San Francisco Foghorn

              an iFranriacn iFnghnnt
University of San   Francisco
VOL. 99
ISSUE TEN
FREEDOM AND FAIRNESS
Tuskegee
Airman
Shares
History
SARAH SLAKEY
 StaffWriter'''
Former Tuskegee Airman Leon "Woodie"
Spears endured physical and emotional racial
abuse as one of the first black fighter pilots in
World War II.
"I used to go back to the barracks, cover my
head and cry myself to sleep every night," Spears
said. "I used to soak that pillow every night. But I
put up with it, because if that's what it took to fly,
that's what I did."
Spears spoke about his experiences as a
Tuskegee airman at USF last Thursday in
Professor Alberto Huerta's class entitled "Invisible
America." The Tuskegee Airmen were the first all
African American air corps who, because of racial
segregation in the United States, were trained at an
isolated camp in Tuskegee, Ala. After their training about 450 black fighter pilots engaged in aerial warfare over Northern Africa, Italy and the rest
of Europe during World War II.
Spears, was a second lieutenant at the time
and was a member of the 332 Fighter group and
301 Fighter Squadron. Although he faced much
adversity, Spears reached his goal of flying.
"Patriotism was second to me," he said. "My first
priority was to fly."
Spears' desire allowed him to overcome the
racism and beatings he received during his training. "I realized that [the racism] was just done to
bring me down mentally," he said.
Spears dealt with other forms of prejudice as
well. During a mission in the Swiss Alps, he and
another Tuskegee pilot located an American plane
with engine problems that was being tracked by a
German bomber. The plane's crew was unloading
cargo to lighten the plane to avoid crashing into
the mountains. Spears and the other Tuskegee
plane shot down the German bomber and guided
the distressed plane back to the Tuskegee camp.
Although the two Airmen had just saved the
pilots' lives, the pilots refused to leave their plane
because they said they'd rather sleep in their plane
than congregate with the Tuskegee pilots at the
camp.
Years later, Spears and other WWII veteran
pilots attended an air show in Oakland. While
there, Spears happened to meet the same
American pilot whom he'd saved in the Swiss
Alps.
"I was walking along when a man approached
me and asked me if I was one of those Tuskegee
Airmen, to which I replied 'yes,'" Spears said. "The
man then proceeded to tell me this story about
how he was flying through the Swiss Alps when
his plane experienced engine problems and was
being followed by a German Bomber. I then asked
him if one of the pilots gave him a thumbs-up, he
smiled and said 'yes.' Then I told him, 'that was
me' and he came over and embraced me. He said
how much that meant to him and how he hadn't
forgotten me. It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it."
Spears also told a story in which segregation
actually benefited him. During one of his flights
over Berlin in March of 1944, his plane went into
a spin and crashed into enemy territory in Poland.
"[It] kind of ruined my day," he said. Spears
became a prisoner of war in a German camp and
was eventually released by the Russian Army and
sent to the European countryside to fend for him-
TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: PAGE 2
Native American
Hero Inspires
KIMIKO BARBOUR/FOGHORN
Gilbert Blacksmith, a northern-style fancy grass dancer who was honored by KQED as American
Indian Local Hero of the Year, sang and danced for a crowd of about 30 USF students and faculty in
celebration of Native American Heritage Month on Nov. 7 in Crossroads Cafe. Monica Green, from the
Multicultural and International Student Services Center and Ryan Kasmier, Lone Mountain Hall
Director, organized the event. Afterwards, Blacksmith led the students in a circle dance that signified
friendship. To find but more about future performances contact the Inner Tribal Friendship House in
Oakland at (510) 4521-1235. To find out more about Native American Heritage Month events on campus call MCISS at (415) 422-2654 or visit www.usfca.edu/MCISS.
