The Collegian - Published Sept. 11, 2020

Athletics programs adjust plans amid pandemic

Find out the scoop on the Double Dip Gallery

The Collegian ENTERTAINMENT, PAGE 6

SPORTS, PAGE 7

Issue 1 • Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 •

/deltacollegian

deltacollegian.net

Bookstore resumes operations after closures

BY ROBYN JONES

Opinion/Entertainment Editor

The Delta College bookstore made big changes to operations in Spring 2020, responding to state and local regulations in order to meet the needs of students while being safe.

Plans and procedures to socially distance while delivering materials, though, had to quickly shift again when wildfires burning near Stockton caused more than a week-long campus closure.

SWITCHING GEARS By mid-March, COVID-19 had reached San Joaquin County. Many students within the county had to finish school online from home, where

for some it was difficult to accomplish.

“Honestly, I hated finishing school online, because teachers aren’t adapted to technology today so it was frustrating,” said student Cierra Olvera.

Adjusting was also hard for the bookstore staff.

At the end of the spring semester, operations moved into a cottage in the L1 parking lot using a service window to allow students to return or buy back books.

In the lot, six-foot makers were placed on the ground, along with portable handwashing and sanitizing stations.

Keeping students safe and clean was the main priority for the staff at the moment so

in order to limit the possible exposure of COVID-19 to students, the staff made it a point to remind students to schedule an appointment for returns or buy backs, wear face masks, and to wait in their car to avoid having a line of people.

“I appreciated the fact that they took time to think about the safety of everyone, the whole thing wasn’t chaotic,” said student Elyssa Walker.

Auxiliary Services Operations Supervisor Michael Williams said staff stayed safe inside the cottage wearing N95 masks and gloves. Returned items were placed in plastic bags and quarantined for 72 hours.

The Delta College bookstore has had to adapt to the COVID-19

See BOOKSTORE, page 8

NEED HELP? Communication a source of frustration for some students

BY HANNAH WORKMAN Editor in Chief

Communication between Delta College and students in need of answers has been a source of frustration for students, even as the college looks for ways to offer more customer service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unreturned calls and emails to counselors and financial aid specialists have left some students, such as Sarah Saechao, considering transferring to another institution.

“This is my first year going to college and it has been a horrible experience so far,” Saechao said.

Saechao said she had sent emails to her financial aid specialist twice a week for more than a month and received no responses.

She said she also tried reaching out for help regarding the processing of her financial aid multiple times through LiveChat.

LiveChat is an online customer service software that Delta College has utilized to extend support services to students.

Before the pandemic, LiveChat was only used by the IT department in order to answer students’ questions regarding the MyDelta system.

After public health shelter-in-place orders were issued in March and it became clear that in-person classes would have to be suspended, other departments turned to LiveChat as a way to provide assistance to students transitioning to online instruction.

Employees who work in the Admissions and Records department, as well as the Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Verteran Services department and the Welcome Center received training on how to use LiveChat, according to Account Services Manager Christopher Frymire.

“We added more seats to the platform.

Originally IT only had a couple since they

were the only ones on it,” Frymire said. “We now have up to 30 staff on it at any one time, with over 100 staff who have accounts and rotate through the tool.”

According to data provided by Edward Aguilar, assistant dean for Outreach, Equity, and Student Services, there has been a total of 40,103 chats with an average satisfaction rate of 89 percent.

Still, there are students who reported having difficulties receiving assistance through LiveChat.

“LiveChat is not helpful as there is a long wait time,” student Samantha Jeter said. “You get kicked off and forced to wait longer, and half the time your questions aren’t able to be dealt with, just forwarded on to someone else who doesn’t help.”

Student Nikki Carera-Farquhar has had similar issues when attempting to use LiveChat.

“I sat on LiveChat for five hours before being disconnected,” Carera-Farquhar said.

She said she doesn’t believe LiveChat is a useful platform for students who are seeking answers to their questions.

“I never got a response,” she said. “There are insane wait times. Plus, you have to be near the computer all day to check in every few minutes so you don’t time out for inactivity.”

Frymire said that he is actively exploring ways to improve the student experience on the platform.

See HELP, page 8

pandemic and poor air quality in order to serve the needs of students.

PHOTO BY ROBYN JONES

From Surviving to Thriving: Dreamers Success Center equips students with skills

BY DAVID VICTOR Senior Staff Writer

Delta College’s Dreamers Success Center held two virtual events on Aug. 25 and 26, during Mustang Week, to address how undocumented students can get help and find success in their educational and non-educational goals.

Marketing and Outreach Specialist Angelica Flores and Resource Specialist Sergio Lara hosted these events and spoke on how the Dream Center is helping undocumented students, as well as what resources are available for students to use.

“We now have a number of different programs and services for students to use in the center,” said Lara.

Established in October 2019, the Dream Center is providing more resources in an effort to improve help for undocumented students than what was available when the center first opened. This help ranges from financial aid to discussions with advisors on what help students may need, whether in or out of class.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

The Dream Center seeks to help undocumented students as much as they possibly can, and this includes interaction with students to discuss issues outside of class.

“I think one of the biggest things that any center can do is the relational piece,” said Lara.

Other than just helping out students with their studies, the center encourages building interpersonal relationships to make them feel more comfortable about discussing issues not related to their education.

“We create a sense of family and belonging to students, not only to them but also to their parents, especially when they’re high school seniors or college freshmen. There’s been a number of times where folks come in with their parents. We foster a place of community, which often times isn’t found in a classroom or even on campus.”

The space on campus contains more than internet access and computers for the students to do their homework, it’s designed to make them feel at home.

