College aids fire victims

A CSM student is working to raise $2,500 by selling wa-ter bottles and baked goods, one of several ways that the campus is reaching out to victims of the Sept. 9 San Bruno fire.

Justin Hoffmann, 20, a student senator, came up with a four-phase plan to raise the money.

The first phase is “conquering CSM,” said Hoffmann.

If the first phase is sucessful, then Hoffmann will expand the campaign to Skyline and Cañada. Hoffmann describes the method of fundraising as “community le-veraging.”

The student senate approved a measure to provide $500 to get the campaign underway.

“We are hoping to raise at least $1,000 from the fundraising at CSM,” said Hoffmann. “Ulti-mately we would like to raise at least $2,500 after reaching out to the community at large,” he said.

After the first day (Thursday) the total amount raised was $45 and on the second day (Monday) another $167 was raised, said

Margaret BaumThe San Matean

Hoffmann. “A remarkable student named Tommy Hart took the inita-tive to be incredibly active,” said Hoffmann. “He even bought $20 worth of baked goods to sell in our campaign,” he said.

The water bottles have two different prices. “We are selling some for $1 and others for $2, it’s up to how much the person wants to donate,” said Hoffmann.

All senators are giving presen-tations to their classes and fly-ers are being handed out to raise awareness of the campaign, said Hoffmann.

The district, meanwhile, offered housing to the victims of the fire on Sept. 10. Cañada Vista, a 60 unit employee housing complex on Cañada’s campus was opened a few weeks back. Many of these brand new apartments were al-located for fire victims to use as temporary housing, said Barbara Christensen, Director of Commu-nity and Government Relations for the district.

“Given the devastating loses in San Bruno, we decided to make the vacant apartments available

College of San Mateo • www.sanmatean.comVolume 173, Number 2 September 22, 2010

San MateanTHE

Students protest administrative uncertainties surrounding Professor Moya, who teaches Ethnic Studies, shouting “¡Viva

Moya!” in front of the district office on Monday, Sept. 20.

Students rally for MoyaPhoto by Jeffrey Gonzalez of The San Matean

Skyline student hospitalized trying to save girlfriend

A Skyline student tried to save his girlfriend in the midst of the Sept. 9 San Bruno fire, while friends tried to reach them from outside the zone—to no avail.

Jessica Morales, 20, and Joseph Ruigomez, 19, were home when the fire started.

“I was calling my friend Joe

Alex Farr andRaymond CheungThe San Matean

two hours ago, telling him how I would go visit him after I was off of work, and then on my way out, I saw this (the fire) on the news,” said Ethan Ovaide, 19.

Ovaide and friend Ryan Belcher, 18, circled around Crest-moor Dr. for about 15 minutes trying to get close to Ruigomez’s house to help.

“We were looking for Joe and his girlfriend Jessica Morales,” said Ovaide and Belcher.

“I was about 200 yards away from the fire and all I could see was smoke, crackle, and flames,” added Ovaide.

Ruigomez received second- and third-degree burns, but Mo-rales died in the fire. Ovaide and Belcher were not able to get close enough to help.

Ruigomez underwent surgery at St. Francis Burn Center at San Francisco General on Monday, Sept. 20, and is listed as stable. Joseph Ruigomez, 19, and Jessica Morales, 20.

Photo courtesy of Facebook

Rams running back Chris Jackson struggles to break a tackle by Bulldogs linebacker Brandon Francesconi while Bulldogs defensive back Lucky Dozier covers at the CSM-Fresno opening

season game held on the Bulldogs home ground in San Mateo on Sept.11. Bulldogs won 32-24.

Not so fast...Photo by Petero Qauqau of The San Matean

Cañada program gets $1.2 million grant

Cañada College program got a $1.2 million grant but got the news late for fall planning.

“We usually plan for the school year in the Spring and Summer se-mesters, but since the announce-ment was made in August we are actually planning for the school year in the school year,” said Ro-meo Garcia, TRiO-SSS Interim Director at Cañada College.

They were a month and a half behind in accepting applications. The problem is nationwide and is one that is usually faced by schools and colleges that have a TRiO program, said Garcia.

“We are working on it, begin-

ning with streamlining the appli-cation process with more visibil-ity and we are encouraging more students to apply,” he said.

The $1.2 million grant was giv-en to the program on Sept. 1. The TRiO-SSS program has existed in Cañada for the past five years and is funded by the United States De-partment of Education. It is aimed to provide and assist students with the basic college requirements and motivate them to complete their college education.

It provides an academic, social and personal support system for first generation college students, students with physical or learn-ing disabilities, and low income students. The program offers in-struction in study skills, tutoring

Petero QauqauThe San Matean

services, academic counseling, guidance on career options, assis-tance in securing admission and financial aid for overall support, said the release.

TRiO-SSS participant and Trea-surer, Jitihan Tennakoon finds the program helpful in building a net-work and support system. “It has helped me with my studies,” said the 19 year old native Sri Lankan.

Another student, Ava Thomp-son, 35, who qualified on first-generation basis, said the program was helpful to her because she has to juggle between home and school.

