December 2009 Archives

Santas with hula skirts, Russian hats and Macarena moves invaded the East Bay Dance Center December 6 for a new twist on family holiday fun: all Santas featured tapped danced.

Debbie Sternbach, who has been teaching tap for over two decades, is the founder of Bay Area Rhythm Tappers (B.A.R.T.). Four years ago the idea was born to produce a holiday show that featured her dancers that would travel to children's hospitals and senior centers, but the Santa factor hadn't appeared just yet. Year after year the event grew from just two numbers in the performance to a full-blown recital that now features six Santas, a singer, and a dancing rabbi.

"This is our first year we decided to put on a full, one-hour show and invite the community," said Sternbach backstage after the nearly-sold out performance ended. "People from different countries are members of the cast, so including different Santas from different cultures as well as other faiths was a natural path."

Woodrow Thompson, who sang "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" and "Winter Wonderland" to the audience while the Santas changed accessories, said that he was very proud of the event the group planned and ran.

"That's what happened to me when I was 11. I had wonderful mentors and they mentored to me well, so I want to give back to the community by mentoring for other folks," said Thompson.

Backstage, the various Santas - all members of Sternbach's dance classes - prepped an hour before the show in warm sun. Laying out the costumes took around15 minutes, but extra time was allotted for facial hair application, lacing of shoes with long add-ons for "boots," and for the stuffing of a belly.

"[The costumes] come from Santa. And some from the Internet," joked Santa Marci Rubin in between adjusting her hat.

Children sat on mats in the front of the audience while their parents looked on to dances that included a Russian Santa, a Hawaiian Santa, a Santa who can-canned his way through the audience, and a Mexican Santa, complete with a sombrero and red chili peppers affixed to his beard.

Kevin Campbell, who heard about the event on NPR's popular show "To Do" list as the 'Cheap Thrill of the Week,' brought his family all the way from Fremont to witness the Santa show. "The beginning when all the tap dancing Santas first came out, that was my favorite."

Funds raised from the event are going back into the pot for next year's planned performance, which Sternbach is already considering.

"Next year, again, right guys?" she asked to a cast of sweaty Santas changing to go home. Yells of confirmation followed suit.

The San Francisco Police Department and the SF State Department of Public Safety ended the student occupation of the Business building early Dec. 10 by entering through a ground-floor window, according to Capt. Gary Jimenez of SFPD.

At 3:25 a.m. more than 20 police in riot gear surrounded the Business building at SF State while officers inside began detaining 14 occupants, who broke in and barricaded the building almost 24 hours prior. University Spokesperson Ellen Griffin said the occupants forced their way past a custodial worker entering the building for work at approximately 4:15 a.m. the previous morning.

"The university decided that those people occupying the building were to be removed. The campus police were ordered to enter the building," Jimenez said.
Protesters blocking the North entrance were asked to leave. Those who refused were arrested, according to Jimenez.

Remaining protesters moved to 19th Avenue's North and Southbound lanes. The students and other protesters blocked all traffic on 19th Avenue near Holloway Avenue as police created a roadblock near Stonestown Galleria.

"The San Francisco Police Department had nothing to do with the arrests for the violations of being on the property or blocking the entrances," Jimenez said. It's up to University police to file charges against the arrested students, he said.

Occupants were arrested within the building at 3:35 a.m.
Beginning at 3:55 a.m., 11 people blocking the entrances to the building were arrested for refusing to leave. Police officials have confirmed the arrest of 30 people total.
Five protesters were arrested for blocking the police vans as the occupants were being loaded in.

"I think they're stoked to have been in there for 24 hours," 19-year-old cinema major Demian Bererra said. "And I think they're stoked that we are all still here."
According to Jimenez, all 30 arrestees have been cited with misdemeanors and released, including those occupying the building. The possibility of expulsion is left up to University administration.

Around 5:30 p.m. the General Assembly originally scheduled at Malcolm X Plaza took place once at each of the four entrances to the Business building. California Faculty Association members Phil Klasky and Sheila Tully discussed with protesters plans for the March 4 Strike and Day of Action and ways to better organize and prepare for police action.

The police intervention, ordered by President Robert Corrigan, came at the end of a nearly-24-hour student occupation and demonstration that showed onlookers many different looks for the Business building throughout the night, including a dance party and a small campout complete with blankets, sleeping bags and a crock pot full of vegan food.

According to Keri-Ann Oddman, an SF State student and one of the protesters involved in securing the doors to the building, the dance music exploding from the South entrance from around 8:30 p.m. until roughly 2 a.m. kept police from intervening as soon as they might have.

"They knew the cops were waiting for the numbers to die down a little," Oddman said. "I kept saying 'keep it going, keep it going. If anything, it's protecting us.'"
Oddman said the sound system was provided by students from Santa Cruz, who had heard about the situation on the news and decided to supply the beats to "lighten the mood and bring more people out."

"It went from just a few of us to tons of us in an instant," she said.
In contrast, the North entrance looked more like a sleepover and was blocked by a sizeable pile of blankets and sleeping bags filled with shivering human bodies.
"We pretty much spent our time just trying to keep warm," 20-year-old political science major Tayler Mehit said.

Mehit, a member of Students, Faculty and Staff United, was among the first to be arrested that morning. She said she spent much of the night sharing her experiences with first-time protesters and teaching them ways to fight back.

"I've never felt more connected and more solidarity on campus than I did that night," she said.

Classes in the Business building resumed Dec. 10, as the classrooms were cleaned up and readied for student use. Occupants barricaded all four doors with eight-feet-high piles of desks that were zip-tied to each other and the handrails. This method forced University police to make their first entry through the window.