“They have a lounge area to be able to take breaks, a small food pantry and a lending library,” said Lara.

Mental health is also considered essential by the staff for supporting undocumented students.

“We do like to address the mental health portion, because you can be a student, but if your mental health isn’t addressed, then the student part becomes more difficult,” said Flores.

“When undocumented

See DREAMERS, page 8

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

2 OPINION 091120

The Collegian • deltacollegian.net/opinion

TIKTOK TAKES ON TRUMP

President threatens shutdown of popular app beloved by Gen Z, sparking controversy

BY ROBYN JONES

Opinion/Entertainment Editor

2

020 has been a tough year for everyone, but an even tougher year for President Donald J. Trump.

“As far as TikTok is concerned, we are banning them from the United States, I will sign the documents tomorrow.” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. He was ready to shut down the quintessential Gen Z social platform.

As the task to ban TikTok continues on, the company has proceeded with plans to respond against the Trump administration.

“We do not take suing the government lightly, however we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights, and the rights of our community and employees,” TikTok said in a company’s newsroom reported by Vox News journalist Shirin Ghaffery.

On Aug. 6, Trump signed an executive order banning any U.S company or individual from making transactions with ByteDance within 45 days, also within 90 days he placed another executive order for the TikTok company to divest from the United States and get rid of any and all U.S. data, according to Computer Network reporter Queenie Wong.

TikTok is a popular social video-sharing networking service app that was produced by Bytedance in Beijing, China.

The app was founded in 2012, and was heavily adopted in the United States over a period of time.

The app showcases 15- to 60-second videos by different creators on the app. The videos usually feature viral dances or people taking part in viral trends.

The move can be seen as retaliation.

In mid-June, TikTok creators came together enmasse to troll Trump by securing tickets to his rallies and events as ghost spectators.

As Trump kicked off his first presidential rally in Tulsa, Okla. TikTok creator Pasta Express posted a video of herself securing two spots at the Trump rally with intentions of never attending. “... I forgot I had to pick every piece of lint off my room floor and then sort them by size so I can’t go Friday,” the creator said in a video.

TikTok creators such as aaronsin participate in viral dance trends from popular music today in hopes of going viral.

PHOTO BY ROBYN JONES

Overnight her video went viral on the platform with many viewers partaking in this extreme prank.

The initial goal was to influence viewers to participate in disrupting the rally by filling up seats with fake names, numbers, and addresses.

She never imagined that a great amount of people would help empty out the stadium. Images from the rally later showed open seats.

In the end, fewer than 6,200 Trump supporters showed up to an empty stadium fit to seat at least 19,200 people the day of according to an article by Vox. Banning TikTok from the United States is a

childish play for Trump.

TikTok is a social platform that brings people together that share common interests, whether it’s watching dancers, athletes, or even celebrities creating content that viewers appreciate.

The app is used to express yourself in a creative way for other people to see.

If Trump gets rid of the app, what does that mean for people who use the app to target a specific audience for their small businesses or for TikTok creators that get paid to create videos?

their face. But most of the time when people wear masks it’s under their chin or right below their lower lip. It’s really frustrating sometimes.

Unfortunately, I have to remind people they have to have a mask on or they have to leave, and sometimes we’ve had to ask people to leave. The responses I’ve gotten from customers who don’t follow the mask rule and give me a hard time about it usually ignore me, and continue shopping. Other times people will argue with the manager. Luckily nothing has been extreme, but people can be difficult sometimes.

When these situations happen I wonder if people care about the consequences at all.

“COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person. Some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus,” according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control.

How can anyone not take this seriously and make an effort to stay safe? It’s been mandated to wear a mask while outdoors and inside open shops.

Masks can be uncomfortable to wear but would you rather be uncomfortable or safe?

Masks are designed to not only protect you from germs from the outside world but it also protects the outside world from yourself. I know so many people who can’t even go outside because of COVID because their immune systems are too fragile. But even those who aren’t at risk they do go out, that doesn’t mean those they live with (if they live with someone at all) aren’t at risk.

Everyone is different, and you just don’t know sometimes. That’s why taking precautions to stay safe and healthy should be a top priority. That means wearing a mask to not only keep yourself safe but those around you safe.

Are people still listening to mask mandate?

BY MADELYNN THOMAS

L

Senior Staff Writer

isten, I understand, wearing masks can be difficult sometimes but it’s for everyone’s safety, not just for the ones wearing masks.

Yet, people are still not wearing masks, despite San Joaquin County numbers hitting nearly 19,000 by Sept. 4, according to the county’s COVID Dashboard.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a mask mandate in June after an increase in COVID cases due to multiple people refusing to take the then voluntary precaution of wearing a mask.

“Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease,” Newsom said in a statement.

At my job we still get some people coming who don’t wear masks, or they don’t have their mask on

The Collegian The Collegian is the student newspaper of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif. The paper is published six times a semester.

As a First Amendment newspaper we pride ourselves on a commitment to the students of Delta College while maintaining independence.

We reinvigorate the credo that the newspaper speaks for the students, checks abuses of power and stands vigilant in the protection of democracy and free speech.

SENIOR STAFF

EDITORS

MADELYNN THOMAS DAVID VICTOR

HANNAH WORKMAN Editor in Chief/News

JAELYN MORALES

STAFF

Feature

YGRAINE MONTGOMERY Opinion/Entertainment

ROBYN JONES

Opinion/Entertainment

DOMINIQUE WILLIAMS

Photo/Opinion/Entertainment

SENIOR STAFF KIMBERLY BENAVIDES ESPERANZA HERNANDEZ-MUNOZ

The Collegian is a member of the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association and the Journalism Association of Community Colleges.

