to stop here and stop all over the country. thank you. (applause) >> thank you very much. next speaker. he yes, hi, my name is tim kelly kelly and i teach political science at city college. i've been teaching since 1997 there and i'm also a member of the aft 21 21 executive board. ~ when i have people who don't really know that much about city college, my relatives from other parts of the country, the only way i can describe it is

like we are just living in [speaker not understood]. there's no other way to describe it. and it continues to get more and more bizarre owe all the time ~. and what we need to do is we need to get rid of bizarro world. bizarro world must end. (applause) and this resolution is one of the first steps in really doing that. i know myself personally, every bad decision that i've ever made in my life, i can attribute to spinning it through my own head, spinning it through my own lungs and not thinking through it, not talking to anybody else, not listening to anybody else and then i do it and people go, well, what were you thinking? [laughter] and that's kind of a institutionalized process that is now occurring in bizarro world where we have people who make decisions in a little bubble and they don't get out of their own heads.

and how can anybody -- bob ar dwell a, anybody -- make good decisions by doing that? we've seen bad decisions over and over. from the salary gauge issue to the performing arts center to no oversight committee for prop a. the list goes on and on and on and it's going to keep going on until we end bizarro world and this is the first step of that. i really appreciate and your support in doing this. thank you very much. (applause) [cheering and applauding] supervisors mar, campos, yee, if you give me an additional five minutes i'll try and express my gratitude as eloquently as i can for this resolution.

the degree of injustice in this is incomprehensible. and i'm not trying to engage in hyperbole. i mean, you know, if you knew nothing about ccsf and you just listened to the stories that you heard thus far, and you multiply that by the many thousands of stories that there are, you have to wonder why is this happening? it's been a long struggle and many of us are very tired, but we've had some victories in this and your resolution is one of those victories. it's one of those very important victories that give an old man like me the strength to get up tomorrow morning and keep on going. when we began the struggle, many of the people of the city, certainly many people in city government, assume that a decision made by an accrediting

decision was made by reasonable people with ethics. on the basis of that, the [speaker not understood] at ccsf was elected. the situation we're in now flows from that decision. what we've discovered is that decision is a tissue of lies, one by one is being unraveled. but the situation created by it continues to amaze. so, that has to change. so, the resolution is a very important one, but it's got to have teeth. you've got to put some teeth in it. so, i thank you again. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you, mr. campos, mr. mar, and mr. yee for your wonderful resolution. i'm daniel halpert, esl faculty, city college. the special trustee has sabotaged our college in all kinds of ways. but i am here today to talk

about his crimes against enrollment. first, in the spring of 2013, no course schedules were mailed out to the residents of san francisco in stark contrast to what has been a tradition for many years, thus reinforcing the misconception that we are closed or closing. second, in the summer of 2013 faculty members discovered over 200 boxes of course schedules sitting around in ocean campus and were unable to get dr. ar dwell a to tell us what he he intended to do with them. so, we took matters into our own hands ~ and started to hand out course schedules, fliers, information about enrollment and courses all over the city because in an ongoing outreach effort -- (applause) which continues and many thanks to all the teachers, students, and other community members who are doing this in our unpaid free time because the administration is not doing it.

third, last semester and this semester, the course schedules or the paper and online schedules, but especially the paper schedules are full of errors much more than ever before. fourth, the voters gave us proposition a to maintain classes and programs but ar dwell a the hun [laughter] has announced he does not feel obligated by the language of proposition a for maintaining classes and course he. he cut a whole lot from the course and schedule. while we were on the still on period many classes were canceled for being under enrolled even though students still had the chance to enroll. and of course since the new payment com policy discourages enrollment. we need this outright away yesterday if possible. thank you. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. i have a couple more names, just a couple more names.

fred chivaria and [speaker not understood]. good afternoon, supervisors. i think of you as the three must ka tiers today defending one of the greatest treasures the city has in city college. my name is cathy buick. i'm a city college alumni who just like one of our students back here who has lived more than their dream because city was free in 1973. i am a resident of san francisco for 40 years and i'm really upset about the way my voice is being usurped at the school that i live and i've been a teacher there for 35 years. i feel it's imperative to remove and i thank you for your effort. it is not only -- it's dangerous to allow a special trustee, super trustee with extraordinary powers which sounds like an action figure -- [laughter] to continue to reside at city college. i believe the violence that happened yesterday, in the 35 years i've been there, i never saw anything like that and i hope i never see anything like it again. and i believe it is a direct

result of the lack of communication between the super trustee and the rest of the community. it's also a result of the decisions that have been made that totally dishonor the needs of our students and our community and our workers. i think the threat of violence looms heavily over our heads if this undemocratic structure isn't removed. i believe it is the cause of what happened yesterday. i've never seen it before and i don't want to see it again and i think it is dependent on his removal. i also feel that what frightened me from the very beginning is our vice chancellor in charge of government [speaker not understood] was removed by our first interim chancellor. and bob ar dwell a, [speaker not understood], now resides in her office. to me it looks like a [speaker not understood]. we no longer have a vice chancellor in charge of government relations. (applause) who used to tell us about budgeting and help us to lobby,