"It's definitely a good show," protester and 22-year-old art major Andrew Cardoza said. "We're discontent with the budget cuts. Insofar as we know, this is the best we could have done."

The humid air gives no relief to Rachel Hipolite as she hauls large panels of plywood from the back yard of her home in Palm Coast, Fla., to the front drive way. After laying out all 14 panels, she and her housemate Jon Resnick begin dolloping white primer to each surface, stopping occasionally to wipe off small beads of sweat around their temples.

"When we're done, these will be the roof in the captain's bridge," Hipolite says between brush strokes. She's referring to "The Southern Wind," a 76-foot sailboat that will be home to her and 10 other people for a 12 month journey along the coast of Central America and the Pacific Islands.

Hipolite is one of six SF State students and alumni that make up this crew known as the Floating Doctors. After setting sail, the crew will spend approximately two weeks in ports along their route. Under the direction of Dr. Ben LaBrot, they will set up a free health clinic to provide care for the residents in the area as well as teach preventive health education before packing up and moving to the next destination. Until then, the Floating Doctors are working together to prepare for their trip.

When assembling the crew, Floating Doctors Vice President and SF State graduate Ryan McCormick didn't have to look too far to find people he trusted. Most of the crew are fellow classmates and other acquaintances he met while studying. In addition to Hipolite, Resnick and McCormick, other SF State crew members include Graham Litchman, Jamie Thrower and Michelle Stauffer. And as the crew multiplied, the living space shrank.

"We first lived in a hotel a couple of blocks from where our boat was docked," McCormick recalls. "We've moved closer and closer to the boat as time went on." Now, they live in a four bedroom house where "The Southern Wind" is anchored in the canal system directly outside their backyard--making work an easy commute.

But that's about the only thing that is easy about the work. The crew practically gutted "The Southern Wind" to accommodate everyone for the journey. The ship's interior had to be reconstructed to fit 20 bunks and still have space for the medical supplies they would transport from port to port. And being a non-profit means that each crew member contributes to the boat's reconstruction.

Michelle Stauffer, a cellular and molecular biology major at SF State, works with two others on rewiring the ship's electrical system. After they set sail, Stauffer will oversee nutritional health as well alternative medicines. Until then, she is enjoying getting to know her fellow crew members.

"We do everything together," she says. "We eat together. We work together. We have fun together. We live together. It's just so rewarding when you get to be surrounded by people who share your common passions."

Although Stauffer put her degree on hold to be able to join Floating Doctors, she is not the only one. Jamie Thrower is also currently enrolled at SF State, but decided to take some time off and set sail. Other than serve as Director of Public Health, Thrower will gather data for a World Health Survey from patients they encounter on their travels.

While Stauffer and Thrower realize the risk they took by deciding to delay the end of their college careers, they both have no regrets about their decision. "The things that I am going to be learning out with the crew are just as valuable to me and my career as getting my degree," Thrower says. "This experience will benefit me in the long run, even if it means an extra semester later."

Graham Litchman also notes that this kind of philanthropy can help defer payments of student loans. Litchman, the Clinical Director of the crew, is one class shy of his degree at SF State. But like his mates, he knows his experience with Floating Doctors will be unlike any other he could get in a classroom. "After class is over, you leave," he says. "Here, we live together and we have to learn to take things in stride sometimes."

Over all, the crew seem to have a good time with each other, which is important considering the hardships they will encounter in the near future. But they are confident they will be able to overcome any problems. "We're all a cohesive unit," Hipolite says about her shipmates. "We're a family, and I enjoy it."

Below is a map of the countries the crew will be visiting.

Business as usual was not fully restored to campus Dec. 10, with SF State students finding difficulty entering another campus structure. This time, however, it was the Administration building.

Security guards stood at each entrance to the Administration building, next to signs directing students looking for advising appointments to go to the Cesar Chavez Student Center or the One Stop office. The appointments were available until 3 p.m.

"The added security was present because of tensions on campus associated with the building occupancy earlier this week," University Spokesperson Ellen Griffin said. "As necessary, security measures will be adjusted."

Guards checked picture IDs of people entering the building. Guards escorted students to their destinations if they were approved to enter, saying it was "policy" and "on orders," but not wanting to comment any further.

The added security was a result of the events of Dec. 9, in which students occupied the Business building, which was taken back by University police and the San Francisco Police Department early morning Dec. 10. The occupation was largely in protest of tuition increases and drew passing students to join in the demonstration.

"There were so many people, it was crazy," Anastasia Gomes, 25, women and gender studies, said. "I've been organizing against the cuts for a year now, and this is the most people I've seen. There were a lot of people for whom it was their first protest and they were so inspired."

Other students, however, were angry because they were not able to get into their classes and had to be directed to other locations to turn in papers or take their finals. Gomes considered the blocked entry to the Administration building to be disruptive in the same way that the protest was.

"They're disrupting stuff, but they blame it on us," Gomes said.

The San Francisco Police Department and the SF State Department of Public Safety ended the student occupation of the Business building early Dec. 10 by entering through a ground-floor window, according to Capt. Gary Jimenez of SFPD.

"It's definitely a good show," protester and 22-year-old art major Andrew Cardoza said. "We're discontent with the budget cuts. Insofar as we know, this is the best we could have done."

The San Francisco Police Department and the SF State Department of Public Safety ended the student occupation of the Business building early this morning by entering through a ground-floor window, according to Capt. Gary Jimenez of SFPD.

At 3:25 a.m. more than 20 police in riot gear surrounded the Business building at SF State while officers inside began detaining 12 occupants, who broke in and barricaded the building almost 24 hours prior.

Protesters blocking the North entrance were asked to leave. Those who refused were arrested.