CONTACT US:

IYANAH CHARLES SERGIO CUBA ITZEL ESPINOZA CHRISTOPHER ESTRADA JESSICA GOMEZ JESUS HERNANDEZ YESENIA ORTEGA DIANE RIVERA JOY ROSS SOPHIA SCHWANDT JASMIN SEKHON

PHOTOJOURNALISM LEVERN JOHNSON DESIREEE MCKINNEY CHRISTOPHER MEIXNER AMARI QADREE JAGBIR SIDHU ANDREA TIPTON MICAHELA VINDIOLA

ADVISER TARA CUSLIDGE-STAIANO

MULTIMEDIA TECH MATTHEW WILSON

(209) 954-5156 or deltacollegian@gmail.com. For information about advertising, letters to the editor and editorial standards visit deltacollegian.net

3 OPINION 091120

The Collegian • deltacollegian.net/opinion

Getting our money’s worth?

Switch to online-only education removes in-person, hands-on learning, prompting questions of value

BY ESPERANZA HERNANDEZ-MUNOZ Senior Staff Writer

T

he start of the new semester has come quickly and with a sense of unfamiliar territory.

Throughout the United States, colleges are offering fully- or partially-online classes for their students. This has come as schools across the country adjust to the new normal that is life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More specifically, students and educators together are learning what classes look like during a pandemic.

Online learning has become students’ new college experience.

Zoom has become one of the most important tools for colleges around the country, acting as both the way to attend class and one of the best resources for communication between students and their professors.

Tuition is expensive as it is and many students thought they would be paying tuition for in-person classes and hands-on experience.

Instead students are still paying the same tuition costs for online instruction and little to no hands-on experience.

But that then raises the questions: Are students getting their money’s worth?

Colleges are trying to provide students with as many resources as possible and that may require more spending for the school, but students now have different things they have to pay for because they are off campus. Some students must pay for shipping of textbooks or lab equipment they must now buy.

Just like colleges, students have had to adjust and many have been forced to spend more money than usual for housing outside of campus as four-year schools close dorms due the pandemic.

Students have also had to manage the combination of college life with home life as online classes take place at the time set by the professor.

Students have faced many inconveniences going into fall semester one being housing. For example, on Aug. 30 Chico State University announced that for the safety of their students, on-campus housing would be unavailable obligating students to find off-campus housing by Sept. 6. Chico State has assured accommodations will be made for students

unable to secure housing outside of campus.

Students are not receiving the benefits as in previous years, yet they are paying the same price or even more. Not receiving the same benefits is reasonable for safety reasons, but costs should be reasonable as well.

It is understandable that education suffered earlier this spring, because the pandemic caught everybody by surprise. It is to be expected that colleges weren’t prepared for the sudden change.

But now colleges and universities have had time to adjust and that should include reduced costs for their students given the vastly different semester.

The schools are responsible for their high prices making it their responsibility to modify prices accordingly.

The loss in revenue due to lack of events taking place on campus, no one paying for parking and no sports tickets being sold is not something students should be making up the difference for through their tuition.

The circumstances surrounding this semester’s environment are not what students signed up for.

Students are attempting to pay for the quality of semester they are being presented.

Therefore tuition fees should be reduced. Other fees, such as campus fees, should be eliminated. If no other benefits of campus life are being offered, such as free access to wifi or free computer access, students should only be paying for their tuition.

A handful of colleges and universities have reduced fees such as Georgetown and Johns Hopkins University. There are still many more that need to follow suit.

For example according to Johns Hopkins University’s website they were able to both reduce undergrad tuition fees by 10 percent and disburse about $15 million more in financial aid. This was meant to help both the students and their families during the fall semesters.

It is understandable that not all colleges or universities are able to do the exact same as others. The least they can do is see where students are coming from and make some fee and tuition changes.

Year started with optimism for a golden modern age, now marred by disappointment

BY DOMINIQUE WILLIAMS Photo Editor

W

ith four months left of this seemingly endless year, there is a looming question: “What next?”

There was a high sense of optimism for this decade, with people hosting “Roaring ‘20s” themed New Year’s Eve parties, hoping for as exuberant of an experience as the 1920s decade.

Instead, we got all of the bad with little of the good.

The death of basketball star and hero to some, Kobe Bryant, in January of this year seemed to set the tone for how the remaining months would go.

Americans have experienced one challenge after the other following the tragic and unexpected death of both Bryant and his daughter, Gianna.

States all across the country were forced to shut down in midMarch after the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.

This is a challenge that Americans are still suffering from to this day, with new cases still appearing and schools and businesses still unable to open, and people still not being able to go back to work.

Following that, it came as no surprise to some that we encountered the threat of “murder hornets.”

What’s more appropriate in a year full of sequential and unthinkable events than the world’s largest hornet invading North America?

Luckily, that one ended up being a farce.

Not only was the invasion avoided, but it was learned that the term “murder hornet” referred to their killing of honeybees, not humans.

That wasn’t the end, however. One thing that may be similar to the 1920s is that we seem to be in a period of political change.

The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked country-wide rage.

Following Floyd’s killing in May, protests have been held in cities all across the United States demanding not only justice, but reform.

Floyd wasn’t the first black person to be unjustly killed by police, and he wasn’t the last.

Seven police officers in Rochester, N.Y., have been suspended following the March death of Daniel Prude, a Black man, while in police custody.

The public is still seeking justice for Breonna Taylor who was shot in her home as she slept

by Louisville, Ky., police officers conducting a no-knock search warrant.