to remain affordable accessible education for all. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you very much. next speaker. hello, good afternoon. and thank you for giving us this opportunity. my name is fred chavaria. i'm an instructor at city college of san francisco and the administration of justice. i also happen to be a taxpayer. and i spent the majority of my adult life in the criminal justice system and quite frankly i've seen more due process shown for murderers and drug dealers than i've seen for city college of san francisco. (applause) what's taking place -- what has been taking place, any time you can kill an educational institution in the city and county of san francisco, people should be ashamed of themselves that we've even gotten to this pipet. there is a certain public official who is not here and hasn't been here. ~ point he was elected the mayor of the city and county of san francisco. his voice, he's missing in

action. (applause) when i was in the marine corps, he would have been court martialed and tossed. i want that to be very clear. i know exactly what i'm saying. i fought in the '60s in a lot of different ways at san francisco state, and i fought some of this stuff was over with, but here we are again and what we're fighting for is public education. the right to have access to public education for earn. everyone. thank you. ~ >> thank you. next speaker. [cheering and applauding] my name is ann clark. i'm a san francisco resident and a proud graduate of ccsf. i want to thank you for your resolution and thank you for the wonderful staff whom i've met. they are really terrific people and i want you to know that. this is what we are about and this is who we are. we are fighting for our city

and for our education. everyone in this room and everyone on the board of supervisors believes in equal opportunity, equal access, and equal education. that is who we are. we are san francisco strong. we are san francisco strong for equal education, equal opportunities, equal access, and equal civil rights. we are strong. 800,000 residents, voters, students, and immigrants, faculty, staff, department chairs, we are san francisco strong. our businesses, communities, neighborhoods and our city college neighborhood campuses and programs, we are san francisco strong. and we are against inequality in education, opportunity, access, and limits that political groups outside of san francisco are demanding and trying to force on us. we are san francisco strong and we are against inequality. we are san francisco strong for

our city and neighborhoods. we are san francisco strong for city college of san francisco and our students in all our neighborhoods now and in the future. today you heard heroic stories and it's very important that you heard them. and for us [speaker not understood], that we are san francisco strong and we are going to win. thank you. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon, supervisors. i'm bill shields. i'm a teacher at city college. i'm the chair of the community space department, also aft 21 21 and the chairperson's council. a history class along with other history classes, we teach there should be no taxation without representation. (applause) the voters passed measure a and we believe the voters elected representatives to oversee how that money is being spent. so, i'm very much in favor of the resolution. one specific thing. our department has been

involved in with many others building city academy which is helping many young people of color get into the building trades and we've been working with trustee chris jackson and folks in the neighborhood. i'm replicating that model with culinary hospitality training program that will bring young folks into the neighborhood into the culinary and hospitality industry. we can't do that without a community trustee who speaks of and for that community. mr. ar dwell a doesn't know that community. we need our elected board back. thank you so much. >> thank you, mr. [speaker not understood]. (applause) >> i have three more names. martin [speaker not understood]. tomasita [speaker not understood]. and alisa messer. my name is martin trinidad lopez [speaker not understood] and i served four tours of duty in iraqi freedom as a sergeant in the united states army.

as a math major -- (applause) and elected student ar and chicano resident, it is a shame our noncredit educational and cultural programs are in danger of facing reductions that will result in decline of opportunities and enlightenment to our collective multi-cultural awareness and development. most importantly, i am also astounded at the continued existence of unchecked power of bob ar dwell a. (applause) the power to raise nonresident admission and [speaker not understood] board approved measures such as the performing arts measure, reckless implementation that pushes out students unfairly. this is a contradiction to the principle of accountability. if one fails at their task [speaker not understood]. this is not logic or reason. this is not just justice and most importantly this is not the voice of the people. (applause) there is a people outrage that built the legal action

that called the acc sanctions into question and the court started with the people to save the college, not ar gel a. it was an honor to open the door ~ with my fellow students in order to peacefully occupy common hall and voice our demands. our concerns and objections were not welcome and instead seen as a threat, a threat that warrants the apparent excessive presence of police and flagrant disregard for student safety in order to suppress that threat. after the police brutality on otto pipinger, i was compelled to personally ensure that not a single one of my comrades would fall victim to student abuse. [cheering and applauding] and in conclusion, i took an oath to defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. i am appalled to find [speaker not understood]. this betrayal is unconscionable and should not be tolerated by this body [speaker not understood]. >> thank you. [speaker not understood]. thank you. [cheering and applauding]