At 3:35 a.m. the occupants were arrested within the building.

The students and other protesters outside the building who moved to 19th Avenue were blocking all traffic on 19th Avenue, near Holloway as police created a roadblock near the Stonestown Galleria.

The police began taking away and arresting protesters in front of the building at 3:55 a.m.

At least 12 occupants were removed from within the building and 11 people outside the building were arrested.

As of 4:30 a.m., 16 people have been confirmed arrested by police officials.

Five protesters were arrested that were blocking the police vans as occupants were being loaded in.

Read the full story

Contributed to by Krystal Peak

Muni services have resume for Thursday morning's commute after overhead wires were down at the Van Ness Station in the inbound direction Wednesday evening, according to a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency official.

The repairs to the overhead wires were complete overnight, said Judson True, SFMTA spokesperson.

The SFMTA is currently investigating the incident.

A general assembly meeting was held by activists from a coalition of groups entitled Students, Faculty and Staff United Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m., outside of all the entrances of the Business building. The message of all speakers was clear--maintain organization and unity.

The Business building was barricaded Dec. 9 by students on the inside and outside. Reasons for the barricade were anger towards budget cuts, furlough days, tuition increases and pay cuts for faculty and staff.

The main points discussed in the general assembly meeting were to talk about being organized and "be more clear with what we want," said many of the participants in the discussion. Members of different organizations were present and hoped to come together as a general assembly. Student organizers from UC Berkeley, USF and City College were participants in the meeting.

"I really support our efforts, but I have some concerns," professor in the American Indian Studies department Phil Klasky said. "I thought we were going to a general assembly meeting but students did different things. We need to have folks prepared to talk to the media and organize better."

Another concern of the faculty at the meeting was the students targeting President Corrigan. Several "wanted" flyers were passed around the school with Corrigan's picture on them.

"We're targeting Corrigan. Do we really need to be targeting him?" Klasky said. "It's the governor and the CSU Chancellor and the Board of Trustees. We must all come together in unity and be on the same page."

Lecturers were open to talking about how they felt about the protests today and the others going on around the country.

"We have taken a tremendous hit as lecturers. I am the last lecturer of Anthropology in the Spring," Vice President of the California Faculty Association executive board Sheila Tully said. "We're the only lecturers in the country who have health benefits because of the CFA. Lecturers are vulnerable."

A representative of the Business building occupants came out toward the end of the meeting and told of imminent police action.

Members of protests long past came to show their support.

"I'm part of the struggle every since 1968," said "Diamond" Dave Whitaker, 72, City College student. "I came in with the community in 1968. A lot of the protest took place in the grass."

Another meeting is planned for the week of Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m. in Malcolm X Plaza. There was also a lot of talk about the upcoming March 4th meeting--a call for statewide action. A mass organized shut down of the University is planned to stand against the entire budget crisis. More information can be found at www.socialistworker.org, www.isreview.org, and www.norcalsocialism.org.

At 3:30 p.m., protesters and sympathizers outside the Business building sent up supplies to the students barricaded inside.

According to 19-year-old Ignacio P., a protester who declined to give his last name, students inside the building were supplied with blankets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, tea, toothbrushes, toothpaste and phone chargers. The supplies were lifted to waiting occupiers via a rope and paint bucket.

"They're going to need more essentials, more food, if they plan on staying tonight," Ignacio P. said.

According to Ignacio P., the sweats were supplied because of rumors that the heating system in the Business building had been shut off.

Mario Diaz, a custodial worker at SF State, announced to the crowd around 1:30 p.m. that the heat was being shut down.

At present, university communications can neither confirm nor deny the status of the heater system in the Business building.

Shortly after the resupply effort, three protesters appeared on the building's roof with a list of demands. The 31 demands, which the group posted on their blog, require no disciplinary action be taken against the occupiers, that the process of the cuts being made to different departments' budgets be made public and transparent and "that the university system be run by the students, faculty and staff. Not administrators."

Read here for this morning's story.

This morning's student protest and occupation of the Business building has resulted in a campus-wide disturbance that has led to class cancellations and angry students.

Classes in the Business building have been officially cancelled and students are being redirected to the Seven Hills Conference building to meet with their instructors, according to University officials.

"We're focusing on trying to serve the students and professors," said Nancy Hayes, the dean of the College of Business.

"This is the most busy building on campus. There's a computer lab with 110 computers in it that students have been using to prep and study for finals and presentations, but now they don't have access to the computers," Hayes said.

According to SF State spokeswoman Ellen Griffin, students have not contacted the administration yet and University officials are "hoping to open a dialogue with the students soon."

Griffin added that the safety and welfare of the 3,200 students who were displaced due to the building closure are the school's priority right now.

"We are confident that the campus is safe right now," Griffin said.

Some of the protesters claim they gained access to the building around 4 a.m., but according to the spokeswoman of the group, Kate, who declined to give her last name, the protesters arrived at 5 a.m.

The takeover is an effort to fight the budget cuts currently affecting the California State University education system.

According to Kate, the Business building was the one chosen for occupation for symbolic reasons. She said there have been unequal cuts on campus, with the College of Ethnic Studies, the department of women and gender studies, and arts and humanities majors in general being affected the most. She said these programs are suffering more because they are not considered profitable in this capitalist society.

"Taking back the building is saying this is our space and there needs to be more budget justice for students," Kate said. "As much as I feel sorry for people inconvenienced, we need to show this thing needs to be interrupted. Doing it during registration time is in solidarity with people who can't get the classes they need."

Sebastian, who also declined to give his last name, said this intervention has been planned for two weeks.

"We took furniture from classrooms and basically anything we can put our hands on," said Sebastian, who hopes the protest will last all day.