And on top of that, California burst into flames over the summer.

Tens of thousands of Californians were evacuated due to rampant wildfires across the state, which, according to CalFire, have killed seven people, burned more than 1.8 million acres and damaged more than 3,700 structures.

The rest were told to stay in their homes due to poor air quality caused by the fire.

It appears that masks might just be the new fashion statement, as there is now more than one reason to wear one.

It’s bad luck to ask: “how could this possibly get worse?”

But this year begs the question: What next?

2020

4 FEATURE 091120 MINDING THE

MADRID MARAHI NUNEZ

The Collegian • deltacollegian.net/feature

PIVOT

COVID-19 has affected our lives in many ways. For students in Kirstyn Russell and Airelle Rebek’s Spring 2020 photography classes, it meant being uprooted from labs and on-campus activities relating to the discipline.

The Pivot exhibition, now online through the L.H. Horton Gallery, displays photography students work, that exemplifies the struggles and creativity the students went through during the beginning of the pandemic. Find the exhibit at bit.ly/deltapivot.

NATHAN TACHERA

JADE AZEVEDO

TONALLO COLON

NATHAN TACHERA

DOMINIQUE WILLIAMS

ARIANA MALLERY

ISIS CAMACHO

5 FEATURE 091120

The Collegian • deltacollegian.net/feature

People look to nature for escape from pandemic

BY KIMBERLY BENAVIDES Senior Staff Writer

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our society, with stores and restaurants shutting down and schools shifting to online teaching. No more shopping, concerts, parties, festivals, or traveling.

The only escape from this reality is through nature and outdoor activities.

“It may sound like the end, but it is only a new beginning to new adventures and discoveries.

I have been able to travel to new locations by car and see new things. I have visited many different waterfalls — each unique and different. Visited different beaches across the coast and made different TikToks about them,” said Juan Vazquez, a Sacramento State student.

Outdoor activities are becoming more common as people adjust to a new normal under pandemic conditions.

People are spending more time hiking, biking, skating and swimming since Gov. Gavin Newsom mandated shutdowns of public indoor locations in mid-March.

According to fox19now.com news, Bishop’s Bicycles, which is an online bike shop originated from Maryland, Manager Terry Powel says that people hope that a new interest in the great outdoors will stay active even when their lifestyles return to normal. In news reports, your neighborhoods, TikToks, and public videos, we are seeing more and more people being more involved with these outdoor activities.

A neighborhood senior in Manteca, James Mageah, is 65 years old and says that riding his bike has become a normal routine for him now with COVID-19 restrictions.

He rides his bike early every morning and afternoon when there are less people in the neighborhood. “Riding my bikes makes me feel young and alive again,” said Mageah.

“No one is telling me not to do it and going anywhere I want without worrying about getting sick.”

Mageah says he understands he has a high risk of getting sick due to his age but that it does not stop him from looking at the smaller things in life and enjoying fresh air.

More people are hiking to scenery far places and exercis-

ing more to make time fly by through this pandemic. As this pandemic continues, more outdoor locations also continue to overflow with people.

Being outside offers other benefits as well aside from exercising and socializing. Poor building ventilation can cause droplets to hang in the air for a longer period, adding to the potential for infection.

When you are outside, fresh air is constantly moving, dispersing these droplets. So, you are less likely to breathe in enough of the respiratory droplets containing the virus that causes COVID-19, according to the San Joaquin Department of Public Health’s Laboratory.

Outdoor movies, backyard camping, neighborhood biking

and roller skating, and kayaking are only a few of many things that can be done outdoors.

On the Mayo Clinic website, it specifies where and what activities are safe to do during this pandemic and safe precautions to take during those activities.

COVID-19 continues to impact small business

BY JAELYN MORALES Feature Editor

COVID-19 safety regulations have hit small businesses hard. With the safety and health of others at risk, COVID-19 has drastically shifted the way businesses are operated. The experience of going out with friends and family has completely changed.

Alma Baez owns Magic Beauty Salon in Manteca.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it new considerations for her business due to the strict regulations she has to follow to ensure the safety of the community.

Businesses reopening in the pandemic have to cut hours, and follow strict rules that cause labor effort to decrease “Now that we opened, we have to work maybe 40 percent when we used to work 100 percent. We have to keep our distance, we have to only do appointments, we cannot take walk-ins, we have to wash our hands constantly. It’s just a lot of changes. It’s a lot of stress,” said Baez.

Restaurants and bars are two types of businesses

that have had to make the biggest changes to their operation.

“Because the County is presently in Tier 1 of the Blueprint, Bars, Pubs, Brewpubs, and Breweries are permitted to continue outdoor service of alcohol only when it is served with a ‘sit-down dine-in meal,’” reads a San Joaquin County Public Health Services order from Aug. 31.

On top of the stress of losing customers and time to public health lockdowns, the restrictions potentially mean a decrease in income as businesses may now be unable to offer services they once did.

On July 29, CDPH provided a COVID-19 Industry Guidance for hair salon and barbershops. “Services that cannot be performed with face coverings on both the worker and customer or that require touching the customer’s face,” reads the CDPH guidelines.

Small business owners are taking a bigger hit than big chain businesses for many factors.

One being that, although locally owned, that does not mean well known. Because of this, financial struggle has grown even more. So much as to the point of being able to keep their business running. Earlier

this summer the U.S. Small Business Administration administered a federal Paycheck Protection Program that was designed to help keep small businesses financially stable.

“The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll,” reads SBA. This loan expired early August, however.