“The services provided have given me a good support system providing tutorship and extra ser-vices,” said Thompson.

See “Fire Aid” on page 3

Special San Bruno fire sectionSpecial San Bruno fire sectionSee center insert

News/sports

San Mateo’s Farmers MarketEvery Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.CSM Lot 1B

CSM Art Faculty ExhibitionNoon to 1 p.m. At the San Mateo Library until 10/27For more information contact Jude Pittman pittmanj@smccd.edu

University of California, Davis Campus VisitWednesday, Sept. 22,10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Building 16, LobbyFor information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

San Francisco State UniversityWednesday, Sept. 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Bldg. 1, Room 115For information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

UC Davis TAG WorkshopWed Sept. 22, 11 a.m. to noon.Bldg. 17, Room 112, Office of Student LifeFor information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

American International College Campus VisitWed Sept. 22,1 p.m. to 4 p.m.Building 16, LobbyFor information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

Last day to declare pass/no pass option for semester long classes with this optionSept. 22 All Day EventCollege of San Mateo

University of California, Berkeley Campus VisitThursday Sept. 23,12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.Bldg. 1, Room 115For information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

UC Fall 2011 Transfer Admission Guarantee WorkshopWednesday Sept. 29, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.Bldg. 14, Room 104For information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

UC Application/Personal Statement WorkshopThursday, Sept. 30,1 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Bldg. 17, Room 112, Office of Student LifeFor information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

Transfer DayThursday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.CSM Courtyard, Near LibraryFor information call CSM Transfer Center 358-6839

CSM-- ¡ Si se puede! (Yes we can!)Monday, Sept. 27, 10:10 a.m. to 11 a.m.Building 3, TheatreFor information contact Modesta GarciaGarciaM@smccd.edu

SPORTS

CSM Cross Country Golden Gate Park MeetThursday, Sept. 23, 3 p.m.San Francisco, Golden Gate ParkFor information contact Joe Mangan manganj@smccd.edu

CSM Football vs. West Valley CollegeSaturday, Sept. 25, 5:30 p.m. Saratoga High SchoolFor information contact Brooke McKinney mckinneyb@smccd.edu

Campus BriefsIf there is an event that readers would like listed in Campus Briefs, please submit it to The San Matean at Bldg. 19, Room 123, or sanmatean@smccd.edu., or call 574-6330. Submissions should be typed neatly.

by Jessica Ritter

Campus Blotter Wednesday, Sept. 1, 6:50 a.m. — A wallet was stolen from a locker at the CSM Athletic Club.

Friday, Sept. 3, 9:44 a.m. — A stolen laptop was seized from someone who had purchased it via EBay.

Friday, Sept. 3, 10:00 a.m. — A baby bag, medication, and a satellite radio receiver were stolen from an unlocked car and there are no suspects.

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 9:45 a.m. — A wallet was reported lost at the Farmer’s Market.

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 6:57 p.m. — An off-roading green Toyota pickup was stuck in a ditch and there were no injuries.

Monday, Sept. 13, 9:50 a.m. — The Health Center received a call reporting a medically distressed person in Building 36. Nurse Beth Monticue responded and Fire and EMT personnel were called. The person was transported off campus by ambulance to a hospital.

Monday, Sept. 13, 3 p.m. — A car was burglarized, a guitar was stolen and there were no suspects.

— Sylvia VasquezThe San Matean

Page 2 • The SAN MATEAN September 22, 2010

CorreCtionThe San Matean staff would like to apologize for an error in the September 7, 2010 Issue of The San Matean. In the First Amendment Update the publication stated that PIV Committee would present its response to College Council on Sept. 14. This information was incorrect. The PIV Committee presented an update as an information item at the Sept. Academic Senate Governing Council meeting.

Wanna save some trees?(And ink bushes?)

Read The San Matean online:www.sanmatean.com

Lady Bulldogs get 1st winJeffry Aldinger andErasmo MartinezThe San Matean

In their first two matches Satur-day, Sept. 11, the water polo team lost a match with Diablo Valley College, 7-5—but rebounded to beat Modesto College 14-8.

DVC got on the scoreboard first, when DVC driver Gina Grieco received an assist from point Nicole Meyer to take the lead 1-0. The Bulldogs responded when Sophomore point Melissa Chao made a cross pool pass to wing Gianna Davino who found the back of the net with 1:38 re-maining in the quarter.

After another DVC goal, Chao found Davino in the second quar-ter and tied the score up at 2-2.

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game with six min-utes remaining in the quarter as Najelah Najdawi took advantage of a six on five. “We had 21 missed shots and 13 turnovers,” Head Coach Randy Wright said,“That is 34 missed scoring opportuni-ties we did not take advantage of. I did like our intensity today and we were much more focused, but we do need to finish better.”

DVC tied the score up three minutes later and Chau got on the board herself, only to be matched by a DVC goal as the teams en-tered the fourth quarter tied, 4-4.

Both goalies made save after save, goalie Zoe Aguila,had four-

teen for the Bulldogs. “Zoe played extremely well today,” Coach Wright said.

Najdawi scored her second goal of the game on a five meter and less then a minute later DVC scored back to back goals to give them back an unrelinquished lead.

