The Inquirer Vol. IV No. 5

I

INQUIRER Student Voice of Diablo Valley College

Volume IV No. 5

Tuesday, April 21 - Wednesday, May 4, 2016 www.DVCInquirer.com

ASDVC election compromised ASDVC’s most recent vote brings up questions about process of school elections See Page 2.

Fly local: jetsuiteX Private jet company brings SoCal that much closer with commercial flights to Burbank and Las Vegas.

See Page 3

ahead of eco curve DVC’s going green at a must faster rate than most schools in the district.

See Page 8

JESSE SUTTERLEY / The Inquirer

news 2

Thursday, April 21 - Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Student election stirs controversy SEAN ROSS News editor

A flood of apparent election code violations during the April 13 and 14 Associated Students of Diablo Valley College General Election raised suspicions of mismanagement by both the Election Committee and the ASDVC faculty adviser. The polling place at Pleasant Hill was frequently staffed by current ASDVC officers and election committee members instead of independent poll workers.

This creates potential for significant conflict of interest. The election code says, “the Student Life Office shall be responsible for hiring and training election staff.” ASDVC adviser Demetria Lawrence told the Inquirer that there is nothing explicitly prohibiting the Election Committee members from serving as poll workers, and that after a lengthy discussion the Election Committee voted to allow themselves to staff the polling station.

Additionally, campaign materials promoting candidates from the Integrated Alliance of DVC coalition were present throughout the polling place. This a clear violation of the election code; no campaigning may occur within 50 feet of the polling place. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that a member of the United Students of Diablo Valley College coalition, Daniel Pardo, was improperly removed from the ballot. Pardo and his coalition claim to not have been formally notified of his removal until the day of the election.

As far as Pardo and the rest of his coalition are aware, he had turned in all relevant documents to run for office by their respective deadlines. Indeed, when two members of the Election Committee working the polls – Yitong Chen and Committee chairman Xiaojun “Kokun” Yang — were questioned about Pardo’s absence from the ballot, they were unable to produce a concrete explanation. When shown footage of the questioning, Wesley Xia, current ASDVC President and Election Committee member, explained that Pardo was dropped from the ballot due to a combination of two recent absences and a failure to sign a document indicating his affiliation as a member of his coalition.

However, upon presenting that document to the Inquirer, it was found that Pardo did indeed sign the coalition charter. Xia said there was another form, part of the campaign packet, that Padro had not turned in, but would not disclose the precise contents of the form. Additionally, Xia said Lawrence had a hand in that decision. “Deme-

tria, the ASDVC adviser, myself, and the election committee head, Kokun Xiaojun Yang, have discussed this back and forth; we double checked Daniel’s name was not on (the coalition form) when the deadline approached,” Xia said.

According to Pardo and ASDVC presidential candidate Conner Pope, both confronted Lawrence on the first day of the election upon hearing about Pardo’s removal from the ballot. During that meeting, Lawrence said that due to his recent absences, many people, including herself, were under the impression that Pardo quit ASDVC. In an email to the Inquirer, Lawrence claimed that Pardo did not sign the Candidate Application Form, and that he “has since resigned from ASDVC.” Pardo was absent from the two most recent general meetings without formally informing the board, due to two separate instances of illness, the most recent of which was an eye infection.

His coalition was aware of his condition.

Quitting ASDVC requires submitting a formal letter of resignation. The ASDVC constitution says, “any Board member desiring to resign from the Board shall submit a resignation in writing to the ASDVC President, Secretary, and Advisor.

All resignations must be declared at the next ASDVC Board meeting.” Pardo says he submitted no such letter, and is still on the ASDVC board of petitioners. Pardo has also been quoted in a previous issue of the Inquirer speaking out against widespread absenteeism and apathy in ASDVC: “Everyone is either here because they care, or because they’re trying to build their resumé, and if they’re here to build their resumé they’re going to miss meetings.” Secondly, in order to remove someone from the board of petitioners, a motion must be passed by a 2/3 vote during a regularly scheduled meeting.