“COVID has impacted small businesses really badly, and there is unfortunately not a lot of help for small businesses,” said Baez.

Although it may not seem like it, COVID-19 affects everyone one way or another.

There has been an urge on all social media to support local and small businesses to not only keep someone’s family financially stable, but to also simply help grow the community.

“I think the governor should help the small businesses more. Small businesses have little employees, like three, four employees. Based on that they give you small amounts of money or loans to help you but it’s not a lot. It’s not enough. It’s pretty bad for small businesses,” said Baez.

Teachers and students jumping through hoops for online classes

BY KIMBERLY BENAVIDES Senior Staff Writer

The shift to online classes has become a major change for parents, teachers, and students.

Students from elementary and high schools are now trying to get used to a new norm with help from their parents.

Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer issued on Aug 4, the most recent public health order related to schools and distance learning through the county website.

Park said multiple counties like San Joaquin, which are currently on the state monitoring list, are mandated to keep all schools closed for the time being.

Kristina Ortiz, a former student at Sacramento State said she was not having it with online classes anymore.

“This semester I started school and it already seems stressful with higher expectations from the students. The schools are making us do a lot more.

Sometimes in the online classes I would doze off in

the class because I would get tired of looking at a screen all day,” Ortiz said.

Sacramento-based KCRA3 reported on Aug. 27 that Natomas Unified School District, Delta College, and Capital Christian students in Sacramento were being allowed to return to classes with further COVID-19 restrictions and protocols.

Delta College moved nearly all courses online in spring, but some essential infrastructure courses are happening on campus following health guidelines.

Aside from those students returning to school, online students have a harder focus mentality especially younger children whose parents are not available for help.

Edgar Lopez is an eighth grade student from French Camp Elementary school doing his online classes with no homework after online classes are over.

“Homework is confusing but quick, we have to turn it in 30 minutes after the teachers give us the directions and I always turn it in late because I don’t get it and I run out of time,” he said. During his Zoom classes, Edgar does his assignments but after those are over, he is not given any homework.

It has been a huge jump start for teachers too, as educators for all ages now teach virtually.

There are schools like Golden West Ele-

mentary that take other classes service to give students class. They use a program to teach instead of teaching from the actual school. There is a program called MUSD online academy where teachers are recruited to give classes.

Teachers who are not in any online schooling program teach their students from home or from their classrooms.

French Camp elementary schools are giving virtual classes while teachers remain in their classrooms.

I have a cousin who is in kindergarten and she does virtual learning through her actual school and they give out homework packets. When she needs to pick up her paper assignments, her mom needs to go to the school, the day the teachers say, and must pick up her work.

Being a parent for an online student is also stressing and hard to handle. “There are assignments that I have no idea how to do and there is no way I can help because I’m not familiar with technology” said Cassandra Cervantez, a mother of two whose kids attend East Union. She was gathering up information from the high school.

6 ENTERTAINMENT 091120

The Collegian • deltacollegian.net/entertainment

Far left,“Bridge” by Marianne C. McGrath.

Above, “Moon Over Superior” by Elizabeth James. Left, “Cast” by Gratia Brown.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HORTON GALLERY

‘Visions In Clay’ makes move to online

BY MADELYNN THOMAS Senior Staff Writer

Visions in Clay, the annual first art expedition of this semester hosted by the L.H. Horton Jr. Gallery, is online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The opening reception was held Sept. 3 as a Zoom webinar.

Despite the move to online, the exhibition was still presented, although the exhibition Juror Nancy Selvin and Gallery Coordinator Jan Marlese seemed saddened by the limitations the audience had in having a Zoom webinar.

“And of course if we were in the gallery in the room you would all come up and stand next to me and get the applause you deserve…,” Selvin said.

Marlese had similar sentiments.

“I was hoping we were having more of a live meeting

where we could all interact a little bit more, so if you have any questions you can take it through chat,” Marlese said.

In a Zoom webinar, anyone who attends the webinar can see and hear the host but anyone who’s not a host or co-host cannot be seen or heard by anyone else, not even the host. Artists that entered into the exhibition were there, but could not talk about their pieces individually.

The exhibition itself was quite calming, each piece was shown through a slide presentation that seemed to pass by way too quickly. However, there were a few that stood out: “Hurt” by Julee Richardson shows a child that seems to have been deeply hurt in some way but she also seems to represent many people who have been hurt by others.

“Bridge” by Marianne C. McGrath a memory that was once happy and full of life, now

\ AWARD WINNERS AND FUTURE EVENTS DEMO AWARD Marianne C. McGrath — Bridge FOUNDERS AWARD Elizabeh James — Moon Over Superior 1ST PLACE Brian Caponi — On Beginning 2ND PLACE Gratia Brown — Cast 3RD PLACE Karyn Gabriel — Linked UPCOMING ‘VISIONS IN CLAY’ EVENTS Virtual Artist Talk with Exhibition Juror Nancy Selvin: Sept. 17 at 11 a.m., https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/92326531198 Virtual Artist Talk with Exhibiting Artist Marianne McGrath: Sept. 25 at 6 p.m., https://cccconfer.zoom. us/j/93364600536

it’s dull and gray, a mere shell of what it used to be.

The work presented a broad range of styles and methods.

“When it’s an open call and less restriction it’s hard to come

up with an actual theme,” Selvin said. “What you look for is a way to put together an exhibition that will hold together and the works will sort of compliment one another.”

The variety adds depth to the show and the practices.

“My students come from all over the world and you wanna be really open to the types of ideas that they’re putting forward,” Selvin said. “And you want them to do it with strength, technical strength and visual strength.”