A final goal by DVC’s Grieco gave DVC a two goal lead with two minutes left.

Coach Wright was pleased with the overall effort after a tough loss and sees many positives heading into conference play. “We had high hopes for the season and believe we will do well in confer-ence. Overall we are headed in the right direction.”

Goalie Aguila agreed, “We are definitely improving each game.”

Later the Bulldogs got their first victory of the season, a 14-8 victory over Modesto College.

Modesto scored the first goal, but CSM quickly responded and led entering the second quarter 4-1. In the second quarter both teams scored twice with the Bulldogs still leading going into half, 6-3.

In the third period, Modesto scored two goals but CSM matched Modesto’s scoring and scored three goals to enter the fourth quarter with a lead 8-5. In the fourth quarter the Bulldogs en-joyed their best scoring quarter of the short season with six goals on their way to a 14-8 victory. After-wards Coach Wright was stoked about the victory, “This game we looked very good in terms of offense, defense, and transition. This team has the potential to be very exciting.”

Leading the way for the Bull-dogs were Najdawi who tallied six goals, Melissa Chao added 3 goals to her normal stellar passing game, Paige Ramstack found the back of the net three times, and Davino along with Angelica Me-dina each scored once. Coco Mor-ton got her first start and came up with 15 big saves herself.

Next up for the Bulldogs this week is a weekend round robin tournament at West Valley Col-lege. The Bulldogs start the tournament Friday with a match versus host WVC and then have a rematch with Modesto. The Bulldogs host Sierra College on Tuesday, Sept. 21 and then host Merced College on Sept. 23.

Photo by Jeffry Aldinger of The San Matean

Bulldogs take on DVC

Bulldog Jeremy Galten and a Ram defensive back tussle in the Fresno City College game.Photo by Petero Qauqau of The San Matean

Chiquito, a 4 year old cocker spaniel, is just one of the pets of the victims of the San Bruno fire to find sanctuary with the Penin-sula Humane Society.

With so many families losing their homes and many other fami-lies being evacuatedfor their own safety, there have been dozens of pets misplaced and left behind.

Tyler Huffman and Sylvia VasquezThe San Matean

PHS, which lost two of its own volunteers in the fire, Jacqueline Greig, 44, and her daughter Jan-essa, 13, has been working hard to make sure all pets are taken care of andreturned to their families, said Senior Vice President, Cus-tomer Service and Community Relations Scott Delucchi.

The Humane Society trans-ferred all of their adoptable pets to Marin County and Hillsdale Mall to make room available to house pets that need a home as well as for stray animals turned in as a result of the fire. Many families that were displaced had to bring their pets to the PHS because their temporary living situation won’t allow them to live with their pets. “Right now there are close to 30 animals being housed in the Hu-mane Society but there is room to shelter many more,” said Deluc-chi.

The Humane Society will house pets for the next month. There were also two stray dogs turned in after the explosion on Thurs-day night that have already found their owners thanks to the Penin-sula Humane Society’s hard work. “Happy to do our part,” said Reg-

istered Veterinary Technician Ter-ri Akaba, of PHS. “Owners feel a sense a relief that the animals are being taken care of,” said De-lucchi.The Humane Society has also been going into the homes of evacuated families and feed-ing their pets while the families are not being let back into their

first to our employees and stu-dents who might have lost a home in the San Bruno fire and, sec-ondly, to other community mem-bers affected by the fire,” wrote Chancellor Ron Galatolo in a Sept. 10 press release sent out to all employees. “ We want to offer victims the opportunity to live in a home rather than in a hotel or shelter,” he wrote.

Christensen visited The San Bruno Senior Center and The Red Cross on Sunday, Sept. 12 to make sure that victims were aware that the district was making this resource available to them. At the time of publication no one had called to take advantage of the re-source.

The College of San Mateo is doing their part to help provide re-sources for victims as well.

The college provided support in many ways including setting

up a relief fund where donations can be made through the school’s website, providing psychologi-cal services to students who were affected, and taking donations of clothing and supplies through ASCSM and The Office of Stu-dent Life.

“My heart goes out to all of those who lost so much in the San Bruno fire. If you know of any employee or student that was af-fected by last night’s fire, please let me know. We will do every-thing that we can to support that person,” read a Sept. 10 early morning e-mail sent to all em-ployees from President Michael Claire.

“I feel strongly that as a com-munity college we have an obli-gation to help the community in time of need. To that end, I will be working with the campus to determine how we might help our community,” Claire wrote in the e-mail.

Fire NewsSeptember 22, 2010 The SAN MATEAN • Page 3

homes. “If we havean address we can secure their pets,” Delucchi said. PHS is taking donations in formsof food and money to help provide for pets and strays.

All 12 animals that are still left have been claimed by their own-ers, but there are still 16 cats and 4 dogs that have been reported

missing and have yet to be found. Cats have been the hardest to find because it isn’t rare to see a cat outside and think nothing of it. So if you see an outdoor cat around the Glenview area try to contact the PHS or San Francisco SPCA to help in the effort of returning all stray pets to their families.

