IDST instructor Rayan El-Amine will be one of the featured speakers at the anti-war teach-in at City College on February 28 in the Diego Rivera Theater from 10 am to 12 pm.

This event is sponsored by American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121. Allan Fisher, Labor Council Delegate/Secretary sends this public service announcement:

Iraq: The Case for Immediate Withdrawal and the Growing Military Resistance to the War

Since the war in Iraq began four years ago, predicated on the lies, misinformation and interventionist foreign policy of the Bush administration, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and over 3,100 US military personnel have been killed. Untold damage has been done to the lives of the Iraqi people, while the 'war on terror' has been used as a premise for a frontal assault on our constitutional rights and social programs here at home.

In the 1970s, the combined actions by the Vietnamese resistance, US military resisters, labor, students, and the community were decisive in stopping the Vietnam war. Now, the majority of Americans want to see an end to the occupation of Iraq. How can we draw on that sentiment, and turn it into something that can be used to stop the war?

Come and hear a panel discussion and participate in a debate on the nature of this war, and what we can do to stop it.
Wednesday February 28, 10am-12pm
Diego Rivera Theater, Ocean Campus, City College
Panel speakers will include:
- speakers on the growing military resistance to the war including Helga Aguayo (wife of Iraq veteran and military resister Augustin Aguayo); a student member of the campus anti-war network, plus:
· Rayan El -Amine, lecturer in Middle Eastern politics and culture, City College, and
· Brian Cruz, SEIU City College
Sponsored by American Federation of Teachers, local 2121
(also probably the Associated Students and other student groups and SEIU 790)
--

Beth Cataldo, coordinator of the Multimedia Studies program in IDST, recently premiered her documentary Ray Bandar: A Life with Skulls at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival.

With more than 7,000 in his collection, including 1700 from California sea lions, Ray Bandar has been collecting skulls for the Academy of Science since 1953. Inspired by the artistry of Georgia O'Keefe and Henry Moore, Ray and his wife, Alkmene, have a basement filled with skulls from anteaters to elephants * discovered on the road, along the shore, and in the zoo. His collection is an invaluable resource for scientists from around the world.

Check out articles about Ray Bandar and Beth's movie on SFGate and the Contra Costa times home pages:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/20/BAGBCNLT6C1.DTL
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/16517058.htm

Watch for this film, and Ray, to be appearing at City College of San Francisco later this spring!

Lise Swenson, Interdisciplinary Studies and Film Studies Instructor, has co-produced Strange Culture, an experimental documentary that chronicles the recent life drama of artist and professor Steve Kurtz of the Critical Art Ensemble. Directed by Hershman Lesson, this feature length work premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Wendy Fong from theMultimedia Studies Program in IDST, Sharon Turner from the Health Education and Community Health Studies Department, and Josie Loo from the Learning Assistance Programs presented their collaborative work at this year’s "CSI: Career Scene
Investigation: Cracking the Hidden Barriers to Student Success" hosted by the Joint Special Populations Advisory Committee. The well-attended conference occurred in Sacramento.

Wendy and her co-conspirators presented an overview from last summer's Mission High School Video Project. The week-long workshop was a cross collaboration between different departments at CCSF and Mission High School. Students developed health-related Public Service Announcements geared towards their peers. Using the latest technology, they scripted, storyboarded, filmed, and edited beautiful projects that were distributed onto a
DVD.

There was lots of interest from other community colleges who wanted to follow their curriculum model. Congratulations, Wendy!

Dear All: The United Nations' class IDST 7 of the City College of San Francisco took a field trip to the United Nations, starting November 11th through November 14th, 2006 aboard American Airlines direct from San Francisco International to JFK. They were picked up by Limousine from Batmale Hall, and returned to JFK in a Limo from their hotel on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. During this time, the students went on a guided tour of the UN buildings. On the 2nd floor, an exclusive location where other tour groups are usually not allowed, we were received by the President of ECOSOC (The UN Economic and Social Council of 54 nations), H.E. Ali Hachani, the Ambassador of Tunisia. Next day on a luncheon at Kashmir Restaurant in Manhattan, the students interacted with three other ambassadors. The sessions included statements by the envoys followed by questions/answers All these meetings were prearranged. Besides, the students visited the Empire State, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Central Park, and dined at various muliticultural restaurants. On December 6th at CCSF Rosenberg Library, the class had a Live Video Conference with a UN speaker from UN headquarters on the topic of Counterterrorism. On December 13th, there will be another important segment of the UN class in mulitmedia Room 301, Rosenberg Library on the subject of UN Resolution 1701 followed by the recent Israeli/ Hezbollah conflict. All are welcome to join us with prior registration. Please contact: UNcourse@Yahoo.Com. Officials of the UNA-SF will find their seats reserved. Truly, Jay Sayed