The 2020 exhibition features 56 works of art done by 40 artists, according to online exhibition information posted to Delta College’s website for the Horton Gallery. The exhibit will include two more virtual artist talks, one with Selvin on Sept. 17 and one with Demo Award winner Marianna C. McGrath on Sept. 25.

“The purpose is to educate the student from the ceramic arts as well as the community as well as give the artist a venue to share their work with us,” said Marlese.

An awards ceremony was held congratulating winning artists.

Here’s the scoop on Lodi’s Double Dip Gallery

BY ESPERANZA HERNANDEZ-MUNOZ Senior Staff Writer

Double Dip Gallery is located at 222 W. Pine St. in Lodi. PHOTO BY ESPERANZA HERNANDEZ-MUNOZ

Tony Segale’s Double Dip Gallery is in no way a typical art gallery.

Instead, here you will find anything from delicious ice cream to beautiful art works to appreciate.

In 2012 Segale, local artist and founder of Double Dip Gallery and a partner, Mardie Driftmier opened up an art gallery in Walnut Grove. It was there Segale noticed people lining up for ice cream a few doors down and then stopping by his location.

“I’d say, ‘Come on in’ they’d say ‘No we have ice cream’ and I’d say ‘who made that a rule, I’m eating it in here,’” said Segale.

It was then Segale decided that as soon as a space was available closer to home, he would jump on the opportunity of opening his own business combining art and ice cream.

Segale opened the Double Dip Gallery, located at 222 W. Pine St. in Lodi, in January 2014.

Now visitors can find about 16 regular ice cream flavors, plus eight flavors from the “secret stash” and a flavor of the month. The September flavor is horchata.

Throughout the years Segale has

hosted art exhibitions, exhibiting his own art as well as the work of other featured artists at Double Dip. “Usually throughout the year I have three different featured artists, but most of the time it’s mainly my art,” said Segale.

Apart from finding ice cream, art and exhibitions customers can also take part in a variety of art classes and workshops.

“It could be a beginning watercolor or abstract watercolor or something more focused in watercolor and I’ve also taught brush lettering just like sign painting or calligraphy with a brush and drawing and sketching,” Segale said. While classes are in session the ice cream shop stays open for business.

Since March 2020 many things have had to change at Double Dip Gallery due to COVID-19.

“The biggest thing I had to do was lay all my staff off … I shifted my hours to 3 to 7 only, instead of 11 to 8 and 11 to 9 in the summer … after July 4 I started closing Tuesdays and Wednesdays just to give me some time off,” said Segale of the changes.

Segale has adapted his business to find new ways to keep it afloat. “I

immediately set up online order … and that’s what really kind of saved the place,” he said.

Segale remains passionate about his other business too.

“I am a full-time painter, so I do hand lettering, gold leaf work behind glass, large murals and then the fine art work the watercolors and acrylics,” said Segale, though he said he hasn’t had as much time to paint since March.

Two years ago Segale began to contemplate the idea of selling Double Dip due to the little time in the studio he had.

“So when the pandemic hit and it made me a full-time scooper I realized I’m not waiting anymore it’s for sale,” he said, recalling his internal conversation.

An offer came through before Aug. 25, the date Segale planned to close up shop if no offer was made. The person making the offer wanted to keep everything as it is. So, Segale will continue to exhibit. The new owner of Double Dip will be taking over the business on Sept. 10.

Visit doubledipgallery.com for online ordering, gallery information and updates.

7 SPORTS 091120

The Collegian • deltacollegian.net/sports

MUSTANGS ‘STRONGER TOGETHER’

Training continues remotely for student-athletes despite events being postponed to spring za, referring to how the students are staying in shape with conditioning courses tailored to the sports they play.

With the 2020-21 season at a complete stop, the Apart from supporting current students at Delta, Delta College athletics program must adjust to the the department is also helping incorporate new stuchanges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. dents from high school.

As the virus continues to rage across California, Instead of practicing with the teams as usual, inDelta College Athletics Director Tony Espinoza coming freshmen will have to join the program rehighlights the importance of unison to keep the pro- motely and do their training while separated from gram going during these changes. their new teammates.

“We are really pushing the ‘stronger together’ ap“All new recruits are included in the conditionproach with our staff and student athletes. We want ing classes and the off-season classes,” said Espinoza. them to know that we are in this together and we “It’s a different introduction to Delta, but I think our are here to support them through this difficult time,” coaches are doing a great job at getting them settled said Espinoza in a response via email. in.”

“With athletics you are constantly dealing with Espinoza and the staff in the athletics department adversity, so this is another challenge we need to remain optimistic about when teams can return to overcome and I think our veteran coaching staff and their usual practice sessions with social distancing athletic staff have done a great job through a very rules in place. difficult time.”

“The hope is that we can safely return at some To continue working through the pandemic, Del- point in the fall or early spring. We will know more ta’s athletic program has made some changes to sup- in the next few weeks,” said Espinoza. port current student athletes, coaching staff and new On July 9, the California Community College recruits coming in from high school to join.

Athletics Association (CCCAA) posted a news reRight now, student athletes are continuing their lease on its website stating the implementation of training routines remotely through online condi- a contingency plan. However, due to the slowing of tioning classes.

California’s reopening process the plan could not go “Our athletes are enrolled and are completing forward, and the organization instead moved fall their sport-specific workouts remotely ” said Espino- sports to the spring.