No such vote took place, according to meeting minutes. Even if it were to take place, ASDVC bylaws explicitly state that the number of unexcused absences required to have one’s membership revoked is three, not two. Further, the faculty adviser, Lawrence, seems to be directly involved in the decision to remove Pardo from the ballot in violation of parliamentary procedure. Lawrence transferred to DVC as interim Student Life manager on Dec. 1, 2015, following a documented year of tense and sustained conflict between her and the Los Medanos College Associated Students, whom she advised for eight years.

Lawrence withheld funds from a student

Need to Know President: Bowen (Chris) Liu 392 Conner Ryan Pope 199

Parliamentarian: Shohei Ige John Michaelson

Vice President For Executive Affairs: Namita Verma 467

Secretary: Tiangan (Allen) He 502

Vice President for Legislative Affairs: Andrew Soegiharto 318 June Namgung 212

Public Relations Officer: Rintaro Taneichi Bilal Ahsani

Controller:

Activities Coordinator: Jacob Ngai 467

Dang DuyHai Nguyen 148 Sijia (Jesse) Gao

158

Dean Johnson

236

252 289

Diversity Affairs Officer: Efrain Steven Solis 233 Cheng Lin 169 Tain Hong 188

committee overseeing a diversity conference when she had neither the grounds nor authority to do so, according to Gary Walker-Roberts, former LMCAS president and current Contra Costa Community College District student representative. Aaron Taggert, a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians, wrote in a parliamentary opinion that, “the apparent perspective of Demetria Lawrence, Student Life Office Coordinator, and through her the administration of Los Medanos College, is offensive.

The district and its officers and agents do not have discretionary authority over LMCAS’s funds... The Attorney General has classified these funds as separate private funds so the restrictions and procedures common to the Community College System and other public funds do not apply.”

In a letter of complaint, former LMCAS

president Brianna Klipp said Lawrence’s “blatantly rude and demeaning behavior towards LMC students” made them “feel unwelcome” and “scared to voice their opinions.”

“Shortly after becoming President of LMCAS, I filed a complaint that Lawrence was creating an uncomfortable environment at our AS meetings, excluding me from conversations regarding AS business, and for undermining AS business by being divisive,” said Walker-Roberts.

“I am not the first student that experienced issues with Demetria, nor will I be the last.” According to the election code, the deadline for filing a formal complaint has passed; the cutoff time was April 14 at 11:59pm.

Contact SEAN ROSS at Sross@DVCInquirer.com

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news 3

Thursday, April 21 - Wednesday, May 4, 2016

calendar Thursday, April 21 Brown Bag Workshop Come listen to Claudia Eckelmann share her thoughts on Communication 101: Using the Platinum Rule in the Student Union Building Conference Room from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Friday, April 22 Opera Showcase Shows at 8 p.m., M-101. Admission: $10 at the door or $8 in advance.

Wednesday, April 27 College Success Workshop Setting the right goals for college success in the Student Union Conference Room from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Wednesday, April 27 Chalk Draw Meet in the Art Quad and help fill the entire space with your own artwork. Chalk will be supplied. Just bring your creativity from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Thursday, April 28 Student Art Show Awards Ceremony and Barbecue In the Art Quad once again we will celebrate DVC students art work with a ceremony from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

police beat Monday, Apr. 13 No incidents reported.

Tuesday, Apr. 14 12:45pm- A student fell asleep in the library, and awoke to find their phone was missing.

1:50pm- A student had their locked bicycle stolen near the PE area.

4:36pm- Report still in progress, no further information is available at this time.

Wednesday, Apr. 15 No incidents reported.

Thursday, Apr. 16 8:18am- Unknown subjects attempted to access the bill collectors of two vending machines on campus.

Friday, Apr. 17 No incidents reported.