Protesters have also chained and locked the doors in the four entrances to the building.

Other students are struggling with the timing of the protest, which comes a week before finals.

"I think it's a ridiculous waste of time," said Tori D., external vice chair of SF State's Republican Club. She declined to give her last name. "They're destroying our education. My friend can't take his final. They should take the fight to Sacramento."

Tori D. held a sign saying, "Bad Protest! Be mad at Sacramento not SFSU."

"This is the wrong way to get attention," she said. "This is a negative action that makes them look like hooligans."

For the latest information, check out Protesters get supplies, make demands

Before sunlight struck the SF State campus, a large group of students gained access to the Business building in an effort to fight the budget cuts in the California State University.

With stacks of jumbled chairs blocking each of the four entrances and thick locks wrapped around the door handles, the group of students chanted, blared music, screamed through bullhorns and pleaded for students that walked by to stop and "join in."

"We have been organizing this for a while, strategizing to make a stand against the budget cuts," said Kate [she refused to disclose her last name], 23, the protester's media spokesperson and SF State student .

According to protesters, no police action has been taken against them at this point.

SF State spokesperson Ellen Griffin said the students have not contacted the administrations yet and are "hoping to open a dialogue with the students soon."

"This is an indefinite occupation, " said Kate. "We are not leaving until demands are met or we are forcefully expelled."

Phillip Fabian, the vice president of external affairs for Associated Students, Inc. , was seen walking by the demonstration but stated that he had "no comment."

As 9 a.m. approached, dozens of students started building up in the walkway adjacent to the Business building, which is the near the main entrance to the school from the Muni line and 19th Avenue. Business students started to discuss being late for their classes.

"I understand what their cause is," said business major Andrew Pondoc. "Everyone is affected by these cuts but we have class presentations today in about 13 minutes and many have worked hard on them."

The 23-year-old has had difficulty this semester with his schedule because of budget cuts and fewer marketing classes being offered, but he still had mixed feelings about the building takeover.

It is unclear how the students gained access to the building at this time but it is estimated that nearly 20 students are barricaded inside the structure.

Stay tuned with [X]press for more updates. The protesters also set up a blog stating their hope to keep the university's tradition of rallies alive.

For more information on San Francisco State and other campus protests against budgets visit these previous Xpress Stories:

Protesters 'sit-in' against budget cuts
Organizations join forces to protest on City Hall
Students rally in artistic way over budget cuts

In the roundabout on Font and Tapia streets, adjacent to SF State, a red Cadillac struck a man on a bicycle causing the bicyclist minor injuries at approximately 9:30 a.m., according to witnesses on the scene.

Driver Rieko Aceret, a Park Merced resident, was going through the roundabout after dropping her son off at school and struck geography major Kom Siksamat while he was riding to class.

An ambulance and police arrived at the scene but deferred all comment to the spokesperson for the police, Ellen Griffin.

Griffin has no details at this time.

Siksamat, was treated by the ambulance attendants and had his hands wrapped but eventually left the scene because he needed to go to class.

Reported by Thomas Levinson

A student action group expressed their dissatisfaction with the cuts in funding to California's public higher education Dec. 8 by holding an impromptu dance party in Malcolm X Plaza.

Students, Faculty and Staff United, a unity of campus groups such as Students for Unity and Power and the International Socialist Organization, attempted to make students aware of how the cuts are affecting them through music and art.

"This is about empowering the students to do something," said 20-year-old Africana studies major and SFSUnited member Jasmine LeBlanc. "The University belongs to the faculty and the students, and its time for them to take it back."

As usual though, SFSUnited and the student groups it comprises struggled with the ever-present difficulty of drawing a crowd to hear their message.

"I'd love to see more people here," said SFSUnited member Ian Flanery.

The 23-year-old sociology major said that he feels that the direness of the situation on SF State's campus and across the state has caused students to develop a very serious and discouraging apathy toward the cuts in funding.

"Maybe students are demoralized, beaten down by the cuts, but nobody's doing anything to stop them," Flanery said. "They're just looking out for number one and just trying to graduate."

After roughly 30 minutes of drums and chanting, an SFSUnited member joined the group by pushing a shopping cart outfitted with a set of speakers and a laptop powered by a car battery. The arrival of this rolling, bumping set of wheels to Malcolm X Plaza sparked interest and energy in the group as they began moving throughout campus, however few students joined in the march.

"I don't even know what they're doing," said 20-year-old economics major Matt Link. "They need to make it more clear about what they're trying to accomplish."

Link was eating in the Cesar Chavez Student Center when SFSUnited members danced through led by their bumping shopping cart belting out Public Enemy and screaming, "F*** the cuts."

"Their heart's in the right place, but to me it just looks like they're blasting music," he said.

The procession continued through campus to the Humanities building and returned to Malcolm X Plaza for more drumming and the public smashing of a piñata bearing the likeness of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

SFSUnited member Krystale Triggs, a 24-year-old anthropology major, said she hopes to continue raising awareness on campus and to use what she's learned this semester to continue organizing in the spring.

"This is just the beginning. We're going to start stronger with next semester," Triggs said.

SF State's museum studies program is closing its final exhibit for at least a year due to lack of funding from the University. The program's museum, which ideally would run two exhibits a semester, is part of a learning experience for museum studies graduate students and a free resource for elementary schools in San Francisco and San Mateo counties that cannot afford to visit museums which charge entrance fees.

"We use those exhibits as primary content," Christine Fogarty, full-time staff member for the museum studies program said. "So, next semester we have to look off-campus for practical projects, which means more work, if you think about all the man-hours looking
for alternative assignments. We're a small program so any cut really does kill us."

