Dear City College Board of Trustees,
On behalf of the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee (SFWPC), we are writing in strong support of the resolution to save the City College of San Francisco (CCSF)’s Cantonese program and to establish a certificate and UC transferability for this program.
SFWPC’s mission is to endorse, empower, and elect people as candidates for local office who self-identify as women and those who share our values. SFWPC champions policies and candidates committed to advancing intersectional feminism, racial justice, gender equity, and equitable systems and structures through participation in the San Francisco political process. We provide an advocacy and political network to build a bench of diverse women+ candidates, activists, organizers, and leaders who will advance these goals at every level of governance and beyond.
SFWPC endorses policies that promote supporting women and communities in need (especially in regards to COVID recovery), ensuring women are treated equally, supporting and protecting women in San Francisco, and advancing a more just society.
In addition to Cantonese being an important language that should be preserved in San Francisco, we strongly believe that it’s important for Cantonese women, seniors, and the immigrant community to have access to healthcare workers, social workers, and public safety officers that speak Cantonese. Based on San Francisco’s 2021 Language Access Compliance Summary Report, 43.6% of San Francisco’s Limited English Proficient client interactions were in Cantonese. Cantonese was the second most requested translation for 911 domestic violence calls and the most common barrier for Asian callers seeking help from the National Domestic Violence Hotline. CCSF Cantonese classes were also critical for health care professionals who experienced firsthand how language proficiency could improve patient treatment, reproductive care, and COVID vaccinations.
Despite overwhelming support and interest from the local community, Cantonese classes at CCSF had been steadily cut. The two classes in Fall 2021 were overenrolled by 152% and 120%, and the single Spring 2022 class already has a waitlist. The problem is that CCSF does not offer a Cantonese certificate program; thus, courses cannot fulfill the University of California’s non-English course requirement. Further, because state funding for the college is partially determined by student outcomes in certificate or degree programs, budget cuts have resulted in the near elimination of the Cantonese program. However, all other languages at CCSF currently are UC transferable and have a certificate program.
We are happy to hear that the Save the Cantonese program at CCSF resolution has passed and would like to ensure that a certificate program and UC transferability get established in the near future. We believe that the above would greatly improve Cantonese education opportunities for healthcare workers, social workers, and public safety officers and help ensure that Cantonese women, children, and seniors will have equal access to essential services that they deserve.
Sincerely,
SFWPC Board of Directors
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