BY DAVID VICTOR Senior Staff Writer

“I know I speak for the entire CCCAA Board that moving Fall athletics to Spring 2021 is a huge disappointment,” said Dr. Erika Endrijonas, CCCAA board chair and president of Pasadena City College in the release explaining the decision. “However, the need to keep our student-athletes and the amazing coaches and athletic trainers who work with them safe was simply the only option available with the virus spiraling out of control across the state.”

This will fill the spring schedule even more, and Delta Athletics will have much to plan for.

“Coaches, staff and student athletes are staying positive and preparing for what potentially could be a busy spring,” said Espinoza.

The pandemic is causing uncertainty both on and off the field.

It’s still unknown how the crisis might affect athletic scholarships for the students.

“That is to be determined. A lot depends on how things play out in the spring,” said Espinoza.

Even with these changes, Espinoza himself has kept up in doing his part as the program’s athletic director.

“For the most part it’s business as usual. Still working on class scheduling, team schedules, keeping up with CCCAA updates, working with staff for a possible spring start-up and keeping up with facilities.”

Athletes welcomed during drive-thru event

BY ROBYN JONES

Opinion/Entertainment Editor

Welcome Day was an organized drive-thru event put on for all student-athletes to come and show up at designated times per sport.

Athletes were able to pick up Swag Bags that contained school supplies for the semester, and a T-shirt.

Later that evening athletes were required to tune in to a

Zoom meeting that was put on to inform students of what to expect this season, meet the athletic department staff, and recognize athletes who have graduated and moved on to new schools.

As of right now all student-athletes are training remotely from home until sporting events have received clearance to return to on campus training.

Cars in line wait for a turn during the athletics Welcome Day event on Sept. 3. PHOTO ON RIGHT BY ROBYN JONES, PHOTO BELOW

BY TIM FUA

STAY IN THE KNOW

The Collegian READ THE NEWSPAPER IN BETWEEN ISSUES

DELTACOLLEGIAN.NET

8 NEWS 091120

The Collegian • deltacollegian.net/news

Police open investigation after ASDC town hall ‘Zoom bombed’

BY DOMINIQUE WILLIAMS Photo Editor

What started out as an informative and helpful meeting regarding Delta College students’ needs quickly turned into a traumatizing event for all participants.

In the first ASDC town hall event for the school year, during a screenshare switchover between Associated Students of Delta College (ASDC) President Colm Fitzgerald and Dr. Angela Tos, dean of Student Enrollment Services and Student Development, an unknown meeting participant took over the screen and displayed disturbing images of child pornography.

The Collegian is not describing the content in detail due to the graphic nature of the images.

The event, which was part of the campus Mustang Week activities, was hosted on Zoom.

The platform has been used extensively by Delta College since the switch to mostly online-only delivery for classes in March.

The participants were discussing student mental health before the explicit images were displayed.

“We want our students to be well. We want them to be well first and foremost,” said Tos

PROTECT YOUR ZOOM EXPERIENCE Here are some of the tips from Delta College to protect your Zoom meeting or event: • Password protect your zoom meetings • Do not use “Join Before Host”/ Use a waiting room • Allow only signed-in users to join • Lock the meeting after it starts • Turn off file transfer More details about keeping Zoom meetings safe can be found at deltacollege.edu/coronavirus/tips-avoiding-zoom-bombing

just before the Zoom bomber commandeered the screen.

The situation was handled promptly, with screen sharing being turned off by Fitzgerald.

“I want to take a moment since we’re talking about wellness.

That was disturbing, and I recognize that it was disturbing.

I’m sorry that that happened, everyone. If you would like some debriefing or follow-up based on how you feel because of that, please contact me by email,” Tos said to the crowd.

The speakers tried to regroup and continue, but the image poster taunted the crowd in the chat box. President/ Superintendent Dr. Omid Pourzanjani ended the event after a second chat-related post from the taunter about the images appeared.

Before Pourzanjani ended the event, Tos told meeting participants she was on the phone with the Delta College police department.

Delta College Police Sgt. Jim Bock addressed campus police’s response to the incident in a follow-up with the Collegian.

“First and foremost, I cannot stress how absolutely sickened we were, as an entire agency, to receive this call. Nearly all of us have children and to think that someone could post such disturbing images made our hearts sink. Upon receiving the call, we immediately opened an investigation,” said Bock.

Bock added that Delta is not alone in experiencing Zoom bombings involving child pornography.

“The FBI has fairly recently reached out to people across the country seeking information from those who were exposed to child sexual abuse material while in a Zoom-type conference meeting. It appears that many of these occurrences, nationwide, have happened during public meetings in which the meeting

and its link were shared across social media platforms,” said Bock.

He said this investigation is not a cut-and-dry procedure.

“Our goal, of course, is to find the person responsible and prevent further occurrences in the future, but this is an extremely difficult task when it is perpetrated through the internet.

Internet crimes are generally much more complex than inperson crimes and unfortunately take more time to get results,” said Bock.

Delta College offered counseling services to those present on the call.

Fitzgerald said ASDC takes responsibility for the incident.

“This definitely is something that could’ve been avoided, and it should have been. It’s the ASDC’s bad that this incident [occurred]. The safety and security of the students that attend our events is so primitively understood that it’s unspoken,” said Fitzgerald.

He also offered a solution to ensuring that an incident like this doesn’t occur again.

“It’s a two-pronged approach.

The first approach is we have to secure the Zoom meetings that we have, and that will be done I think most likely from the webinar mode. Then the second thing is [developing a Discord

BOOKSTORE: Free shipping on textbooks offered to students continued from PAGE 1 BACK TO CAMPUS CORE Regulations were altered by June.

As a follow-up on reopening the campus store, the staff needed to make necessary adjustments for appointments to be held face-to-face.