The museum, located in room 510 of the Humanities building, has not been given an operations budget from the University since the 1970s, according to Linda Ellis, director of the museum studies program. The only money allocated by the University to the program is faculty salary, and there are currently only two professors in the entire program.

"It's depressing how bureaucracies can withhold resources for their survival and then starve everyone else below them -- because we have so many administrators making a lot of money and each one has a support staff," Ellis said. "This is not a corporation. It's a university."

The Instructionally Related Activities Fund, which comes from student fees, paid for the current exhibit, "The Lost Cities of North Africa," which cost $4,500. The only other source of income, besides fundraising through gift shop sales from the museum, is a percentage of the interest collected from a donation that was left to the University, called the Kaufman fund.

According to Fogarty, the majority of the last Kaufman fund deposit was spent on paying a part-time employee who provided necessary help. The program has to wait at least a year for another deposit from the Kaufman fund while the fund collects interest again.

"We try to spend the absolute minimum," Ellis said. "We make a dollar stretch very far."

The loss of exhibits for at least a year isn't the only repercussion from lack of financial support. The loss of a lecturer this year left the department with only two professors. Lack of faculty resulted in two graduate courses being combined. And improper climate control equipment has resulted in mold growth on one of the exhibit's mummies, which is one of three of its kind in the United States.

"The mummies have been in less than ideal temperature and humidity," said Ellis, the curator for the current exhibition. "We can't afford to let these priceless treasures deteriorate."

According to Ellis, building specifications for the museum were given to the construction company when the Humanities building was being built. Those specifications were ignored and that has resulted in the intrusion of humidity and insects. As a result, Ellis keeps the air vents blocked off, weather-strips the doors and keeps dehumidifiers, which attach to a hose that dumps the excess moisture in a trash can -- which must be emptied daily. Ellis visits the museum on weekends and holidays to handle this task.

With the original climate control system, the museum maintained 65 percent humidity. Now the humidity is kept below 50 percent.

"It's a rigged-up system," Ellis said. "It works -- but it shouldn't be that way -- only because it means I have to come here seven days a week."

Ellis says protecting the collection will take precedence over anything else when it comes to handling future funds. Ideally, she wants to get six special cases for the mummies that would keep out all the oxygen that deteriorates them in the first place. The total costs for all these cases would be around $25,000.

In the meantime, not only will the roughly 70 students of the master's program suffer without an exhibit but so will beneficiaries of their Outreach Program -- which provides educational materials and a free visit to a museum for elementary school children representing underserved members of the San Francisco and San Mateo public school system.

"This is a multifaceted program that teaches us how to create an exhibit and in turn we provide a service to schools," said Cynthia Drennan, a 29-year-old museum studies graduate student. "It's an invaluable experience for public schools."

At approximately 12:25 p.m. Dec. 7, a fire caused by a space heater broke out at 111 Grijalva Dr. in The Villas Parkmerced causing no injuries, according to San Francisco Fire Department officials.

The house, occupied by a retired woman, had no extensive damage, and the fire didn't spread to any neighboring houses.

The fire is still under investigation, said SFFD Chief Bryan Rubenstein.

Brett Evart, SFFD's Incident Support Specialist, said papers and clothes located nearby the space heater caught on fire and caused a large amount of smoke to exit the building, causing a nearby neighbor to call.

"So far no one is injured, and the fire was confined to the area," Rubenstein said.

The fire was extinguished before it burned the house and other nearby apartments.

"The fire could have been something if the neighbor hadn't noticed it," Evart said.

Parkmerced Maintenance Manager Jordan Field arrived quickly after the fire was reported, but the fire had already been put out and the clean-up process had already begun.

"By the time I rolled up, this was a done deal," said Field. "Everything is safe and secure for [the woman]."

When word of the fire spread, neighbors, including Morgan Lamb, 26, were relieved to come home and find nothing serious was done.

"I guess the smoke was billowing pretty bad," said Lamb. "I ran home from school."

The extent of property damage remains undetermined, according to both Parkmerced and SFFD officials.

With their pockets low on cash, many college students are finding it difficult to afford a night on the town. And so, some are deciding to make their own fun--with homemade beer.

"It's so much cheaper than anything else," SF State student and home brewer Russ Horvath said.

Every two to three weeks, Horvath and his housemates brew a large batch of beer. And they're not alone. Home brewing culture has been slowly growing all over the bay area. Stores like San Francisco Brewcraft on Clement Street, assists the individual brewer by offering classes and equipment, whereas Brewmaster in San Leandro caters to the more experienced brewers who sell their product restaurants and bars.

Brewmaster employee and fellow brewer Mike McCullough notices that there has been a significant rise in the interest in homemade beer among college students. Although Brewmaster itself supplies large shipments of brewing equipment to places like San Francisco Brewcraft, curious individuals still come round to get information on how to make their own beer. Sometimes, the Brewmaster staff have brewing parties behind the shop, where they drink the beer they made weeks before while cooking another batch.

McCullough himself first got into home brewing when he lived in Texas. As an 18-year-old, McCullough figured if he couldn't legally drink beer, he might as well make it. But not all of his brewing creations turned out as he hoped. Sometimes, McCullough would add too much malt syrup--"the backbone of any good beer" as he calls it--the end result resembling a thick maple syrup rather than an IPA.

But he got the hang of it after a while and eventually went on to teach others how to craft their own special brews. "You can be very creative with your ingredients," McCullough explains. "Around the holidays, you can add honey and cinnamon for a more Christmas feeling. You can make the grains that you steep in the water into beer-flavored cookies. There's no end to the possibilities."

He even recalls one man who mixes red wine in with his beer, naming it a "Red and White." Now, McCullough studies poetry at SF State, and brews in his spare time.

