"We are at the junction," Dr. Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, associate professor in the race and resistance studies department, said to a packed room. "The Egyptians don't need us (the U.S.) to do this for them, they are doing this themselves."

Attendees sat on the floor and stood in the hall of the Ethnic Studies and Psychology Building Tuesday night to hear the panel discussion, organized by the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diaspora Initiative.

Six panelists discussed aspects of the unrest they felt were not widely disseminated in mainstream media. Topics included a history of events leading up to the uprising, and the role of social media in spreading it.

Panelists also shared examples of self-organization on the part of the Egyptian citizens and possible replacements for the Mubarak regime.

"It's part of the democratic process," panelist Yasmeen Daifallah said of the protests. "There is no consensus on the streets of one person to represent the uprising. There is a pluralism of forces on the ground."

Daifallah, 29, was born in Egypt. She currently studies political science at UC Berkeley, and visited her home country last month. The other panelists included an Egyptian SF State student and two Egyptian faculty members.

"Students needed to come to this to engage in dialogue with each other and challenge their knowledge about what's going on," said ethnic studies graduate student Kurt Kaaekauhiwi.

Undergrads entering the University as early as fall 2012 will follow a new GE path that requires students to take at least three units in classes concerning environmental sustainability.

The new requirement is among the first of its kind in the nation.

"I think it will increase student exposure to environmental sustainability and I would expect it might help students apply a consciousness of environmental sustainability within other disciplinary contexts," said Academic Senate Chair Shawn Whalen. "It also creates a curricular emphasis that resonates well with our institutional commitment to environmental sustainability."

The senate passed the requirement May of last year and in the fall, President Robert A. Corrigan approved it. The change is limited to the SF State campus and not set to go into effect throughout the CSU system in the near future.

"Faculty on this campus were interested in adding sustainability to the GE requirements, because sustainability is one of the most important issues of the 21st century," said Carlos Davidson, director of the environmental studies program at SF State. "Graduates are going to have to make important personal and political decisions on sustainability issues."

It is uncertain how many classes will satisfy the requirement as dozens of courses across multiple disciplines potentially meet the standard. The Academic Senate is currently forming committees to review proposals and determine which courses they will accept. They anticipate beginning the review process sometime this month.

The amended GE path falls in line with the University's history of sustainable operation that has been nationally recognized. SF State even earned a Green Star award for best-maintained grounds of an urban university in 2006.

"I think it's really important because people do need to learn to live more sustainably," said biology major Andrew Neisess. "That should be just as important as anything else we're required to learn about."

Though on the surface the new requirement appears to add three more units to a student's course load, the new GE path will actually save students time by allowing them to take fewer classes in the long run.

"The sustainability requirement is part of complete overhaul of baccalaureate degree requirements that actually reduced GE requirements from 57-60 (units), to 48," Whalen said. "The new policy also allows unlimited double counting that could further reduce the actual unit count for students by as much as nine more units to a total of 41."

However, some students were less than enthused about the requirement making its way through the approval process, and believed it would only add to the already heavy financial and mental burden of earning a degree.

"It's almost like more pressure than we've already got in order to graduate," said Emily Steffensen, a junior majoring in international relations. "I'm not trying to be down on the environmental thing, but adding more classes is just stupid."

Despite how students may feel about the upcoming changes, the administration saw the additional requirement as a necessary evil in preparing students for their future, regardless of what they plan to do with their education.

"These issues are not just for those interested in the environment, but for all citizens," Davidson said. "This ensures that all SF State graduates will have some basic knowledge of sustainability issues."

In an effort to reach out to the community, SF State's Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor collaborated with b-boy dance crew Jive Core Legion and many others to organize last Friday's "Ca$ino Royale", a dance competition inside Jack Adams Hall. Judges encouraged competitors to go all in.

However, the casino-themed event was more than just a dance competition; its intent was to encourage self-expression and give attendees another perspective of hip-hop culture.

"Our core team is really into hip-hop, so we were excited to help put this together," said PACE's History Coordinator Lauren Daus. "It's a good turning point (for PACE), it shows how much we've networked, reaching out to other people, schools and the community."

Break dancing - also known as "b-boying" - is the style of dance most commonly affiliated with hip-hop music and encompasses various styles of hip-hop dance.

Different dance maneuvers such as "power moves" consist of full body spins and rotations, while "toprocking" refers to upright footwork and shuffles. Dancers were judged on their skill and technique, as well as on personal style.

