Spooky movies stand Do college students need off against each other mental health days?
The Collegian OPINION, PAGE 4
ENTERTAINMENT, PAGE 9
Issue 3 • Friday, Oct. 11, 2019 •
Food pantry provides options for students
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FINDING THEIR VOICES
BY ALEXZANDRE SALON Staff Writer
The Delta Student Food Pantry is open to any and all enrolled Delta College students. However, students are still discouraged to use this free amenity. Some students feel that the Student Food Pantry is for only students and families that don’t have access to or enough money to buy food. Jay Turner, a Delta College student, said he doesn’t “use the food pantry because [he] doesn’t think [the pantry] is for [him.]” However, students should feel welcome to the pantry and are encouraged to take advantage of this free program. Shayla Walker, Director of Student Activities, says it’s “good that students are [being] considerate” to other students, but the “only criteria [to access the Student Food Pantry] is to be enrolled” at Delta College. According to Betsy Hooper, who works for the pantry, the pantry has had about 2,400 visits so far. Another reason students are discouraged to use the pantry is because of the application process. Hooper says the application can be “frustrating because (students who have applied)w before have to apply again for the year.” However, the application process is fast and easy. Students can apply online and are required to answers questions based on basic information, finances, and aid. If students don’t have access to the internet, students can also visit the pantry in Shima 101 where they can apply using a computer in the pantry where they can also receive help while applying. The Student Food Pantry is working to try to get more students involved, not only with enrollment but also donations. Walker also said the pantry is “not just (supplied) by student activities. Students have supplied canned goods” and financial donations. The Student Activities department has talked to professors, asking to spread the message to their classes the pantry is available to everyone, sent emails to student emails, have been active on social media, and have put up fliers around campus.
I Am/Yo Soy club President Erika Reyes, third from left, speaks during a banner drop event on the forum walkway on Oct. 9. Below, a crowd gathers to watch the banner drop. PHOTOS BY JEFF LEIVA
Peer advocates help undocumented students navigate resources BY JEFF LEIVA Staff Writer
According to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, as of late 2017, when the Trump administration stopped accepting new applicants for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Stockton and Lodi had 3,100 active DACA recipients. Stockton and Lodi make up 0.5 percent of all DACA applicants in the nation, more than El Paso, Texas. At Delta College, there are an estimated 800 undocumented Students, many of those students do not have DACA. Applying for financial aid, scholarships and just having access to resources can be especially difficult if one is undocumented. Erika Reyes, President of the
club I am/Yo Soy, seeks to create a student movement on Delta’s campus to campaign in favor of DACA. Reyes saw the need to create a formal club where students can have a “safe space and be part of a
community,” Reyes said. She was able to get in contact with professors. Reyes was told at one point, Delta had a club for undocumented students. However “they feared showing up,” Reyes said. Reyes isn’t an undocumented immigrant herself. However, she understands the struggles students have to undergo when they have to live in the shadows. Reyes got to work on organizing a formal club on campus. At the beginning of April, Reyes was able to get the I Am/Yo Soy club afloat. In 2016, Delta College passed a resolution in support of DACA students. The Office of Student Equity and Diversity began organizing
See ADVOCATE, page 3
Academic Senate discusses a myriad of issues BY DAVID VICTOR Staff Writer
On Oct. 2 Delta College’s Academic Senate met in the Mustang Room to discuss topics affecting students and staff, initiatives from Senate members and upcoming implementations in general education requirements. MYDELTA PROBLEMS CONTINUE Academic Senate President Kathleen Bruce addressed the records and financial aid issues impacting students, including when expected fixes will happen. “There is an issue where transferring students can’t get records for transcripts, and the goal is to have this issue fixed by mid-October. In the meantime the transcripts are being done by hand,” said Bruce. “The
financial aid problem is the priority right now along with the records. There are 18,000 students currently at Delta College in eligible programs and they are not getting financial aid.” The topics discussed in the meeting include the Senate’s role in improving equity on campus, Guided Pathway maps for degrees and future implementation of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement at California State Universities. EQUITY ON CAMPUS Although Delta College is known for its diversity, Bruce said equity on campus needs to improve. “We haven’t had the professional development in understanding our equity data or conversations about closing achievement gaps,” said Bruce about reading
data showing the success of students. “I think it’s the most important issue because we have an obligation to student success. If we know that there is a group of students failing disproportionately compared to other groups of students, then we know that there are clear implicit or racial biases that we have in our structures and we need to deal with those. That way those groups of students can have an easier path to be successful.” While understanding the data is a challenge for faculty, the counseling division has no access to the data at all because of bugs from the new registration system. “In my division we had a dean who blocked us from seeing the data, so we had no way of making informed
See SENATE, page 3
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