Photo by Jason Pun of The San Matean

Schwarzenegger tours the San Bruno destruction.Photo by Jason Pun of The San Matean

Fire aidContinued from page 1 In response to the Sept. 9 San

Bruno fire The Associated Stu-dents, in conjunction with the Office of Student Life, are orga-nizing efforts to provide food, clothing, supplies, and funds to thevictims of this disaster, read a Sept. 10 e-mail sent to all employ-ees from Aaron Schaefer, student activities coordinator.

“The CSM community has always opened their hearts and wallets to assist victims of cata-strophic events worldwide. This time, however, disaster has struck our own community. These are our friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues. We hope that the CSM community’s support will be overwhelming,” wrote Schae-fer in the e-mail.

For more information on ways to help visit The Office of Student Life (Bldg. 17, Room 112) or visit CSM’s San Bruno Relief Effort website at http://collegeofsanma-teo.edu/sanbruno/.

Simba (left) and Chiquito, both 4, temporarily staying at the Peninsula Humane Society.Photo by Sylvia Vasquez of The San Matean

Help on hand for Chiquito and other family pets

Terri Akaba, and Doodlebox,a PHS resident chihuahua.

Photo by Sylvia Vasquez of The San Matean

Governor Schwarzenegger stepped off his plane from Asia and straight into the ongoing ef-forts to assess the San Bruno after-math and aid the victims.

Schwarzenegger was briefed Wednesday, Sept. 15, on both the status of San Bruno’s Glenview neighborhood which was affected by the fire and about relief efforts to help the community. Represen-

tatives of the National Transpor-tation Safety Board, California Public Utilities Commission, CalE.M.A, PG&E and the city of San Bruno were present to inform the governor and present a map to show the extent of the fire’s severity.

Schwarzanegger gave his praise to Lt. Governor Abel Mal-donado, Secretary of CalE.M.A Matthew Bettenhausen, and local officials for their handling of the

catastrophe. Since the governor was in Asia at the time the pipe-line ruptured in San Bruno, Mal-donado handled the situation.

“Ask any firefighter, and they will tell you the first few hours are what count,” said Schwarzeneg-ger. “Law enforcement did well. Volunteers responded quickly. There was quick action.”

The governor has named Sep-tember National Preparedness Month.

Secretary Bettenhausen also commended the community for coming together in the face of emergency. He congratulated the cooperation and coordination of community organizations. “I hope we can sustain that mutual aid,” he said. “The passionate people reflect the community.”

The investigation is being con-tinued by the NTSB, but they are not releasing all information while causes are still being inves-tigated. According to chief inves-

Jeffrey GonzalezThe San Matean

Gov. returns, promises answers

Gov. Schwarzenegger arrives for briefing regarding San Bruno.

tigator, the ruptured pipe has been removed and they began testing pipelines to find out where and why the explosion happened, also where it could occur again.

“All companies are going to have to learn from this,” said President of PG&E Chris Johns concerning manual, remote, and automatic valves. “Safety is our core value. We do emergency pre-paredness training all the time.”

Schwarzanegger mentioned

talking to President Obama the day after the explosion. Obama offered full support, signing a FEMA order earlier to bring help to the Glenview area, said Schwarzenegger. “We are mak-ing changes so it doesn’t happen again. We will share all informa-tion with everyone as soon as we can. You have the right to know. I assure you I will come back and inform all of you,” he said.

“I’ll be back.”

Destruction in the the immediate area of the San Bruno fire.Photo by Mario Ayala of The San Matean

Fire News September 22, 2010Page 4 • The SAN MATEAN

A gas line caused a tremendous explosion which forced hun-dreds of San Bruno residents to be evacuated from their homes Thursday night.

According to an official docu-ment from the city of San Bruno, there are seven confirmed fatali-ties, five missing and 52 injuries caused by the fire. The fire de-stroyed 48 homes and heavily damaged seven. The fire was 10 acres in size and is 85 percent contained, says the report. The fire was caused by a rupture in a PG&E natural gas pipeline at around 6 p.m. Sept. 9.

Many witnesses testified that the flames went hundreds of feet into the sky. “I heard a whistle like I’ve never heard, then there was a huge explosion,” said San Bruno resident Noelle Ottoboni. “I thought they were shooting bombs.”

A resident of Rollingwood neighborhood, Iris Garcia also recalled the experience; “We felt something strong, the ground shake, then heard the explosion,” she said. She and her husband were evacuated immediately with no regard for their belongings.

“I just started looking for my kids and left as soon as we were together,” said Ottoboni.

“I came to visit my mom. I was coming up the 380 and I saw this flame—it was seriously like 200 feet high,” said William Lopez, 27, of Pleasant Hill. “I asked my mom if she’d seen the flames. She said she’d passed by at 4:30, go-ing to CostCo, but it was just a small flame.”

“We saw 12 houses completely burnt,” said Ryan Belcher, 18, from near the scene of the blaze.