The event itself consisted of three contests. The two-versus-two all styles competition in which teams of two dancers battled for a $200 prize.

​The night's main event, "The King of the Hill", was an endurance test, as two dancers would face off with the judges deciding who was best. The "king" would then face consecutive dancers in a cycle where the challenger would put his own $10 chip on the line in hopes of dethroning the king and taking his spot.

This casino-style competitive twist was the hook for the event, since it gave competitors the ability to rake in more cash than just the $100 prize.

King of the Hill judge Edwin "B-boy Black" Johnson praised the effort to change up the competition this year. "I like how they switched it up; it's cool," he said. "It's always a plus in b-boying when there's a chance to win some money."

The King of the Hill winner, Joshua "Josh Shinobi" Peri, ended up taking home $30 in chips in addition to his $100 grand prize.

"This was the first competition I won," he said.  

David Chan, one of the event's organizers, felt it was a success.

"It's good, PACE helped us a lot, they got us the venue, helped organize, etc.," said Chan.

And although events like this may be rare, the dancers did not seem too concerned, preferring to just enjoy dancing.

"There hasn't been a big competition in San Francisco in a while, so it was fun just to put this together," Chan said.  

"We do see a trend," said spokeswoman Ellen Griffin. "California, as a policy, is shifting more of the burden for public higher education on to individual students and their families versus supporting it through tax revenue."

The proposal, still in need of the governor's May revise and a vote by the legislature to pass, would shrink the California State University system's budget to the size it was a decade ago "when the system served 70,000 fewer students" than it does today, warned President Robert A. Corrigan in an e-mail to the faculty Jan.10.

If the California budget were to pass, more of the state's $28 billion budget deficit would be transferred to future and enrolled students - a growing tendency in the past year - and create new challenges for the administration in its attempts to manage SF State's already debt-ridden budget. Currently, the University is facing an $18-million deficit.

"A cut of such unprecedented magnitude will require dramatic - and painful - steps to bring SF State's 2011-12 budget into balance," Corrigan said.

One of these painful steps is likely to be the approval of the University Planning Advisory Council's controversial recommendation to reduce the number of colleges from eight to six.

However, the extent of the cuts is not certain until the state budget is passed sometime before the July 31 deadline.

"There are many steps that need to take place before we know what we'll actually have available to educate SF State students," Griffin said. "It will take at least several more months before we know what the budget will be like for our students next year."

Part of the proposed plan would also terminate $107 million in one-time federal funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that were issued to support the struggling CSU system.

"The government's asking us to cut services from an already limited pool," said CSU spokesman Erik Fallis. "Our campuses, including San Francisco State, are among the most efficient, meaning we serve with the fewest dollars in state funding and student fees."

Though CSUs have struggled to minimize the impact of budget cuts on students, if the governor's proposed budget passes as it stands, it would dramatically affect the higher education experience for students, Fallis said.

The CSU Board of Trustees already shifted much of the financial strain to students in November when it passed a 5 percent midyear tuition increase and another 10 percent increase for the 2011-2012 academic years last November. These combined adjustments equal an increase of $221.6 million in student tuition revenue.

Brown's Proposed Budget Summary for CSUs notes that the fee adjustments are an "increase from $4,230 to $4,335 in the current year and up to $4,884 in the budget year."

"There's just no way to resolve a $500 million budget cut without impacting students and personnel," Fallis said.

The SF State chapter of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which enlists the help of over 200 student volunteers every semester, will provide their services in SCI 205 beginning Jan. 31 until April 18. Each volunteer in the VITA program has completed IRS-certified training sessions. The program is sponsored by Beta Alpha Psi, an international scholastic and professional honorary organization for Financial Information Professionals. Contact VITA coordinator Christina Latief at (415) 338-1079 for more information.

Check back next week for an update on how the first day went for the free tax help program.

One group on campus, however, is looking to ease that anxiety.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute held an open house Thursday to kick off the new spring session of classes especially designed for adult students aged 50 and older. OLLI has been offering non-credit courses in conjunction with SF State's College of Extended Learning since 2003. Recently, they began offering classes on SF State's main campus through the College of Creative Arts in spring 2010.

"It's so nice to teach adults," said Dean of the College of Creative Arts Kurt Daw. "It's really nice to teach Romeo and Juliet to someone who is not Romeo or Juliet."