JetSuiteX brings SoCal flights to East Bay JESSE SUTTERLEY Co-editor-in-chief

Buchanan Airfield stopped commercial flights in 1992 after six years of successful flights to Burbank, but now the opportunity is back for Central County residents to take local flights down to Los Angeles.

JetSuiteX, a private jet company, based in Irvine California, has made its way to Buchanan just off of 680 in Concord. This is great news for residents who will no longer have to travel to Oakland or San Francisco for a quick trip down to Southern California. As of April 19, JetSuiteX will be flying its aircraft three times daily to and from Burbank, and a Friday flight to Las Vegas that would return on Sunday.

These are small jets holding a maximum 30 of people, but will have “many of the comforts usually associated with private jet travel, but for the price of a traditional airline seat,” said JetSuiteX. Prices start as low as $109 one way if they are booked at least two weeks in advance, and $199 for flights to Las Vegas. This is a tad more expensive than flights from Oakland, which can be as low as $72, but you are paying for the convenience; there are no long lines at airport security, and Buchanan offers free

JESSE SUTTERLEY / The Inquirer

JetSuiteX prepares for their first commercial flights out of Buchanan Airfield in Concord on April 18. parking on weekends. By mid 2017, JetSuiteX’s larger E135 charter planes will make their way to Buchanan. These planes will also include complimentary wifi and work tables for passengers.

“The E135 is the perfect aircraft for a family vacation, group sports trip, or destination wedding, so people can even charter the whole aircraft very cost effectively,” said JetSuiteX CEO Alex Wilcox, in a press release.

JetSuiteX will also be flying exclusively into small private airfields, which they say will make the experience faster and more comfortable.

Although commercial flights will be leaving Buchanan regularly now, Keith Freitas, the director of airports at Buchanan, wants to reas-

sure the public that these planes will not cause a disturbance.

“For area residents, the flights between Burbank and Buchanan Field represent a fraction of the 300 daily flights now,” said Freitas.

“Neighboring communities won’t have to worry about JetSuiteX overburdening the area with significantly more air traffic, and the fleet is among the quietest.” The expansion to Burbank from Concord is only the beginning, however, as JetSuiteX has announced that they are considering expanding its flights to San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Phoenix.

Contact JESSE SUTTERLEY at Jsutterley@DVCInquirer.com

Staff: DVC lacks necessary safety training KATHARINE HADA Co-editor-in-chief

to be careful of how I approach it,” said Martin. “I can’t just run with Campus safety training, or lack ideas for safety workshops and get thereof, is a topic of great concern people to go. I have to make sure to the Diablo Valley College Clas- the right people have to be insified Senate, a formed and ok group of cam“There is a need and with it beforepus faculty and hand.” room for staff members The classiwho oversee colfied senate reimprovement” lege governance alizes this defiprocesses. cit in student ~Lesley Agostino Jessica Marservices and Assistant to the Dean tin, who spoke safety training, with the new however they campus police chief about set- also realize the reality of conflictting up safety training programs, ing schedules. told the senate the response was, It’s difficult to schedule every“’Whatever kind of training you one to be in one place at one time. want. Whenever you want to start. There are also simply not enough What do you want to do first?’ staff to cover the daily tasks of atWe’ve never had that much of a re- tending to student’s needs and atsponse before.” tend scheduled training sessions.

“Safety is such a sensitive topic, With busy schedules until the it’s one of those things where I have end of the semester, faculty and

THE INQUIRER Diablo Valley College 321 Golf Club Road, ATC-103 Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 The Inquirer is published Thursdays during the school year by the Diablo Valley College journalism students. Unsigned articles appearing on the opinions page are editorials and reflect a two-thirds majority opinion of the editorial staff. Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writer or artist and not necessarily those of The Inquirer, Diablo Valley College or Contra Costa Community College District.

staff members will not have the time to have a safety meeting until June at the earliest, but realistically it would be closer to the beginning of the fall semester in August.

