Photo Shane Menez

The accrediting commission that is threatening to shut down California’s largest community college has been called into question by students, teachers and members of the faculty union, and a court will now decide on its legitimacy.

On Aug. 22, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a lawsuit against the Accreditation Commission of California Junior Colleges (ACCJC) opposing their allegedly invalid show-cause ruling of 2012.

Herrera is also taking legal action against the California Community College Board of Governors, alleging inadequate oversight of the private accreditation commission.

These legal actions come in the wake of a letter from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), which validated complaints by the faculty union against the commission.

In the letter, the DOE stated that the ACCJC has shown little regard for following their own procedures, and that there was a conflict of interest by placing Peter Crabtree, ACCJC President Barbara Beno’s husband, on the committee overseeing the school’s progress.

Students continue to organize in solidarity with the school. Over 300 protesters assembled in front of City Hall on Aug. 20 to condemn what they claim are aggressive sanctions taken against the school, and to call on Mayor Ed Lee to help ensure that the college remains open and accredited.

Roughly 150 people then entered City Hall and staged a sit-in in front of the Mayor Lee’s office, and Save City College organizer Lalo Gonzalez said: “Lee won’t talk with us, so we decided to wait outside his office so our voices are heard.” Twenty-six protesters were arrested and cited for assembling illegally just before midnight.

Ed Murray, of the California Federation of Teachers union (CFT), has taught ESL at City College for 34 years, and said: “I don’t know what stake these people in the ACCJC have in our future. They’re hired with huge salaries, and if they close the school, they just move on to their next gig.”

Then on Aug. 24, Save City College hosted a “General Assembly of Students” at the Ocean Campus with an open forum discussion, emphasizing “the importance of input from the student body, who we feel has remained largely unheard until now,” said Eric Blanc, a member of the coalition.

Future actions being planned include more information tabling at campuses, mass teach-ins, a guerrilla art program that will produce and display posters at businesses and homes, and more direct actions at City Hall.

“Each person here can be an organizer, every person has something to bring to the table,” said Blanc.

With the second week of classes in session, City College enrollment for the fall semester has dipped from 30,490 in 2012 to 27,162 this year— an 11 percent drop, which many believe is a direct result of the ACCJC’s actions.

For more information and future events, go to SaveCCSF.org, or text 40404 with “saveccsf” to receive updates.