NOV 14, 2002
Faulty Elevators Have Expired Permits
VICTORIA LEON (HIERRKRO/FOCHORN
Sophomore Dinah Macasa notices the expired permit in
a Phelan elevator.
l^THLEENEMMA	
StaffWriter
Junior Paul Santos and a Friend were stuck in a Gillson
Residence Hall elevator for three hours while it moved intermittently between the seventh and eighth floors.
Santos, a Gillson resident adviser, said there was a three-
inch crack between the jammed doors that he could peep
through to see residents pass by. To keep busy, he and his
friend sang songs and tried to plan a way out. After some
phone calls, Facilities Management employees rescued them.
The problem turned out to be a glitch in the operating
system that needed fixing, said Everette Ersery, chief engineer of Facilities Management. But this incident was just one
of many elevator complications that occurred at the beginning of the semester.
Freshman Molly Dugan said USF elevators are nuisances for various reasons, one being faulty doors. "It's ridiculous that when a person gets in the elevator they have to wait
five minutes to move just because the door can't decide^ if it
wants to open or close," Dugan said. "Then when it does
decide, the alarm goes off."
Some elevators on-campus have permits with expiration
dates as old as July 27, 2001. Ersery said the expired permits
are an issue that his office is dealing with.
"This predicament is a clerical problem within the State
Elevator Inspection Bureau," Ersery said. He and his superi
ors have regularly sent letters to the Bureau for more than a
year and a half requesting an inspector to come update the
safety permits. The answer, Ersery said, is always the same:
"There aren't enough inspectors."
An inspector was finally dispatched to the University on
Oct. 14, but still was not able to update all the permits due to
his own time constraints. Instead, he will be issuing a letter
stating that the permits only need to be renewed every two
years rather than once a year. Ersery said he is not sure this
will work, and doubts that someone will come out every two
years if they can't find time to come once a year.
Ersery said although the elevators are expired, they are
routinely checked by Otis Elevators, the second leading elevator maintenance company in the United States. USF has a
service contract with Otis and there is always a maintenance
person on campus in case anything goes wrong, Ersery said.
To keep up with state mandated laws and regulations regarding elevator safety, the maintenance crew also runs tests to
make sure the elevators are working properly, which includes
testing the ropes every five years.
Although a few elevators had minor malfunctions
toward the beginning of semester, most problems have been
solved and taken care of by maintenance, Ersery said. The
doors are now working better, elevators are not getting stuck,
and permits should be updated soon. The elevators are perfectly safe, he added.
USF
Lacks
Diverse
Faculty
 SARA.STEELE	
StaffWriter
Although USF has been recognized for its diversity of students, many concerns have been
raised about a lack of diversity
among full-time faculty at the
University.
According to the 2001 census,
79 percent of USF's full-time faculty members are white. Although
the number of faculty of different
races has increased by more than
10 percent since 1991, many students and employees at the
University said the lack of faculty
diversity needs to be addressed.
"I don't think the faculty is
diverse," freshman Christine
Abellera said. "I have no Asian
teachers. All of my teachers are
Caucasian. It would be nice to see
more culture here, since San
Francisco is a diverse city."
Some students also pointed
out that diversity is not evenly distributed equally across the low and
high paying staff positions at USF.
"What I have seen is Hispanic
cooks and waiters, and Asian
cashiers," freshman Stephanie
Aparicio said.
Some USF faculty members
said they have noticed the lack of
diversity. "It's a fact that there are
much fewer women faculty, a proportionately small faculty of color,
and no one talks about faculty of
different sexual orientation," said
David Kim, a philosophy professor.
FACULTY DIVERSITY: PAGE 2
inside
Nov 14th
news
Suspicious fire in
Hayes-Healy basment
is under investigation
by Public Safety.
2
opinion
Fairy tales are patri-
archial, demeaning
and teach children
stereotypical gender
roles.
3
c&c
Culturescape brings
food, performances
and exhibits from
throughout the world
to USF.
4
scene
Notorious French play
"Tartuffe" is a jaw-
dropping comedic
success.
6
sports
Men's basketball is
defeated by the
more experienced
Olympic Club.
8