As home brewing's popularity grows, there are many resources to assist the novice brewer. Several blogs and websites devote their entire content to the steps of creating a nice Pale Ale or a Bavarian Wheat. Every Monday night, Brewcraft hosts a workshop where people can come to learn the skills. But classes can be difficult since brews require several weeks to ferment before they can be bottled.

However, beer making can contribute to one's intellect as well as one's intoxication level. Horvath originally got into home brewing to learn the science behind the process. And McCullough admits his knowledge of physics has grown dramatically since he began brewing.

Most of all, brewing seems to be a good answer to the need for lost-cost fun. "We brew in short bursts," Horvath said, "but it's always nice to do with friends."

Here are some recipes, courtesy of Brewmaster. For more a demonstration on how to make your own beer, see accompanying video.

Sierra Nevada Pale Clone
Materials:
1 lb. Crystal 20l
1/2 lb. Carapils
Both of these materials must steep for 30 minutes.
6 lbs. Light dried malt extract
1/2 oz. Perle hops - boils for 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Magnum hops -boils for 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Cascade hops - boils for 15 minutes
1/2 oz. Cascade hops - dry hopped
Ale Yeast
3/4 cup of corn sugar at bottling
Bavarian Wheat
Materials
6 lbs. dried wheat extract (60 percent wheat - 40 percent barley)
1/2 lb. Crystal malt - 10L
1 lb. Carapils/Dextrin Malt
Both of these items are steeped for 30 minutes
4 oz. wheat flakes - added for the last 10 minutes of boil
3/4 oz. Tettnang hops - boil for 60 minutes
3/4 oz. Tettnang hops - boil for 25 minutes
1/2 oz. Tettnang hops
Yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar at bottling
Rich Red Ale
Materials:
1 lb. Crystal- 40 L
1 lb. British Crystal - 90L
1/8 lb. Chocolate Malt
Each of these materials is steeped for 30 minutes.
6. lbs. light malt syrup
1 1/2 lbs light dried malt extract
1 oz. Northern Brewer Hops - 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Cascade Hops - 30 minutes
1 oz. Cascade Hops
Ale Yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar at bottling
Steam Beer
7 lbs. pale malt syrup
1 lb. Crystal - 40L
The Crystal should steep for 30 minutes
3/4 oz. Northern Hops - boil for 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Northern Hops - boil for 30 minutes
3/4 oz. Northern Hops 0- boil for 15 minutes
Lager Yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar at bottling
Instructions:
1. Add three to five gallons of cold water to a large pot and turn heat on high.
2. If using flavoring grains, add grains in a filter bag with cold water.
3. When water comes to a boil, remove flavoring grains (if used), turn off heat and add malt extract and stir until dissolved.
4. Turn heat back on and return to a boil.
5. Add the first addition of hops and start brew timer for 60 minutes.
6. Add other hop additions according to hops schedule above.
7. After boiling for 60 minutes, remove from heat and cool.
8. transfer wort to fermenter, and if necessary, top off with water to equal five gallons.
9. Add yeast when temperature is below 80 degrees. Attach airlock and ferment.
10. After two to three weeks the beer is ready to bottle.
Transfer the beer to a bottling bucket, add the priming sugar, and bottle.

An audience and performers synchronized in a song in a packed lecture hall in the Humanities and Social Sciences building Friday night; followed by a roar of laughter as one more performer is eliminated from an improvisational comedy game called "Role Call."

The game, where performers are pitched names from the audience and have to find rhymes to go with the names on the spot, is one of the many games that were played at an event held by SF State's Improv Nation, which puts on improvised, interactive, competitive, comedy events.

The first part of the show is comprised of two hours' worth of improvisational games and involves active audience participation. The proceedings from the show go towards funding the club's future events and buying needed materials

"I saw one of their shows and thought it looked like one of the funniest things I've ever seen," said 18 year-old Molly Sanchez, who joined Improv Nation this semester. "I love getting to play around with all these fun people. It's pretty much like playing in the cool kids' sandbox."

Games were selected by having audience members throw a tennis-sized Velcro-covered ball at a Velcro board divided into nine boxes. Each box represents a different game filled with challenges for the performers, which are made up of two teams competing against each other for the sole purpose of entertainment.

One game, "Oxygen deprivation" literally involves just that. As some performers stick their heads in a bucket of water, other performers improvise a scene with the pressure of having to tap out the others and switch places. Those who just got tapped out instantly transform into a character from the scene while their faces and hair are dripping water.

The last two hours of the night were used for two, hour-long improvised scenes called "long form".

"This part is like a full, dragged-out TV show," said audience member freshman Cassie Hawkins. "It's the first time I see this style. They're awesome."

"There's so much spirit at SF State," said audience member 20-year-old Cal State East Bay student Randy Flores. "The people at the door were lively and entertaining and that's what drew me in."

Improv Nation was created by sophomore Travis Northup when he was a freshman. Northup said that the club started out with 20 members and has now grown to 94 members.

"I wanted to do improv comedy and give people who have never done it an opportunity to perform," said Northup, who has taught improvisational comedy for five years.

The club meets every Monday evening where Northup holds workshops, teaching members how to come up with stories on the spot. He has also held workshops on other campuses so students there can form their own teams to compete against the Improv Nation. So far he has initiated the idea at Cal State East Bay, San Jose State University, and UC Davis, which has already successfully established a team.

"We create a series of crazy events just to get attention and it makes this school that much more interesting," said Northup.

The Alliance for Humane Biotechnology, an SF State organization comprised of roughly 20 scholars, students and activists, has experienced a small success in the fight to require disclaimers on egg donor advertisements.