Dean Daw is an instructor and member of OLLI. He has been praised by students for his Shakespeare Plays Introduction class and will be teaching a course on the comic opera Barber of Seville in the spring session.

"This is not just an educational group, but it's a social group," Daw said. "It's far beyond 'can I get a degree for this or can I get a credential for that?'"

OLLI member of five years Judith Sandoval said she takes every class that she can get into. Along with several others at the informational meeting, Sandoval is an alumnus of SF State. Her experience at OLLI has been just as exciting as her first experience at SF State as a student in the 60s, she said.

"There is all sorts of stuff to take," Sandoval said. "At 73, I took a ballet class and it was just a blast."

Courses for the new spring session range from Walking the Neighborhoods, a course focusing on the history and evolution of San Francisco areas, A History of Sicily and A Greener Indigo, in which students learn how to examine and produce indigo dyes. Among the most popular courses, said Director Debra Varner, are the creative writing courses.

There are currently more than 120 chapters of OLLI throughout the United States funded in part by the Bernard Osher foundation. A nine-member volunteer council of OLLI participants assists in developing the curriculum and managing the program.

"OLLI is a self-run, self-managed organization," said volunteer Barry Walner, who is reaching his first anniversary as an OLLI member.

Walner and other volunteers recently created an orientation committee in order to provide a welcoming experience to new OLLI participants.

"It can be intimidating when you haven't been in a classroom for so long," Walner said. "We also wanted to concentrate on what OLLI is all about outside of the classroom."

Marilyn Hayward has been an OLLI participant for three years. The classes offered at OLLI can improve one's everyday life, she said.

"You have the opportunity to make friends," Hayward said. "You will find people (with) similar interests and the opportunity to explore those interests together."

Hayward also said that many OLLI members develop friendships outside of classrooms, but students also develop a certain independence from the courses they take.

"I think it also keeps you interested," Hayward said. "It keeps your mind vibrant and alive."

A presentation of the first session of spring courses will take place at the College of Extended Learning's downtown campus on Thursday.

Varner said the transition to the main campus has been a wonderful and beneficial experience.

"Our program is dynamic. We have new programs every session," Varner said. "We are here for our enrichment in life."

"In small market stations, there are a lot of reporters that go out and shoot their own footage," Lygren said from the State of Events newsroom in the Creative Arts building. "Reporters just hold a microphone, whereas I'm getting the full picture of doing everything from start to finish."

Lygren is one of a handful of students who write, shoot and produce for State of Events, the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Art department's weekly news broadcast. The show covers an array of topics from cyber bullyng and Fourloko to the weather. No matter the topic, each story is reported by students hoping to bring relevant and pertinent information to their peers.

Though Lygren regularly reports on topics such as these, he's more smitten with reporting than anything else. Anchoring especially presents a challenge to would-be television people.

"You keep reading and you mess up on the prompter and you can't go back," he said. "A few times you gotta wait a second and continue on."

Though Lygren doesn't feel like he's mastered any specific technique just yet, he's content with the training BECA gave him and hopes to look for jobs in the spring.

Angela Garcia, also a BECA reporter and anchor, echoed Lygren's sentiments.

"I've always been intrigued by the news and kinda knew I wanted to pursue a career in news," she said. "So I figured this major would be the best for that career path."

Just like Lygren, Garcia has to create an entire segment from start to finish. Despite her commute from Concord to work on her projects, she said she loves what she does and even has a soft spot for anchoring.

"It's fun to really have that enthusiasm and on-camera presence so that you can convey the news well," Garcia said.

According to the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, television news ratings have declined in recent years. Despite the ever-changing viewing habits that network news channels are witnessing, Lygren wanted to encourage more viewership from the student body.

"We work hard on it and we're always improving on what we're doing," he said. "Not a lot of people know we have State of Events."

According to an article by the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronica Media, networkings are displaying more of their content in high-definition because the perception of the news format can dictate viewership. State of Events advertises that it plays in high-definition, but Garcia said that, ultimately, content is the focus of the department. And while she thinks that society might see news as dishonest or biased, she strives to break that mindset.

"Journalism needs to work hard to remove that image and gain back the public's trust," Garcia said. "What I want to try to aim for is to be a really honest reporter and not just tell those everyday, normal stories, but tell the ones that people might not have thought of or head of and try to make a difference that way."

Students of the Opera Scenes Workshop took the stage with magic wands and heroic swords as they performed a compilation of fairy-tale scenes for their end of the semester performance.

