Celebrating modern black artists
Words go V
I
R A L
The Collegian ENTERTAINMENT, PAGE 7
Issue 6 • Friday, Feb. 18, 2022 •
ENTERTAINMENT, PAGE 6
/deltacollegian
deltacollegian.net
DELTA LAUNCHES PRESIDENT SEARCH BY JAHDAI SPIKES Editor-in-Chief
Delta College is seeking a new president for the second time in a threeyear period following the Sept. 28 leave of absence and June resignation of Dr. Omid Pourzanjani. Pourzanjani, who was hired in Summer 2019, ends his time as President/ Superintendent of campus on June 22.
Dr. Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson, who was hired by the college in August 2020 as Vice President of Instruction, has acted as Acting President since the board meeting. The hunt for the next top leader of Delta College — which commanded a salary of more than $235,000 for Pourzanjani — is now in the midst. While the people applying for the position are still unknown, Delta re-
leased the needed requirements, desired characteristics, and the timeline for the hiring process of the new acting President. “The San Joaquin Delta Community College District seeks an innovative and experienced Superintendent/President who will provide leadership and demonstrate the District’s commitment to providing high-quality services to its students, management, fac-
Shima floods open year with a splash More than $1 million in damage impact 11 offices, classrooms
ulty, and staff,” according to a special page on the college website dedicated to the search The website links to an online application form and documents about the district. The position was also posted to the Chronicle of Higher Education website on Jan. 12. Those interested in the position must
See SEARCH, page 8
Covid-19 continues to inform campus procedures, policies BY ANI GUTIERREZ
Entertainment Editor
BY JAHDAI SPIKES Editor-in-Chief
A broken hot water flex line flooded the Shima building at San Joaquin Delta College over the 2021 holiday break, affecting 11 different rooms and causing just over $1 million in damages. Delta College has insurance to cover the cost of the many repairs needed, which include removing all the wet material, replacing the damaged sheetrock and putting in new flooring. Despite the leak starting on the third floor of the Shima building, it was able to make its way down to the floors below and cause drastically more damage by going Top: Construction materials sit outside the Student Food Pantry in through the open mechanical shaft that is Shima 101D as restoration work continues after the building floodconnected to each floor of the building. ed over winter break. The food pantry was temporarily moved The bakery program, centered in Shima to Shima 117. PHOTO COURTESY ALEX BREITLER Above: 301, was affected the most by the flood- Faculty offices on the second floor of Shima were also affected. ing. The program was able to quickly move PHOTO BY JAHDAI SPIKES back to an online model used in previous semesters due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Humanities & Multimedia. “Recognizing the importance of being in the Many other programs and rooms were affected, classroom, Facilities has prioritized repairs and as well. we should be back in the classroom by mid-semester,” said Christopher Guptill, dean of Arts, See FLOODS, page 8
Delta’s students and staff have made their return to campus for the Spring 2022 semester. Students are once again offered the choice of taking classes online, in-person — or have the best of both worlds and participate in hybrid classes. For those who made the choice to come back to campus for learning, a new threat has also joined the class. Omicron, a new and easily spreadable Covid-19 variant, made its come-up over winter break. Delta College is aware the spread of this variant is at a peak and has taken protocols this semester to help prevent the spread among students and staff on campus. “If you compare the start of Spring Semester with the start of Fall Semester, I think it’s safe to say that we’re putting a number of new measures in place to keep everyone as safe as possible,” said Alex Breitler, Director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach at Delta. All students and staff that plan to return to campus this semester were required to have submitted proof of vaccination or apply for an exemption, whether medical or religious. The mandate was passed by the Board of Trustees in the Fall, but wasn’t applicable until Spring. “For the staff we’re at 86 percent that are compliant with the mandate and for the students we’re at 69 percent of them being vaccinated,” said Alese Campbell, Delta College’s Director of Covid-19 response during the Feb. 1 meeting of the Board of Trustees. Alongside the mandate, students are also required to request contact-tracing badges. The program began last semester, but original badges were recalled due to a manufacturing defect that shortened the battery life. The contact tracing badges allows students to get notified when anyone they have been around on campus for more than 15 minutes tested positive for the virus. It is important, though, that it stays on your person, for that is the only accurate way you will get notified of an exposure. “The contact tracing badges that are being distributed right now to in-person and hybrid students allow them to be notified within minutes when someone they have been in close contact with tests positive,” said Breitler. “This is much faster than the old method of manual
See COVID, page 8
NEXT ISSUE: March 4 • CONTACT US: deltacollegian@gmail.com or (209) 954-5156 • ONE FREE COPY