Which will be beneficial for students and faculty in the fall, but not sooner. Lesley Agostino said, “There is a need and room for improvement,” in reference to the delayed response to an accident involving a chemistry club member and an exploding beaker during DVC’s club day, Wednesday March 30. Active shooter training and mental health response training are the two of most concern to the senate. Another concern is the response time from police services in general, and how faculty, staff, and police services can work together to provide faster response to student needs.

In their mission statement, police services is required, “To pro-

Editorial Board EDITORS-IN-CHIEF NEWS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR FEATURES EDITOR PRINT EDITOR

Katharine Hada Jesse Sutterley Sean Ross Julianna Cardinale Marcel Scott Erin Smith Cooper Mead

vide excellence in protection and service to the college community.

We shall endeavor to ensure a safe and secure environment conducive to a positive social and educational process.” But with a campus that serves over 22,000 students each semester, in the event of an emergency the handful of campus police we do have are not enough.

According to the career opportunities listed on Contra Costa Community College District web page, DVC is looking to fill four new positions for this upcoming semester in the counseling center alone.

With no one to pick up the slack when faculty and staff take off an hour to attend a training, students and staff are seeing negative side effects on both ends.

Contact KATHARINE HADA at Khada@DVCInquirer.com

Staff STAFF WRITERS Jess Parry, Chelsey Schallig, Dominique Smith, SENIOR STAFF MEMBERS Madeline Berry, Melanie Calimlim, Austin Lemak, Allison Roullier INSTRUCTIONAL LAB COORDINATOR Julius Rea ADVISER Mary Mazzocco

• Phone: 925.969.2543 • Email: inquirer@dvc.edu • Website: www.dvcinquirer.com • Printed seven times per semester •

features 4

Thursday, April 21 - Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Speaker: Reduce, reuse, regrow CHELSEY SHALLIG Staff member

It's not often the topic of "sustainability" comes up in a conversation while your hanging out with friends or family. A few thoughts may pop into your head about recycling, reusable items, and maybe big piles of compost.

Anne Baker, member of the Diablo Valley College sustainability committee, hosted a Brown bag workshop in the Student Union, April 14. Baker spoke to students and factually about maintaining sustainability on and off campus.

The chatter about sustainability is happening, but not as much as some would hope. Sustainability is defined as an ability or capacity of something to be maintained or to sustain itself. It's about taking what we need to live now and using it without jeopardizing the potential for people in the future.

"When people live sustainably, they're living within the means of our natural systems and ensuring that the lifestyle they follow doesn't harm other people," said Baker.

We don't really think about where our food, clothes, energy and other products come from and whether we should buy or consume these things. Our lifestyles are placing harsh pressures on

natural systems. The ultimate goal to maintaining sustainability locally and globally is to be responsible of how we use natural resources and to improve the well-being of the environment.

Learning about sustainability can help find new solutions because we need to make sure growth is achieved without compromising both equity and opportunity for humans both present and in the future.

DVC is doing their part to help the environment. The commons project showcases sustainability development and includes four primary program elements including the Student Services, Food Services, Culinary Arts program and the central quad area.

Many of the green features in the four primary program elements are created out of synergies between the buildings and landscape, including capturing water run-off that is treated in storm water gardens and re-using for plumbing within the buildings.

"Nature will endure with or without humans. Every decision we make is important because it effects the long term," said Baker.

CHELSEY SCHALLIG / The Inquirer

Contact CHELSEY SCHALLIG at CShallig@DVCInquirer.com

Students learn the importance of being environmentally conscious at a Brown Bag on April 14 hosted by Anne Baker.

Historical Rodgers Ranch hosts spring fling ERIN SMITH Features editor

KATHARINE HADA/ The Inquirer

Guests take home plants for their home gardens from the historical Rodgers Ranch on Saturday, April 9 in Pleasant Hill.

Conservation, sustainability, and environmental responsibility are all hot topics, especially in the current political climate.

This past Saturday Diablo Valley College put their two cents in at Rodgers Ranch Heritage Center in Pleasant Hill.