Assembly Bill 1317, approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this past October, requires advertisements seeking female egg donors to include a warning that there are potential risks associated with human egg donation, that the long-term effects have not been determined and to advise consultation with a reproductive care specialist prior to entering into a donor contract.

"We want to see the quality of informed consent improve," said co-founder of AHB and professor of medical sociology at CSU East Bay Diane Beeson. "Nobody has a market incentive in understanding risks to women's health. Who is going to raise these questions?"

Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, advertisements seeking to compensate female egg donors, which can be found posted around college campuses and in school newspapers, will be required to include a warning, as stated in AB 1317.

According to AHB co-founder Tina Stevens, the struggle is not over. AB 1317 contains an exemption that states that those registered with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine do not have to provide a warning on their advertisements. Lobbyists for ASRM say their guidelines are adequate protection for potential egg donors.

"It's important to understand that we're not against in vitro fertilization and stem cell research," Stevens said. "It's not about shutting down the industry. It's about humane and safe biotechnology."

"Where women are under more financial pressure, they're more likely to be seduced by ads that fail to inform them of risk, offers them money and appeals to their altruism," said Beeson, referring to an egg donor advertisement that shows young women with angel wings.

The egg harvesting process begins with ovarian stimulation involving repeated injections of powerful hormones over the course of about four weeks so the woman can produce, on average, one to two dozen eggs, which is more than can be naturally produced. This is followed by a painful extraction of the eggs that requires anesthesia.

The short-term risks for egg harvesting include ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome. Severe OHSS cases include blood clots, kidney failure, and hemorrhaging from ovarian rupture.

"Many women have no clue that their ovaries would be hyperstimulated," said Stevens, who has taught United States history at SF State and is a historian in bioethics and biotechnology. "Before realizing this, you've already spent the money in your head, and during times of economic recession, the case could be made that in some instances the ads could be predatory."

"Students are making decisions, without sufficient information, that may affect their health and well-being -- now but also in the future. We have a well-documented long, ugly history of science and medicine experimenting on the bodies of women, the poor, working class, people of color and other vulnerable groups in the U.S. but also globally," said Sheila Tully, lecturer at SF State of anthropology, labor studies and human sexuality studies.

"Without exception, students' reason for considering this was financial. None of these students had any idea that the harvesting procedure might be dangerous," said Tully of some of her students she engaged in discussion on egg harvesting with.

This fall five SF State students and one faculty member joined forces to produce "Speak Out," a documentary film protesting California State University budget cuts and providing options on how to fight back.

Currently, 1,000 copies of the film have been distributed in an attempt to promote activism in schools across the state and in the surrounding communities.

"I want the film to introduce students to student activism, in short, all the while I also hope that California's legislators get a chance to watch our film and see real students being pushed away from graduating because of the constant fee hikes," said Cory Wong, 21, Asian American Studies and Cinema major, co-producer of "Speak Out."

The 27-minute film cost over $4,200 to produce, and was paid for by the California Faculty Association SF State chapter and the statewide CFA, as well as SF State student and co-director Max Hamilton, 19, Cinema major, who donated close to $15,000 of studio time through his production company, Blackbird Productions.

"Being a student, I have noticed how angry everyone is but no one seems to know what to do about it," Hampton said. "So, we are hoping we are going to start the ball rolling and that campuses, not just SF State, will use the film as a tool in getting the word out."

The message of the film is how students are struggling to get an education and to question the priorities of the people running the state of California.

"The film does not just present information about the budget cuts, but also cites the historical trends of California's spending," Wong said.

Facts throughout the film show viewers that California is ranked 49th in the country for education funding, that 600 classes were cut from SF State this year and that fees were increased by $978.

The team of students are using the film, along with a Web site, to educate the public about changes they feel need to be made to Proposition 13, no longer providing a break on property owners tax to commercial property, and also tries to raise awareness about proposed bill AB656, which would allow California to tax oil companies to fund public education. California is the only oil providing state in the country that does not enforce an extraction tax on oil.

"I think the biggest problem is the chancellor and the trustees of the CSU, because they voted 17 to one against AB656 and those funds are used for public education," said Philip Klasky, ethnic studies lecturer and co-director of "Speak Out." "AB656, if passed, would generate a billion dollars, which would cover the $584 million budget shortfall to the CSU."

In response to the Ethnic Studies Student Resource Center closing this fall, Klasky encouraged students to form a team and produce "Speak Out," along with a Web site and blog that would document the severity of the crisis and get other students involved.

"In 2010 the CSU, all 23 campuses, will not be accepting a single freshman or transfer student," Klasky said. "They are going to turn away over 40,000 students. This is a crisis."

"What is happening right now is suicide economics and it doesn't make sense," he said. "For every dollar the state spends on a student, it gets four dollars in return because of the difference in salary of someone who does not graduate from college and someone who does."

View the documentary at http://www.speakout4edu.com.

After four years, the Native American Studies department finally has a mural up on one of the walls of the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

The unveiling of the mural, "We Are Still Here," took place in front of the student center's West Plaza Friday afternoon. About 250 people attended the event.

The mural depicts community activism, self determination, resistance and survivance of Native American people and the defense of native lands. It also makes a connection between the SF State Strike of 1968-69 and the occupation of Alcatraz.

"It fits right in artistically, professionally, politically," said Aimee Z. Barnes, the program development officer for the Richard Oakes Multicultural Center.

The rain forced everybody to take the ceremony preceding the unveiling to Jack Adams Hall in the student center.

There were a series of speeches and presentations by the mural committee members and members of the Student Kouncil of Intertribal Nations, followed by dance performances.

"It feels good to be part of a celebration that recognizes the effort of the people," said Eddie Madril, one of the performers and a member of the Pascua Yaqui tribe in Southern Arizona and Northern Sonora Mexico.