Scenes were selected from the operas "Hansel and Gretel", "Princess and the Pea", "The Magic Flute", "Cinderella", "Cendrillon", and "Once Upon a Mattress".

"This is definitely more conceptual," said 23-year-old music major Katrina Mautner, who has been performing in the opera scenes for four semesters. "All the scenes tie into a theme, which is fairy tales."

While most semesters' performances concluded with students dressed in black and white attire, "Happily Ever After" provoked a much more colorful and cheerful wardrobe.

"It's a mash up of fairy tales that all end happily," said newly appointed assistant professor Janet Campbell.

Campbell, brand new to SF State, was one of two assistant professors hired this semester to replace former Voice Program Director Allysa Deeter. Considered to be a staple of SF Stat'es music program, the Opera Scenes Workshop has been experiencing changes under direction of the new staff.

"We're all kind of adjusting," Mautner said. "There's been some massive changes in the whole voice program, and since she's never done an opera program before, there's been some start and go, but I think everyone's come together really well."

In addition to performing songs, students had the added responsibility of learning spoken lines, a new experience to the workshop and its students.

"It was hardest to memorize lines because I'm not used to doing that," Mautner said. "You do get line cues, but for me its not as natural as getting music cues."

Mautner is one of six students who played the role of Cinderella. Campbell rotated many students in and out of single roles, having several students take on multiple roles, in order to increase their performance exposure. This practice was meant to give students the best possible stage experience and increase their understanding of solo singing.

The production used a minimal amount of set pieces, and props. Costumes were provided by the Theatre Arts Department's costume shop, various Goodwills and the students own closets. One student wore her own wedding dress as her character's costume.

"It was all on us to go out and make the arrangements to get our own costumes," said 22-year-old music major Allo Gilinsky.

Two rotating pianists, graduate student Osvaldo DeLeon Davila, and composer Steve Damonte, accompanied the students.

"The section required a jazzy touch, and with a professional jazz pianist I felt best equipped," Campbell said.

The audience was sparse, but the applause and praise at the end of the afternoon program was far from it.

"I thought it was really cute," said film major Laura Baptista. "And I thought everyone did an amazing job."

The soft ding of three chimes silenced the small group, and Music and Community Night had finally begun.

"Let's introduce ourselves, and share one highlight of this semester," said group leader Katie Herron, a member of the student organization OrangeBand, which hosted the event on Dec. 8 in HSS 306.

"The event serves the purpose of bringing people together and encouraging them to be comfortable with each other," said Usha Gubbala, 20, president of OrangeBand.

Every semester OrangeBand, which promotes meaningful dialogue between peers and teaches the power of diverse perspectives, hosts different events and brings speakers in to discuss the core values of their beliefs: "mind, body, spirit."

The night started with strangers sharing their highlights of the semester with each other, breaking into smaller groups to detail what they learned, and then describing the discussion in a brief phrase to the entire group.

Bongos, a West African djembe - or a hand drum - and a bass drum kept the flow of the event and led to an open-mic scenario, where people shared personal short stories, poems, songs, and meaningful passages of inspiration or wanderings of the mind.

Guests munched on a free assortment of food as they listened to the unique expressions of their fellow participants.

"We're connecting with each other, holding a space for people to come together and connect on a deeper level instead of, 'hey, you're in my class,'" Gubbala said.

The tranquility of the night prevailed over the chaos that the end of the semester has brought to many students. The rhythm of the drums and some traditional a cappella Hindi songs provided the soundtrack to the evening.

Chris Gonnerman, 20, a sophomore Spanish major, came for the first time with his roommate who had been once before.

"This type of gathering is outside of what a lot of people do in their daily lives," Gonnerman said. "I'd come again. It's nice, I'm trying not to stress about finals."

Herron provided free massages on the floor and in the massage chairs as the group circle dispersed around the room and Marlee Shore, 23, a junior communications major, sang Erykah Badu and The Roots songs.

A frequent attendee of events hosted by the holistic health network, Shore said the welcoming environment is what brings her back.

"The thing I like most about it is the people are just really conscientious," Shore said. "They're open-minded and show up in the world. It feels safe to be yourself."

Past events that OrangeBand has put on have included an election debate and a "Healing the Stressed Out Body and Managing Stress" discussion that took place during this semester's midterms.