Students were allowed back on campus to pick up materials, but weren’t allowed in the store. The bookstore staff had plexiglass placed in the doorways with counters underneath and hand sanitizer at the ready, along with 6-foot markers.

They continued placing returned items in a 72 hour quarantine. Students wishing to pay fees were encouraged to pay with credit and debit cards to avoid cross contamination with cash payments.

“Even with COVID-19 impacting the store, we were able to run flat for

the fiscal year,” said Williams. This was achieved due to help from the store’s vendors like Pepsi and Coremark, who supply the bookstore with food and beverages.

The first week of the COVID-19 shutdown, the bookstore reached out and the vendors helped the store save thousands of dollars which would have been lost, Williams said.

AIR QUALITY CLOSURE At the bookstore’s busiest time of the year, swift changes again had to be made when campus abruptly closed down due to poor air quality from multiple fires in the valley on Aug. 21. Campus remained closed through Aug. 30 as fires burned around California, with the closest being near the city of Tracy.

The staff decided to offer free shipping as picking up books was no longer possible.

“It’s very convenient to have free shipping and made buying books a little less stressful,” said student Alexis Pagala.

That posed a question: How can the bookstore afford to cover the shipping costs for every student purchasing school material?

The bookstore presented the idea of covering shipping costs for students to Superintendent/President Dr. Omid Pourzanjani, who agreed.

Money to fund the free shipping came from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Williams said.

The cost for the shipping is not yet known, as bookstore staff was “not done shipping at this point, and there are a lot of factors that will be included,” Williams said.

As of Sept. 9, the bookstore has received 5,252 online orders.

server] while we’re temporarily securing our Zoom meetings,” said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald said he supports the use of Discord because of its user permission controls.

“You can make it, for example, so that anybody who joins the Discord has to join for at least ten minutes to even say anything,” he said, adding that administrators can require server users to agree to rules before joining. “The permissions of Discord are much more secure and intuitive.”

Fitzgerald’s desire to find a more secure server to host online meetings stemmed from a personal past experience.

“I’ve been the victim of an international hacker similar to this when I was 13 from playing video games. Somebody went crazy and stole my family’s identity and sent pizzas to our house and sent a bomb threat to my school,” said Fitzgerald.

Delta is currently working on changing its operations for video-based web meetings.

A campus wide email was sent out from Pourzanjani through Director of Marketing, Communications, and Outreach Alex Brietler that included a link to Delta’s Zoom security page, which highlights tips on avoiding Zoom bombings in public meetings in the future.

HELP: College hones connections continued from PAGE 1 “We are looking at automating the queue, which should help keep wait times down by auto assigning students to open agents, and are training some more staff to help with password resets, which represent about 25 percent of our total chats,” he said.

Frymire said he is also looking at utilizing chatbots to help students with some of the easier questions that get asked, such as how to order official transcripts.

“That would be available 24/7, whether we are online or not,” he said.

DREAMERS: Financial aid opportunities, mental health services provided continued from PAGE 1 students apply for any higher education institution, they have to take additional steps and sometimes staff may not know how to direct them. There’s a lot that goes in it, especially if there’s fear involved.”

UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT SERVICES AND PROGRAMS The Dream Center has added more services and programs to improve support for undocumented students.

This includes one-on-one sessions with Lara in which students can get help with financial aid.

The students are also told about available money opportunities for their education.

“We tell them about scholarships and become recommenders for them when they apply, we become mentors and basically a friend to them.” said Lara.

Undocumented students can also join I Am/Yo Soy, a club which advocates for them.

“It’s open to anyone, but it’s tailored to specifically help undocumented students, to advocate, to help fundraise for them through events to help create scholarships for them. It’s about 25 students strong and growing.”

Another group that supports the students is Empowering Women, which helps students in the ESL program by hosting workshops on topics such as applying for financial aid and demonstrating how to use Zoom. This group is led by the students and was formed in an effort to provide resources that Delta College wasn’t providing.

“When students learn language, they have to go straight to taking other general ed classes, but there’s a gap.

The students don’t know how to use a word document or different technology and other information that prevents students from thriving,” said Flores.

It’s open to both ESL and undocumented students, and continues to grow.

“They formed it in order to provide support for each other and provide the

resources that Delta was lacking. It’s something very powerful because there’s over 30 students in the program and with the support of Dreamers Success Center and ESL, we’ve been able to provide the resources that students need to really thrive,” said Flores.

ADJUSTING TO COVID-19 The Dream Center is facing a few challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. Adjustments were made and services have gone remote amid the crisis.

“We’ve been avid about reaching out to our students, whether it’s over the phone or through text. We’ve been working closely with the I Am/Yo Soy club so that we know how they’re doing,” said Lara.

During the pandemic the advisors have stated that students are struggling with their mental health.

“We’ve had at least two mental health sessions where we’ve had a professionally trained therapist come in and do some informational and

therapeutic work with our students.”

The center has done everything possible to try and keep students connected and continue offering their support despite the shift away from campus.

“We’re closing a technology gap and are still connecting folks in to make sure they have laptops and internet access,” said Lara.

“Basically everything we do has gone remotely, whether it’s through Zoom or over the phone.”

While helping undocumented students, the advisors found themselves managing their own mental health.

For Lara, being able to help other students is what keeps him going during the pandemic.

“Just reminding myself of what I do, it gives me the opportunity to look back at my own journey to remember why I’m here for these students, and it’s to see them thrive and succeed,” said Lara.

“It’s the most selfish and selfless thing to do because you help somebody and you feel good about yourself.”