>> thank you. next speaker, please. i am deeply awed by everyone especially the previous speaker. you have my utmost respect. one hesitate to come up here because what more point can be made. i think we all know what's happening. a few years ago this agenda from the right wing privatizers started to be put into effect by the [speaker not understood] demanded that the trustees change the mission statement which up until this time has always been that there will be lifelong learning for everybody in san francisco [speaker not understood]. and city college, i can stand here representing the hundreds of thousands of san franciscans who have greatly benefited whose life has been made i measurably better because of what we learned at city college. that agenda has relentlessly -- we've been progressing trying to take away the [speaker not

understood] in city college of san francisco values of including everybody and giving people a chance to come back when they finish their work, one aspect of their work life and when they're retired come back, they always wanted to learn. all the things about them in city college, this accjc and the little crowd, they've just been progressing along trying to destroy and take it away from us. i would urge every member of the board of supervisors who is here, those who are watching, those who will vote on this. it will be unconscionable if all of you, [speaker not understood] if this is not a unanimous vote in support of this resolution. i'd like to read a statement from the chairman of music department. she said and asked me to read this. please. in this letter she said, the student [speaker not understood] at ccsf is a very talented music student who has along with many other students been trying to convince the current administration to reverse its decision to not

finish building the voter approved and funded ccsf performing arts education center. he is a respected and responsible student leader of the save the arts coalition which has been meeting regularly for many months. until recently he has also spent many months on crutches recovering from a serious leg injury. i am appalled that such an outstanding student has been injured and according to eye witnesses for no reason. i have been a faculty member at city college for almost 50 years. this is the first time that i'm ashamed of the institution. you don't hurt your students. if monsters, what's next, ken state? tee enenman sward? that was from madelein chair of the music department. (applause) >> thank you. >> thank you, thank you very much. [speaker not understood] aft 21 21, supervisors, thank you so much for holding this hearing. thank you for standing with city college. thank you for standing. thank you for standing with the

students and the faculty and the staff and community and [speaker not understood]. [cheering and applauding] there is little that i can add to this. folks know that i usually have something to say. but i think so much has been said today. it is so important. what i will say is that this resolution, as important as it is, is one step in getting back city college of san francisco and we have many more steps to take. what is very, very important is that the administration -- is that chancellor brice harris up in sacramento, is that everyone understand that the steps to saving city college of san francisco are not about shutting out you or the people in this room or the elected board of trustees. they can't have a city college of san francisco without all of us in the picture, without all of us contributing. (applause) so what this college is for this city. city college of san francisco belongs to san francisco. they can't do it would you tell

us. and they're trying to right now. so, many people don't realize that the board of trustees have been told that they cannot meet, that in other cases where there is a special trustee, every case that we know he about, in fact, there are still bubble board meetings ~, but they didn't want to hear the folk in this room. they didn't want to hear the folks at the board meeting and they definitely didn't want to hear our board of trustees. and, so, instead what we have are meetings where special trustee with extraordinary powers, robert ar dwell a, he has a meeting in his head every month. he takes public comment via e-mail. he he doesn't hear from us. we don't know if he reads the e-mails. he he tells us he does. this is not acceptable when students and faculty go to bring public comment they get locked out of the administration building. that happened last month and then of course we know about what happened yesterday. so, this is not acceptable situation for our college. it's not an acceptable situation for our city and we really appreciate that in the

absence of the board, duly elected board of trustees ability to take next steps and take ownership of our college with us and with all of san francisco that you have stepped up into this fray to tell sacramento that this is a college that belongs to all of us. thank you. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. hi, mime name is larry edmonds. you have heard a lot. i went to city college in '97. in '97 i was going to city college, i learned [speaker not understood] who built america. i learned about am i angela alioto, san francisco history. i learned about mr. white head, about black economics. san francisco was supposed to have been a prison in 1935.

remember that mayor [speaker not understood] to mayor lee, he did not want people to go to city college. so, you got to look at the history. and what are you dealing with here? you're dealing with people's lives, you know. city college, before i ran for mayor, it was a lady, [speaker not understood], she told me to run. i got those votes because i was a city college student. i was there to get eight votes in '99. then i would go home to become a [speaker not understood] in 2000. i got 1300 votes to be a associate student. you are taking away the lives of many people either build new jails or prisons or education, improve yourself. those are the final choices. and just like i was listening to mr. steve wharf on the radio economics, america has 496 billionaires. europe has 43 2. china has 35 2, but china is growing. you've got to understand this

is about money. that college should have dormitories. [speaker not understood] sfo and teach there. that campus belongs to us all. instead of building jails and prisons, the options are coming. you can't evict the college, you can evict the people. [speaker not understood] and it is the 1% who is doing all of these things to ruin our great nation. thank you very much. [speaker not understood] what you say, all the way [speaker not understood]. the truth shall set you free. i was the first cheer leader before they had cheer leader tryouts. [cheering and applauding] and you know what? we're here, we're queer, we're not going nowhere. defense, man! >> thank you. [cheering and applauding] >> i want to thank everyone who has come to city hall and spoken. i do want to ask if there is any member of the public who has not spoken