Hundreds of people from the community relocated to the Bay-hill Shopping center on San Bru-no Ave. Packed with displaced families, the shopping center was pulsing with commotion. Neigh-

Jeffrey Gonzalez,Alex Farr and

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

bors convened in the shops and tried to find explanations from each other. Many believed the ex-plosion was the result of a plane crash, but later reports and testi-mony revealed it was the pipeline.

Restaurants, grocery stores, and coffee shops opened their doors to the displaced people. Starbuck’s and Jamba Juice employees were walking around the parking lot distributing free drinks. CVS was giving away free electric blankets. They also donated cases of water to the police department.

“Some people don’t realize they’re a community until they come together and support each other like this,” said Taylor Davis, Starbuck’s employee. “It’s hard to see your regulars come in and say they just lost everything.” Ac-cording to another Starbuck’s em-ployee, Chase Angelo, a former Skyline student, a couple hun-dred people were in and out of the store. Starbuck’s stayed open indefinitely that night to support people. “We’re just doing what we can,” he said.

The Red Cross was present in the parking lot, providing food, water and coffee for the displaced, as well as for police officers. Around 10 p.m. SamTrams buses

arrived at the scene and began re-locating people to other shelters, such as the Recreation Center on City Park Way. Some people were taken to the Embassy Suites Hotel, according to Michelle Windsore, General Director of Dutch Girl Cleaner, who said

Police, fire, and utility workers maintain order as a nearby San Bruno neighborhood gas main burned wildly Thursday, Sept. 9.

Photo by Bruno Manrique of The San Matean

Flames blast San Bruno district

that Embassy suites has a contract with The Red Cross. Windsore is also a representative of the Cer-tified Restoration Dry Cleaning Network, an affiliate of numer-ous insurance companies such as

USAA and Farmer’s. The CRDCN was providing information for people regarding relocation and access to supplies. When the Red Cross stopped accepting blankets for donations, the CRDCN offered their help and took the excess, said Windsore.

Support for the San Bruno resi-dents has been surfacing all around the community. The Alpine Inn in Daly City offered free rooms to the victims of the fire. According to Eusha Peadal, manager of the

Leaking gas from rupured PG&E line feeds the flames of the Sept. 9 San Bruno firePhoto by Jason Pun of The San Matean

Police block entry to Glenview district while parents carry children out of the area of the fire.Photo by Bruno Manrique of The San Matean

hotel, seven people were housed at the hotel that night.

Facebook.com profiles have been started to get information out about help services that are being offered around the area.

The ASCSM and Office of Student Life have also started a

relief fund to aid those affected by the disaster. “The CSM com-munity has always opened their hearts to assist victims of cata-strophic events worldwide. This time, however, disaster has struck our own community. These are our friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues. We hope that the CSM community’s support will be overwhelming,” said Coordi-nator of Student Activities, Aaron Schafer.

According to Fauzi Hamadeh, another Coordinator of Student Activities, Joseph Robillard, a student, ran a donation drive at CSM’s first home game of the year. Robillard’s effort started independently of the ASCSM. “Since the ASCSM has the fund already set up, we’re just going to transfer the donations into that account,” said Robillard. “I don’t personally know anyone who was affected from this particular inci-dent, but I’ve had family who’s lost their home to fire. I wanted to help because there’s no worse feeling than losing everything.”

Fire News The SAN MATEAN • Page 5 September 22, 2010

Jason Pun, Alex FarrThe San Matean

Fire victims allowed to go homeSan Bruno officials announced

to a packed town hall of more than 500 concerned residents that many of those displaced by the city’s di-sastrous fire would be allowed to return to their homes beginning at noon Sunday, Sept. 12.

After the crowd gave the fire and police departments a standing ovation, San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson began explaining the logistical plans for returning people to their homes.

The city planned to begin the process of “re-entry” for those who hadn’t been allowed back to their homes since the evacuations on Sept. 9 by setting up staging areas for residents to gather, said Jackson. Residents were to be split by zones and those whose homes weren’t fully demolished were to be asked for identification be-fore being issued wristbands that would allow them to pass through checkpoints around the restricted access areas.

The city estimated that there were approximately 271 homes that had been inaccessible since the fire broke out, said Jackson.

There were also five still report-ed missing, said San Bruno Police Chief Neil Telford, and seven con-firmed fatalities, as of Sept. 12.

The city re-entry plan divided houses in the affected area into three categories: a green tag—which indicated no significant damage and a livable house; a yel-low tag—which indicated a house with serious enough damage to be uninhabitable; and a red tag—which indicated a house with so much structural damage that it is not safe even to enter. Those whose houses were green tagged were to be allowed to return and remain in their homes on Sunday, while those with a yellow tagged home would only be allowed to return long enough to gather pos-sessions—they wouldn’t be al-lowed to stay. Those with a red tagged house wouldn’t be allowed to return to those houses.

PG&E, meanwhile, was work-ing to restore service to the af-fected neighborhoods— power, gas and water were expected to be returned to service Saturday, said Jackson. Land-line phone service was expected to be fully restored in three days to a week and street light service was expected to be

restored within the week.The houses of the neighbor-

hood were inspected and hazard-ous materials had been contained, said San Bruno Fire Chief Den-nis Haag. “There was no forced entry. We did a visual inspection from the outside,” added Haag

responding to concerns about bro-ken doors.