Located just two and a half miles from campus, Rodgers Ranch, whose tag line is "Where the past sustains the future," lived up to it's motto.

They hosted the spring fling event, which showcased a plant sale from DVC's horticulture department. Heirloom tomatoes, peppers and herbs were all available for sale.

The DVC art department was out selling hand crafted pots, bowls and mugs, and the culinary students supplied the refreshments with a BBQ style luncheon - vegetarian and gluten free options were available of course.

Wyatt Matthews of the DVC art department commented, "It's pretty good all these people came out to support Rodgers Ranch.

It's great they can take plants and grow their own herbs and spices at home."

The ranch also features a garden of it’s own that supplies the culinary program at DVC with fresh edible flowers and vegetables that are used at The Norseman.

Catherine Gastelum of the DVC culinary department commented on the surprising turn out, "The weather was unexpected but it went well; we were expecting some water like last year."

Despite the water works during the beginning of the event which hindered their initial set-up, their sales were up from last year with two hours still left in the event.

There was a wealth of information to be gathered as well.

Amaury Berteaud, a volunteer for Ameri-Corps was out educating the people, "We work to promote community.

We have 48 fellowships working for cities and counties in regards to climate change, energy efficiency and water conservation, mainly environmental issues."

Some other vendors included local bee keepers, all natural soil producers, and an all natural remedies expert.

The ranch itself is also a hub of knowledge.

Rodgers Ranch hosts workshops throughout the year on topics ranging from maintaining a home with natural cleaning products to how to grow your own vegetable garden.

More information can be found on their website RodgersRanch. org.

Contact ERIN SMITH at ESmith@DVCInquirer.com

features 5

Thursday, April 21 - Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Gallery exhibit highlights student creativity KATHARINE HADA Co-editor-in-chief

KATHARINE HADA / The Inquirer

“Use-less or Useless” by Melissa Moche, right; “McDude” by Phillip Debies, top; “Suckers II” by Cheyenne Clark, bottom.

Students who apply for scholarships help reduce debt burden

Any and all funds generated from student art sales go directly to At the end of each semester, the student, through King and the Diablo Valley College students are gallery. From there, King contacts encouraged to submit one art piece the artist on behalf of the buyer, they have completed during the and the final decision to sell or not school year and participate in the is up to the student artist. student art show. This year, the art Students artwork is also autogallery is privileged to a wide array matically entered into considerof beautiful artwork in a myriad of ation for several awards, including artistic mediums. the President’s award, where the “It’s a collection of whatever student will be given the option of students like selling their art“It’s a collection of doing. Each stuwork to DVC dent is encour- whatever students like to be added aged to submit to the school’s doing.” one piece,” said permanent colDVC art profeslection. sor and gallery There is also ~ARTHUR KING Art professor coordinator, Ara voting box inthur King. side the gallery King feels the where students gallery acts as the final presentation are encouraged to vote for their faof all the student’s hard work. vorite piece. The winner of the stu“The gallery helps encourage stu- dent choice award receives a huge dents to take the first steps to get prize pack full of art supplies. their art out there, have their work The winners will be announced seen, and experience the other end on April 28 during the awards of the artistic process,” said King. ceremony and barbecue in the art Students are encouraged to pro- quad from noon to 1 p.m. which vide a label for their artwork, con- is enthusiastically open to all DVC taining their name, the piece’s title, students and faculty. and the artist’s desired price, if the The gallery will be open until piece is for sale.

May 5, Monday through Thursday “A few years ago, a student wrote from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday ‘a million billion bucks and a buck- from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. et of chicken’ on his artistic label,” jokes King. “His piece ended up Contact KATHARINE HADA at being sold for $50.”

KHada@DVCInquirer.com

CHELSEY SCHALLIG Staff member

family income, size of your family, the number of family members attending college, and other factors.

Micheal Keesey, financial aid employee, “If you wish to be considered for financial addressed students in the Diablo Valley Col- aid, you need to fill out an application for lege Student Union on April 7, educating FAFSA online and it will determine if you’re students on how to apply for financial aid eligible for both federal and state financial and scholarships. aid,” said Micheal Keesey.