The Holistic Health Learning Center, where OrangeBand meets weekly, has been a part of SF State since 1995, and the Institute for Holistic Health Studies has offered a minor in holistic health since 1981.

"Our three words: mind, body, spirit. It's about understanding our relationships to culture, nature and communities; moving away from the individual paradigm," Gubbala said. "We strive to build a community based on meaningful conversation about all topics we ponder."

At the end of the night, when guests asked when the next event would be, Herron answered the question with her calm demeanor.

"Whenever the vibe is right."

The events included an open mic night, dance parties and, most recently, a casino night.

According to the administration, SF State is no longer just a commuter campus. The goal of the student life initiative is to provide programs and events for a large number SF State students living on or near campus.

"Our campus has not been viewed as a residential campus, and we are now," said Joseph Greenwell, Director of LEAD and Associate Dean of Students. "Now we are saying we need to be doing more things for the people living on campus."

SF State also recently saw its first ever 24-hour event. Improv Nation, an improvisational student comedy group, performed a 24-hour improv show in Mary Park hall.

"I'm definitely tired and it definitely makes us all a little crazy but it's a fun team-building exercise," said Improv Nation member Jonathan Riley during the twelfth hour of the show.

Greenwell said that the events so far have been well attended and have gotten positive feedback both from students and from administration. He said they are planning even more events for the spring semester including dance parties, outdoor movie nights and possibly even a music festival.

"It's not that we are making a change, it's that we are, in my opinion, trying to catch up to where our students are," he said.

Monday night was the finals game for SF State's Intramural indoor soccer club and the International Education Exchange Council's team, United Nations, were playing hard against their opponent Haiti United. Prior to arriving, I wasn't sure if the turnout would be very promising. As if my thoughts were actually prayers, the crowd was phenomenal. Many of the international students showed up for what became a soccer game of undeniable intensity.

The players of the competing teams vying for the win were relentless in their game and, at times, even a bit malicious. Legs went outstretched in hopes of an overlooked trip, bodies were thrown towards each other in the name of defense. As long as the means to the end are worth it, I think anything goes.

It was definitely worth it because the IEEC team United Nations, won the game by the hairs of their chins. With that being said, what took precedence over winning the game was the fantastic spirit that may have helped them to their win. Their comrades cheered their hearts out and with such obvious sincerity, it wouldn't have mattered if they had won or not.

I wish I had a brigade to root me on with such undying fire as they had. Given, I have the best friends a guy could ever ask for but the vocal capacity of this crowd were very commendable. And the guys out playing the game seemed to have a certain fraternal bond and adrenaline that was consistently growing throughout the game. If the real UN had a soccer team, these would be the recruits.

On another note, sadly, this will be my last blog post for the International Students Blog. Please hold back the tears; I can almost hear your weeps and sobs already. As an ending, I leave you all with this:

Whether you are studying abroad in Denmark, a traveling vagabond through Southeast Asia or just a local in a city with international acclaim, don't be scared to meet the people that may change your life, no matter where they're from. We live in San Francisco, you guys! More internationals come through here than most other places. Experience their stories and create new ones. Trust me, there's nothing better than escaping the life you're tiring of than by running off to another corner of the world, especially when you have someone to run to, in that far-off, otherworldly corner of this vast globe.

It's been real.

-Daniel H.D. Nguyen

This year's show was the third I've been to and I'm impressed that over the course of those three shows, no two dances have been alike. However, all of the pieces presented this year felt more special than anything I saw out of the showcase in past years. The twelve dances presented in this year's showcase went beyond movement. The artists' interactions with each other, the costumes, the lighting, and the characters portrayed made each unique performance cinematic--visual stunners that could make the audience feel something. Although the stories behind some dances were easier to figure out than others, the ambiguity is yet another lovely thing about this type of art.

The Spanish bullfighter dance and the zombie apocalypse were two of the most out-there dances--flashy for all the right reasons. The bullfighter piece, titled "La Torrera" and choreographed by Lisa Veronica Osorio, allowed five females to portray the matador, a role typically reserved for males. By witnessing the ladies dancing in their jewel-toned full skirts and dress capes to energetic traditional Spanish music, the whole theater had suddenly transformed into a bullfighting ring. After intermission came the apocalypse, where two doctors wearing face masks conversed on stage before zombies in full-fledged makeup, blood and torn clothes crawled down the aisles of McKenna Theater and made their attack. The choreographer of the piece entitled "No Hope," Mu-Fan Chiang, also performed in the number, portraying a gunman on a mission to kill the zombies. It was a scene that appeared to mimic the likes of zombie-centric pop culture favorites like the movie 28 Days Later, but who knew it could make its way into a dance showcase? Chiang and the dancers made it work. Plus, it's hard not to be intrigued when you're sitting in the theater and look next to you to see a zombie right there.