PG&E and the city also assured the availability of building inspec-tors and inspections of residents homes for gas leaks upon request.

“We have been here for over 100 years. We were here yesterday and we’ll be here tomorrow. We’re not going to abandon San Bruno,” said Geisha Williams, a PG&E spokesperson.

PG&E expected to have inspec-tions of accessible gas lines com-

pleted on Saturday, Sept. 12, and inspections of inaccessible lines completed in the following days.

Residents were advised to con-tact their insurance companies, many representatives of which were on hand Saturday, about compensation for damages to

their homes or other losses. Con-gresswoman Jackie Speier also cautioned residents to itemize all their losses and to take pictures of anything before it is discarded if possible. “Make an inventory of all the things you lost, down to toilet paper and Q-tips,” said Speier. “Just because you have an amount that you can receive—that’s not what you’re going to get. You have to prove it.”

The effort to guide the evacuees back towards their homes started

San Bruno’s Sept. 11 town hall packed St. Robert’s Catholic Church with concerned residents.Photo by Alex Farr of The San Matean

A volunteer provides a displaced resident with the wristband needed to re-enter his fire affected San Bruno neighborhood.Photo by Mario Ayala of The San Matean

Fire and CPUC officials and workers sort through the debris of the area affected by the fire.Photo by Mario Ayala of The San Matean

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a little ahead of schedule, at 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Hundreds of volunteers, PG&E personnel and American Red Cross volun-teers met at a Skyline Commu-nity College parking lot in order to provide food and necessities to the displaced residents while their

re-entry was organized.PG&E alone had 70 engineers

within the affected zone, and 30 staff members at the staging ground at Skyline, said Brian Swanson, 38, a PG&E rep.

The aid being given out at the staging area consisted of food, as well as work gloves, latex gloves, garbage bags, tote bags, hand sanitizer, and face masks for any residents who might need them to clean their homes. By 12:11 p.m., PG&E had distributed “300 bags

at least,” said volunteer Vincent Natali, 23.

PG&E also escorted families through their homes, inspecting appliances and making sure that pilot lights were properly lit.

Swanson stated that in order to help the more distressed residents, they would be providing vouchers for hotels, car rentals, gift cards, as well as help to provide expe-dited claims. Swanson also said that gas and electricity had been reintroduced to the small subur-ban neighborhood at around 1 a.m. Sunday morning. Tests were also conducted on two gas lines to insure the safety of the system.

PG&E was “working the past few days to secure the scene,” said Swanson. “It was our first priority.”

Residents waited until their street name was called before re-ceiving a colored wrist band and decal to allow them passage back into the zone. By 1 p.m., about 60 to 65 percent of the evacuees were given wristbands and permission to enter the zones and return to their homes.

In light of the catastrophic na-ture of the incident, residents ap-peared to have a generally posi-tive disposition on the reentry. “Most people are relieved that their homes are intact,” said Seth Prosterman, Red Cross volunteer.

However, despite the success of the re-entry, residents are still shaken by the events. “So lucky to be alive,” said San Bruno Resi-dent, Paul Uniacke, 46.

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Fire News September 22, 2010Page 6 • The SAN MATEAN

San Bruno residents, like soph-omore Trish Malaspina, were fi-nally allowed back in their homes after three days of waiting due to emergency crew security restric-tions.

Residents were allowed back home on Sept.12 beginning at noon after their identities were

confirmed in a parking lot at Sky-line College.

Malaspina clearly remembers the three days of frustration, not being allowed to go back to her home due to security restrictions.

“I was still at CSM, waiting for football practice to be over when I first got the call,” said Malaspi-na, 20. “Then I talked to my little brother Joe and he was scared,

he said ‘don’t go back home’ ev-erything was burning and orange from the flames.”

Her basketball coach, Michelle Warner, recalls the day of the inci-dent “I happened to be watching a documentary in the History Chan-nel, then I flipped to the news, saw the fire, then I immediately thought of Trish,” said Warner.

“I called her and told her ‘Let

me know if you need anything’,” added Warner.

Residents outside of the area of fire were uncertain of the cause of the explosion and the state of their homes, as well as their friends’ and family’s condition.

“At that moment it was all pan-ic, I thought my family died and my house burnt,” said Malaspina of her reaction to the news.

While her home didn’t suffer any damage, she recalls the three days’ wait as a constant struggle.

“I used to drive right over where it blew up, all of that is gone, now there’s a 15-foot hole by there,” she said. “Now I have to drive up by Skyline and Sneath.”

Not having to live with all I had and unable to come home was frustrating, she said. She stayed with a friend in Pacifica in the meantime.

Wondering if I’d ever go back

home. Malaspina lives with her father John, her brothers Ray and Joe, and her dog Wimpy.

Freshman Sarah Balling, a teammate of Malaspina; got a feel of the experience, her mother, Sandy Willis, used to live in the area before moving to Fremont.

“I was at home, my aunt that lives in San Jose called and asked if I knew about the news,” said Balling, 18. “When I heard about the area affected, I immediately called Trish, we were on Google Earth trying to figure out where it was.”

