Award-winning City College Journalism Dept. continues striving for excellence

by Marco Siler-Gonzales

November was a month to remember for City College of San Francisco’s Department of Journalism. The department received national and regional awards for the students’ steadfast work in their bi-weekly newspaper publication, the Guardsman. Department Chair Juan Gonzales was honored by the city and state for his ongoing efforts to educate young aspiring journalists at City College and other publications in the city.

‘Celebrating-80-Years-City-College-is-Still-Your-College’-Guardsman-exhibit-City-College-Library-thru-0216-1-by-Otto-Pippenger-The-Guardsman-web-300x200, Award-winning City College Journalism Dept. continues striving for excellence, Culture Currents
“Celebrating 80 Years: City College is Still Your College” is an exhibit at City College’s Rosenberg Library commemorating the school and its stories as told through the award-winning newspaper The Guardsman, founded 80 years ago in 1935. The exhibit will be on display through February 2016. – Photo: Otto Pippenger, The Guardsman

Guardsman staff won 11 awards, including general excellence, at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges regional conference in Sacramento on Nov 7. Three Guardsman staff members placed in on-the-spot competition, including a first place award for Editorial Cartoon by Serina Mercado. Eight staffers won awards for previously submitted stories and photos.

During the Nov. 12 reception in the college’s Rosenberg Library commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Guardsman, state Assemblyman David Chiu presented Gonzales with a certificate of recognition, highlighting his contribution to “the history and fabric of City College and [his] commitment to inspiring, cultivating and energizing our city’s next generation of journalists.”

Guardsman staff won 11 awards, including general excellence, at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges regional conference in Sacramento on Nov 7.

On Nov. 19 the journalism department, in collaboration with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), hosted a resume and interview workshop for prospective internships and jobs in journalism. “Our collaboration with the NHJ was a great feat and brought a number of journalists to work with students and aiding them toward career goals” Gonzales said.

‘Celebrating-80-Years-City-College-is-Still-Your-College’-Guardsman-exhibit-City-College-Library-thru-0216-2-by-Natasha-Dangond-The-Guardsman-web-300x200, Award-winning City College Journalism Dept. continues striving for excellence, Culture Currents
The exhibit, curated by the CCSF Journalism Dept. and the CCSF Library Archives, celebrates 80 years of campus life at City College, as seen through the eyes of student journalists at The Guardsman. – Photo: Natasha Dangond, The Guardsman

The state legislature and Mayor Ed Lee honored Gonzales on Nov. 20 for finding the bilingual news publication, El Tecolote, 45 years ago in the Mission District. Over 200 people attended the ceremony at the Grand Mission Theatre, where Mayor Ed Lee proclaimed Nov. 20 as “El Tecolote Day.”

The Guardsman staff looks forward to attending the Journalism Association of Community Colleges state conference this spring, where they will be competing against 60 community colleges and some 500 journalism students throughout the state.

For more information on The Guardsman and the City College Journalism Department, contact Juan Gonzales at 415-239-3447 or learn more at facebook.com/citycollegeofsanfranciscojournalism.