However, not all art has to be flashy to make an impact. One standout piece for me (And a lot of others, judging by the applause at the end) was entitled "Barefoot and Vulnerable," choreographed by Joshua Ornelas. Yes, the dancers were barefoot, and yes, they were vulnerable, and one could tell through the way the performers supported each other in the choreography, their facial expressions, and the deeply moving piano music that they really were vulnerable. A pause came in between the music and only the sounds of breathing and rustling feet could be heard and in that moment, you could see and hear how dance in its simplest form could really make a mark on anyone who witnesses it.

I commend everyone who took part in this beautiful edition of the New Moves Dance Showcase, and I also extend my admiration and well-wishes to all the creative artists of SF State, as this marks my last blog for [X]Press this semester. I had a wonderful time immersing myself in all of the artistic offerings on this campus, as well as going behind-the-scenes in the process of productions and speaking to the people who make them happen. I hope the SF State community continues to embrace and support the students of music, dance, theater, film, broadcasting and visual and digital art for many, many years to come. And hey, who knows--the kid with a camcorder sitting next to you might win an Oscar someday.

Signing off,

Karen Datangel

This year, in response to rising demand for the grassroots program's services, and as part of a statewide initiative to address California's education and incarceration issues, Project Rebound is looking to go beyond SF State and the Bay Area in an effort to promote education as a means of changing one's life for the better.

"Usually, when you find somebody or an organization that is interested in Rebound, they have a direct connection and maybe even an understanding of the fact that education is paramount in terms of allowing any individual, in particular people who have been dealing with the criminal justice system, an opportunity to redefine themselves and to market themselves as a viable candidate in the workforce," said Project Rebound Outreach Specialist Eric Durnell.

Founded in 1967 by the late SF State professor John Irwin, Project Rebound helps formerly incarcerated individuals attend college and is one of the only programs of its kind in the nation. The program has helped hundreds of parolees get their degree and boasts an 87 percent graduation rate, according to Program Director Jason Bell.

Currently, the program has more than 80 formerly incarcerated students at SF State, however, that number pales in comparison to the demand for the project's services, forcing its three-person staff to look beyond the Bay Area for networks to institute inmate-to-student programs on other campuses.

"A lot of times, people have everything they need (to get into a four-year school), but there's no one to make the connection to in these other colleges," Bell said. "That's one of the biggest letdowns for me. You have to parole to your county of commitment, so you have all these people who'd be willing to move all the way up here to go to school, but parole will not allow them to."

Applicants begin the process from behind bars by writing to Project Rebound and requesting enrollment in the program. The staff then sends back a questionnaire to determine the applicant's education level, requirements that need to be met, and date of parole, which must coincide with the semester schedule.

Future parolees are then guided through the process of applying to and enrolling at SF State. Those who need to fulfill lower division requirements are directed to City College of San Francisco through its EOPS/Second Chance program.

But because of how the parole system works, parolees must report to the county in which they were incarcerated.

Without a network of programs at other schools, it is nearly impossible for Project Rebound to help parolees in different counties get into schools outside of the Bay Area.

"When individuals are incarcerated, there is a hunger for knowledge. People want to learn," said Project Rebound Office Coordinator Airto Morales. "We need to expand to other UCs and CSUs so we can provide precisely what is needed to transfer from penitentiaries to the classroom."

All three of Project Rebound's staff members were once incarcerated and attended SF State through the program.

As the poster children for successful reentry, Bell, Morales and Durnell have been overwhelmed with letters and requests to speak about their experiences and the landmark program.

Morales, who fields hundreds of letters a week, said the program receives requests from all over California, Arizona and as far away as Florida, demonstrating the demand for similar programs outside the Bay Area.

According to ASI President Cynthia Ashton, student government is behind the successful pilot program and has contacted 23 other student governments, asserting the need for Project Rebound's services.

"As Associated Students, (student governments) are supposed to serve all students, not just the general population," Ashton said. "By not having a program like this, you are depriving certain students of services. I hope other CSUs look at this matter as important, and I'm sure they will."