Not knowing what else to do to help, Balling donated from what she had on hand. “I donated half of my clothes to support those in need,” said Balling. “I tried to help those who’d lost things. Just knowing that my teammate was there and something could have happened to her was terrifying.”

Students among those left in the cold after fireBruno ManriqueThe San Matean

Responses to San Bruno blastRoger Boucher and Raymond CheungThe San Matean

PG&E is being investigated by government officials, while both parties work to aid affected resi-dents of San Bruno.

Senator Leland Yee proposed a relief bill on Tuesday, Sept. 14, for victims of the San Bruno fire. The bill proposes to supply a $7,000 tax cut for properties in the fire that are not covered by insurance and PG&E, said Adam Keigwin, Yee’s Chief of Staff. The bill also insures that schools and local gov-ernment will not receive less rev-enue than before the fire.

PG&E, meanwhile, has com-mitted significant funds to the San Bruno relief effort and is assisting affected citizens with filing insur-ance claims. PG&E will donate $100 million to the Rebuild San Bruno fund, towards the recon-struction of the area. These funds will be utilized for both short and

long term relief efforts in the af-fected area, said Fiona Chan, a representative of the PG&E Cor-poration. “We are committed to restoring the community and we are cooperating with the investi-gations,” said Chan.

According to State Assembly-man Jerry Hill’s office, federal and state agencies are launching a full investigation into the cause of the pipe rupture and whether or not PG&E is at fault for a lack of maintenance. Hill expressed his concern with PG&E’s past disre-gard of safety regulations.

Hill cited a report from the Cal-ifornia Public Utilities Commis-sion that outlined a list of safety regulations violated by PG&E, and other hazardous aspects of the infrastructure run by the corpora-tion.

“The residents of San Bruno de-serve to know if PG&E used the correct procedures in the days and weeks leading up to this disas-ter,” Hill said. “State and federal

investigators need to determine if PG&E personnel had the prop-er training and equipment and whether or not this disaster could have been prevented.”

In the face of these serious ac-cusations PG&E’s resolve to re-main in San Bruno is steadfast.

“We’ve been here for over 100 years, we were here yesterday,

we’ll be here tomorrow, we’re not going to leave. We’re not going to abandon San Bruno,” said Gei-sha Williams, a spokeswoman for PG&E, during the Sept. 11 San Bruno town hall meeting.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier is also working with officials and lawmakers to urge Gov. Ar-nold Schwarzenegger to apply

for a federal disaster declara-tion, signed by President Barrack Obama, she said at the San Bruno town hall, Sept. 11. The federal disaster declaration would make FEMA funds available to help un-insured victims in San Bruno as well as make low-interest loans available from the Small Business Administration.

State Senator Leland Yee (right) at a Sept. 15 press conference and NTSB briefing.Photo by Jason Pun of The San Matean

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Wreckage still remains in the epicenter of the San Bruno fire. Chimnies and car frames are all that’s left standing in the wake of the explosion and ensuing flames.

Photo by Mario Ayala of The San Matean

Disaster zone debris

opiNioN & public Forum September 22, 2010 The SAN MATEAN • Page 7

editorial

Bathroom Stall Living“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife”. A statement probably

more meaningful when it was written more than two millennia ago than it is today. Once upon a time, people had more choice who would be their neighbors; people lived close to their brothers, fathers, cousins, etc. To covet a neighbor’s wife likely meant coveting a sister-in-law, or maybe one’s own mother.

These days we don’t exactly choose who we live next to. Economics chooses our neighbors. Those who live next to us are just the ones that make as much money as we do—complete strangers sharing a fence. Outside of a morning wave, communication between neighbors is mini-mal. To quote Marcus Aurelius; “How much time he saves who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks.”

Society these days, however, treats homes like bathroom stalls. You go in there to do your business, but you don’t really care to share your life with the bloke next door.

What happened to the sense of community? While it is true that some neighborhoods do have a network of friendships, getting together and even closing streets for block parties, the majority of communities don’t share this sense of trust. Increasingly it’s an every house for itself mentality. Isolated by fashioned trees and locked doors, neighbors pro-tect themselves from neighbors. With the advent of new technologies society acclimates itself to interact indirectly; with people secluding themselves and turning to their computer screens to talk to someone. People are slowly losing the desire to actually talk to new persons... in person. Why talk to the stranger that lives next to you, when you can be skyping your BFF? People need to get out of the habit of avoiding their fellows, build a web of friendships and support, a sense of security. In the case of the San Bruno fire, one resident admitted he didn’t know half the people in the Bayhill evacuation center were his neighbors. “Some people don’t realize they’re a community until they come to-gether and support each other like this,” said Taylor Davis, a Starbuck’s employee, the night of the fire. But we shouldn’t have to wait for an earthquake or a fire to break down our walls to know we aren’t alone.

It’s up to us to create that sense of community. If we don’t, no one will. So—do it. Don’t wait for your neighbor to ask you for a cup of sugar, go over and give them some sweetness of your own volition.

State Farm doesn’t have to be the only good neighbor out there.

