The Collegian - Published March 4, 2022

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Women’s History Month Events

Student Chef Returns for Spring semester

The Collegian Th FEATURE, PAGE 5

NEWS, PAGE 8

Issue 7 • Friday, March 4, 2022 •

PLANS FOR FALL ‘50/50’ RETURN BY JAHDAI SPIKES Editor-in-Chief

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced his plan to shift from a pandemic phase in the Covid-19 response to an endemic phase, which focuses heavily on prevention and better treatment for the disease. Newsom announced his plan to begin moving the state out of a pandemic response to Covid-19 into an endemic one called the California “SMARTER” plan, which focuses on proactive measures to get ahead of the virus. Newsom has already begun to lift mask mandates and by March 11, masks will no longer be mandatory in most indoor settings, excluding high transmission areas like hospitals and public transportation. The end of the pandemic phase is structured around living with Covid-19 rather than getting rid of it. New state direction comes as Delta College looks to a Fall 2022 semester with plans for returning 50 percent of the campus to in-person or hybrid instruction. While details are unclear, the aim of the plan is to bring more students back to campus, according to presentations at the two most recent board meetings. “We will be going 50/50 so we'll have 50 percent of the

courses offered in some form of face to face, you know, such as hybrid or fully face to face and 50 percent online.” said Joe Gonzales, Interim vice President of Instruction. Acting President/Superintendent Dr. Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson also recently addressed the move toward more in-person classes in her Feb. 25 weekly message to Delta College staff. The messages obtained by the Collegian are regularly sent to staff. “We are planning to offer 50 percent of our fall classes remotely and 50 percent of our fall classes in hybrid or in-person modalities,” she wrote. The planning comes at the heels of an Associated Students of Delta College (ASDC) meeting held Monday, Feb. 28 where the student government asked the college’s top administrator’s questions about vaccine mandates, boosters, and mask regulations. Many students on campus such as first-year student Ethan Li, the Senate of Public relations for the Delta College Student Government, think that more students coming back to campus is a good thing. “Many of the students, including myself, are probably fed up with the restrictions and online classes. Since it’s been a while I think a majority of us will not be satisfied with ongoing restrictions,” said Li. In a Middle College High

BY ANI GUTIERREZ

March has become known as Women’s History Month (WHM), five weeks dedicated to appreciating the women in one’s life as well as taking into consideration everything that influential women have contributed to history and society as a whole. The importance of WHM is recognized and celebrated in a number of ways at Delta, all with the help of the Delta’s Women’s History Month Committee. In 2014 a group of women at Delta realized the celebration of WHM was inconsistent and decided there was a need for this group to bring awareness to what this month represents,

deltacollegian.net

Delta is planning to offer 50 percent of classes in person, and 50 percent online — a shift out of pandemic times. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY THE COLLEGIAN STAFF

School presentation to the board on March 1, it was noted that students in the program, who take college classes in the morning and high school courses in the afternoon, would be required to take a col-

March events celebrate women’s HERstory Entertainment Editor

/deltacollegian

thus the Women's History Month Committee was born. “The function of this committee is to plan events that celebrate Women's History Month by focusing on both historical and current women who are leaders in various fields and honoring the contributions of women both past and present,” said Lynn Hawley, Professor and Women's History Distance Education Committee

See HERstory, page 8

lege-level course on campus, in person for Fall 2022. Although some students think providing more in-person courses will benefit the college, not all are convinced a larger reopening should happen.

Lawrenson noted that various modalities were still being used for class delivery, including a pilot for Hyflex — which allows a student to choose in

See 50/50, page 8

Boosters now required BY ANI GUTIERREZ

Entertainment Editor

The Covid-19 booster shot is becoming another mandate Delta is going to enforce among students, staff and faculty for upcoming semesters. Students and staff planning to return to campus for the Summer 2022 semester as well as Fall 2022 will now be required to submit proof of booster shot vaccination by March 18 or 6 months after becoming fully vaccinated, whichever date comes later. By submitting booster shot proof by this date, it helps students to avoid possible delays in registering for classes for this summer. Students will still be able to register for classes if they get the booster after March 18, but there will be a higher chance of less seats in classes being available by then. Medical or religious exemptions are

still allowed in place of the booster shot as well. If a student has previously been granted a vaccine exemption, they don’t need to submit one again. “Priority registration for summer begins March 21, so students who want to take advantage of that should definitely be planning to get their booster as soon as possible or apply for an exemption, if they haven't already been granted one,” said Alex Breitler, the Director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach at Delta. Breitler reassures Delta has the best interest of everyone on campus at heart. “From the beginning of the pandemic, our goal has been to follow public health guidelines to keep our students, staff and faculty as safe as possible,” he said. Students do have differing views on this new mandate, however. “This is the first time I've heard of it. I'm not really a fan, to be honest, of

See BOOSTERS, page 8

NEXT ISSUE: March 25 • CONTACT US: deltacollegian@gmail.com or (209) 954-5156 • ONE FREE COPY


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