SF State President Robert A. Corrigan said there was so much warmth in the room that "it was one the best experiences since the opening of Jack Adams Hall."

The mural was originally commissioned in October 2005 by the Cesar Chavez Student Center Governing Board, but lack of organization and concrete idea of the mural coming from the mural committee made it impossible to execute the project faster.

The president and co-chair of SKIN, Dianna Baldwin, said in an interview preceding the event that she was really excited to finally have it ready after waiting for so long.

"I'm glad we got to get it completed before I graduate," said Baldwin, who is a senior majoring in zoology with a minor in American Indian studies.

The mural committee did an extensive search to find the right artists before picking Mark Nicely and Larry Sillaway.

Nicely and Sillaway, worked on the designing of the mural for a few months and the actual painting for a few weeks, said Nicely the day before the event.

Sillaway, who is from the Yurok tribe of Northern California, was in charge of painting the frame around the mural.

"We were going back and forth with the committee to get the concepts that they wanted in there," Nicely said. "We were working directly with them to get something that everybody liked."

Both artists signed posters of the mural by the Richard Oakes Multicultural Center after the unveiling. Richard Oakes, then 27 and an SF State student, led an occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969. He led a group of 60 American Indians, some of whom were SF State students, to reclaim the island in the name of Indians of all tribes. This event led to the creation of the American Indian studies department at SF State.

The public looked satisfied with the result, and the artists and organizers were greatly applauded.

"It's absolutely amazing," said Diana Singh, 25, a recent American Indian studies graduate. "It's so beautiful and detailed. To have this mural on campus, it's like why wasn't there one before? So, it fits in with the other ones."

Corrigan, who had seen sketches of the mural beforehand but had never seen it finished before the unveiling, said the mural looked "fantastic."

"You can't always tell when you see the sketches, and I hate to make comparisons but this is one of the best murals that we've put out," Corrigan said.

Read more about the mural.

San Francisco and surrounding Bay Area counties sit on fault lines just waiting to rupture. In honor of the twentieth anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, SF State geoscience professor John Caskey gives SF a quick overview on how earthquakes work and reflects on their impact to the Bay Area. Earthquakes are prominent in the area due to the number of faultlines beneath us. Professor Caskey also talks the probability of an earthquake in the Bay Area today.

Listen to an [X]press exclusive podcast of an interview with Professor John Caskey by producer Alex Estrada.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

It's a quarter to six and the sun is barely peeking through the curtains. My alarm is squawking at me from the window sill.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

I resentfully toss my perfectly warm comforter off of me, exposing my right arm and shoulder to the shockingly cool temperature of the rest of my room.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Even in my groggy and exhausted state of mind, I know that if I press "snooze" I won't ever get out the front door in time. I use all the energy I can muster and reach to my obnoxious alarm clock to stop the monotonous and repetitive tone.

"Uuggghhhh..."

With one long breathy exhale and moan, my feet are on the ground and I'm out of the oasis otherwise referred to as my bed.

By 6:45am, I've managed to get myself showered, clothed and pulled together enough to feel presentable to the rest of the world. With my coffee in my left hand and my purse and notebook in the other, I get in to my car and on the road.

My first - and only - class isn't until 9:35, but I know from experience that if I'm not on the freeway by at least 7:15, I won't ever make it to campus in time. I inch my way through traffic, changing freeways, venturing through tunnels, crossing bridges and eventually fighting for parking before I finally arrive at school.

My class is only 90 minutes long. However, my commute takes me over 2 hours. Now honestly, is it really worth it?

Most days, I think not.

Now I know that I'm not the only student that commutes to SF State, and I'm pretty certain that I don't have the longest, or the most difficult commute either. (I'm sure some of you will recall the recent grad student who, for a portion of the semester, commuted by plane to SF State from LA until her campus housing came together).
I'm also fully aware that I do have alternatives to driving, that I don't have to be putting the excessive miles on my own car, spending extra money on gas, bridge tolls and the occasional parking expenses. This is the choice I make in how I get myself to school.

I've attempted public transportation in the past, and while yes, the cost is slightly less to take BART and then jump on the free shuttle provided by SF State to get to campus, the inconsistency in their schedules and the lack of reliability that they both have proved to me over the years receive bigger checks on the "Con" side of my pro-public transportation argument.

I gave up on taking public transportation after it started affecting my grades. Yes, BART is the reason I had to do countless extra credit assignments to make up for quizzes missed at the start of my classes. And I've learned that I am one of the fortunate students who's teachers decided to take pity on me and my pathetic commuter complaints and allow me to make up a few of those missed credit opportunities. I'm sure there are numerous other students who weren't so lucky and whose grades ultimately had to suffer because they couldn't get to campus on time thanks to the fight that broke out at the West Oakland BART station, delaying the trains at least 25 minutes, or because they had to wait for nearly an hour at the Daly City BART station before they were finally able to make it on to one of the free shuttles.

I decided to take matters in to my own hands and accept the extra costs of commuting so that I could successfully complete my college education. This seemed to be the best solution for myself. Even though I may have to leave my house two hours before my class begins in order to make it on time, at least I know what to expect. Even with the possibility of an accident or road work, I am still in control. I am the one behind the wheel and I am the one applying pressure to the gas pedal. I don't have to stop and pick up passengers who are bustling and pushing to make it on to the BART car. I don't have to watch three different shuttles come and go while I stand waiting another 15-20 minutes for the next one, hoping that it may finally be the one I am able to get my ass on and get to school.

F*** that. I'm driving. If you're in my area, I'll pick you up. Maybe we'll qualify for the carpool lane.