The San MaTean is a First Amendment newspaper published bi-weekly during the academic year by the Journalism 120, 300, 690 and 850 students at College of San Mateo as a medium for campus communication and laboratory for classes. Opinions, letters and commentary reflect only the opinion of the writer, and not necessarily the opinion of The San MaTean. Letters to the Editor and opinion articles are welcome, although they may be edited for style, space, content and libel. Mail or deliver letters to Building 19, Room 123, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402.

Telephone: 650-574-6330. E-mail: sanmatean@smccd.edu. All letters must be signed and accompanied by phone numbers or addresses to verify authorship. Names may be withheld upon request. Advertising that conforms to San Mateo County Community College District regulations is welcome. The San MaTean reserves the right to refuse advertising. Single copies are free —additional copies 25 cents each.

adviSer: Ed Remitz

Founded in 1928

the saN mateaN is printed thanks to a generous donation of printing services by the San Francisco Newspaper Company

and John P. Wilcox, President and Publisher.

adverTiSing: Jennifer Mills(415) 359-2772

jmills@sfexaminer.com CollegeMember ofCalifornia

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After the recent devastation caused by the gas line explosion in a neighborhood close to Skyline College in San Bruno, I decided to go give blood to help all of the burn victims in need. Before going down to the blood bank I decided to make an appointment, just in case it was busier than it normally would be— and it sure was busier than usual.

Blood Centers of the Pacific, 111 Rollins Road in Millbrae: members of several cities in the peninsula flooded the entrance. It took 30 minutes to just find a spot to park, which says a lot because the blood bank has its own parking lot and another sits right across the street.

I entered the line to the inside of the blood bank, then joined another that took me to the front counter where I got my paperwork. Talking to others looking to donate, I heard that some had been waiting nearly 3 hours to give their donation! And they waiting patiently— like they had only been there as long as me.

After waiting an hour and a half I followed a nurse to a seat, where I donated double red cells— the dona-tion that helps patients that have lost a significant amount of blood. The donation itself takes 10-20 minutes longer than the traditional donation, but it is much more helpful. Other blood donations include the tradi-tional blood donation, donating plasma, and donating platelets.

All in all the response from the Peninsula and Bay Area community in wake of this tragedy has really been magical and the one bright spot in the past week. Seeing everyone drop what they were doing to help people in need is really something to look at and be proud of. Unfortunately the damage from this event can not be erased over night, so the support from the community must continue in order to help families that need help

Community giving their part

First Amendment Update: Digital Media

curriculm to be voted onThe San Matean is involved in an ongoing dispute with the admin-

istration concerning the future of its newspaper and website. A 2008 program review of the media programs threatens the future of the publication and its associated website.

An overview and outline were created by the Digital Media fac-ulty which was presented to The Academic Senate as an information item at it’s Sept. 14 Governing Council meeting. It will be an action item at the next meeting on Sept. 28 before being sent to The Commit-tee on Instruction.

A journalism track remains an option under the new program. See www.sanmatean.com for more information.

What do you think of pastors burning Qurans?

Back Talkby Nick O’Shea

Tania Thomas, 33 Admin. Justice, S.F.

“I thought it was kind of wrong. I know there’s kind of a religious divide in the U.S. against Islam.”

Ashley Manandhar, 19Biology, San Mateo

“He doesn’t have any right to do that. Supporters don’t even understand what it is. Why can’t we have anything?”

David Shin, 20Computer Science, Millbrae

“They do have freedom of speech, but I feel they were disrespecting other people’s religions.”

Valdeir Faria-fihlo, 21 Aviation Mgmt, Goianiana

“The most idiot move, the most animalistic action, any person could take.”

Ernesto Lomeli, 17Undecided, Daly City

“I don’t think it’s right.”

Nathan Pang, 20Admin. Justice, San Mateo

“I just think he will incite violence. It seems counter-productive.”

STaff:Roger Boucher, Raymond Cheung, Khiry Crawford, Ben Ebrahimzadehgan, Shine Gao, “Dee” Harris,

Kenta Hayatsu, Sharon Ho, Tyler Huffman, Alex Kujan, Marcin Marciniak, Erasmo Martinez,

Rachel Nielson, Manuel Orbegozo, Jason Pun, Ezekiel Pedrosa, Petero Qauqau, Kelsey Sachs, Sylvia Vasquez

Jeffrey gonzalez

maNagiNg editor

nick o’Shea

photo editorJeffry aldinger

sports editor

MargareT BauM

executive editor

JeSSica riTTer

editor

alex farr

copy editor

Blood being drawn from Tyler Huffman at Blood Centers of the Pacific.Photo by Tyler Huffman of The San Matean

now more than ever. Seeing the help given already reas-sures all that we live in a much more tight-knit com-munity than we might have thought, and that together we can make this process a lot easier for those that have already been through so much.

—Tyler HuffmanThe San Matean

About the wrapper : Photos of San Bruno’s cataclysmic Sept. 9 fire and of helicopters dropping fire retardants on the flames are were sent

to the publication by Gary Chancer, a San Bruno resident .

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Photos courtesy of Gary Chancer