Bell, who took over as program director in 2005, has experienced firsthand what the program is capable of.

"I was a Rebound student first and foremost. It was a part of my release plan to get my degree, to get off parole without violations, and develop all the things I had set up for myself before being released from prison," Bell said. "I was serious, and I think a lot of people feel like this is their way of rebuilding themselves and doing something aside from what they were used to doing that was negative. There's more at stake, I would say, (and) I think that might apply to many folks."

First scholarship
This fall, after 43 years on campus, Project Rebound received its first scholarship, the John Irwin Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a formerly incarcerated student each semester.

Eligible students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA, be enrolled in Project Rebound, and demonstrate financial need. The project's founder, for which the scholarship is named, died this January.

"In a sense, one passing creates a new birth," Bell said. "I don't know if we could have done it without that momentum."

Irwin was incarcerated at age 23 and served five years at Soledad State Prison. Upon his release, he enrolled at SF State and eventually graduated with a BA from UCLA and a PhD from UC Berkeley. He taught for 40 years as a professor of sociology and started Project Rebound in 1967.

Irwin's constant advocacy and action provided the inspiration and framework by which Bell currently runs the program. The scholarship is a realization of the program's initial goal of providing opportunity to those who otherwise would be unable to go to college.

"(Irwin) died when he was in his 70s and all the way through he was continually fighting for prisoners," Bell said. "He was still almost until the last weeks of his death going into San Quentin (prison) and working with a lot of lifers. They all remember him."

CalGRIP
In addition to their efforts at SF State and within the CSU system, Project Rebound is now a part of a statewide initiative to prevent at-risk youth from entering the criminal justice system.

In 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger put $31 million into the California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Initiative, a comprehensive plan to curb gang violence statewide. More than $490,000 of the fund was appropriated to the San Francisco After-School Teacher Pathways program, which pays for 18-24 year olds interested in teaching to go to college and get their credentials.

Students within the SF-ASTP program are targeted to potentially fill teaching shortages in the math and science fields. Additionally, while earning their credentials, individuals in the program work in after-school programs, earning money while also fulfilling a severe teaching need in California.

At-risk youth are placed in cohorts and attend classes with students of similar backgrounds. A mentor is placed in each cohort and works with students as they progress through the higher education system.

"There's a shortage of teachers, and so we want to recruit teachers from within the community and give them an opportunity to earn money while they're in school," said OGYVP Research Program Specialist Colleen Curtin. "Plus, the earlier you can get to at-risk youth and give them a purpose, you save tax dollars down the road because they're less likely to go farther into the criminal justice system."

The Governor's Office of Gang and Youth Violence Prevention subsequently recruited project Rebound to act as one of six liaisons in the Bay Area to help SF-ASTP students transition to four-year schools.

Operating with a group of more than 20 volunteers from SF State, Project Rebound now offers tutoring and scholastic aid to potential teachers in the SF-ASTP program.

"It is a large demographic and the way we do it being such a grassroots organization is that we rely heavily on volunteers," Durnell said. "The opportunity speaks to them as human beings, and what that allows for us is that we have on-hand tutors and scholastic aid for individuals who may need help."

All last week, jazz bands, including many student performers took stage to play their stuff. Muata Kenyatta of Associated Students Inc. put the performances together as part of the fair's entertainment.

"As a musician, it feels good giving back," said Kenyatta. "It's about helping students with performance opportunities."

It is fair to say that while jazz is a fantastic style of music in its own right, it is not necessarily popular with younger people. Which is why I was surprised to see so many students into playing jazz.

Grayson Converse and a few of his buddies, some of who are SF State students, got to play the Depot for a few hours. Grayson and two other guys make up the Grayson Converse Trio and have had continuing gigs at places like Enrico's. Converse said he took much joy from playing music for students passing by.

"We would like to make jazz music in the Depot a regular thing," said Converse.

Drew Raybuck, sax player and ad hoc member of the Grayson Converse Trio, acknowledged that jazz is not a "mainstream form of music." But he went on to say that a lot of people haven't been exposed to good jazz.

And I think that's true, at least for me anyway. It's not necessarily that I don't like jazz, but I don't really love it either. Watching and listening to each member play a solo was an experience; amazing talent is needed to improvise like they were able to. I think what made the difference was listening to my peers play what they think is cool and what others would enjoy. But after last week, I will definitely keep my ears open to jazz.