Whether you earn a There are a variety of fidegree, certificate, or nancial aid programs DVC transfer to a four-year and students are “I do not recommend offers, college, financial aid is highly encouraged to apply important.

Financial students to take out a beginning January 1 for aid is money for colupcoming academic loan while attending the lege provided by federal, year. state, and institutional The priority deadline community college sources. date is March 2nd, though because there are many you can apply after March The money is intended to make up the difopportunities to get 2nd, but students who ference between what the deadline have prifree money that can meet you and your family can ority. afford in regards to col- pay for tuition and/or The Board of Goverlege costs. nors Fee Waiver (BOGW) books.”

Most financial aid waives the enrollment fees doesn’t need to be paid for California residents for ~MICHAEL KEESEY back and there are the entire academic year Financial aid employee monthly workshops and who meet income stancomputer labs staffed dards. with financial aid experts to assist anyone Work study programs allow students to with the process. work part-time on campus to earn money The free application for Federal Student for their education.

Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act deterScholarships are a form of aid which are mines what funds you can qualify for. based on personal merit, talent and/or speFinancial eligibility is determined by cific qualifications. Funds can come from

CHELSEY SCHALLIG / The Inquirer

Michael Keesey speaks to students on how to apply for financial aid and scholarships in the Student Union at DVC, Thursday, April 7. corporate or private donors and do not need to be paid back.

Grants include the Federal Pell Grant and the Federal Supplement Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and do not need to be paid back as well. Cal grants are funded by the state of California and are administered by the California Student Aid. “It’s important to check your Insite Portal student email account two weeks after submitting your online application, so you can check if you need to submit further documentation to verify information you submitted, “ said Keesey.

Loans are also available to students, but are not encouraged to use while attending community college. Loans are federal financial aid funds that a student has to repay.

“I do not recommend students to take out a loan while attending community college because there are many opportunities to get free money that can pay for tuition and/or books,” said Keesey.

You will know that your application is complete and filed when you get a receipt of an award letter.

An award letter is your notification of what type and amount of financial aid you have been awarded.

“I highly recommend all students to fill out an online application for FAFSA. Any aid you get awarded will help you,” said Keesey.

Contact CHELSEY SCHALLIG at CSchallig@DVCInquirer.com

section 6

Thursday, April 21- Wednesday, May 4, 2016

DVC falls short in double header against Santa Rosa JULIANNA CARDINALE Sports editor

After losing 2-1 in the first game against Santa Rosa on Friday April 15, Diablo Valley College looked to take home a win in the second game of the double header.

Top of the first inning, pitcher Nicole Nordahl made quick work of the Bear Cubs with an eight pitch inning, retiring opposing side in order.

In the top of the second inning Nordahl got into a little trouble, giving up a walk to the Bear Cubs’ pitcher Rachelle Butulia. Butulia later scored on a hit from catcher Zoe Hoover, making the score 1-0, Bear Cubs lead.

In the top of the third inning, the Bear Cubs started off, getting a hit from right fielder Taylor Matthews.

Matthews moved to second on her stolen base, and a hit from second baseman Miranda Swanson would drive in Matthews for the Bear Cubs second run.

Nordahl limited the damage in the rest of the inning, keeping the game close with a score of 2-0, Bear Cubs lead.

In the bottom of the third inning the Vikings came out strong with center fielder Laurel Poff leading off the inning with a walk.

Deighton got a hit, and VanMotman followed with another walk, leaving the bases loaded for first baseman Cynthia Duenas.

The first pitch Duenas saw, she

ripped a grand slam over the left field wall, giving the Vikings the lead, 4-2.

But the Vikings weren’t done just yet. Third baseman Bailey Simmons followed Duenas with a homerun of her own over the left field wall, making the score 5-2 DVC. Left fielder Julia Pelletier came up and got a hit and advanced to third base on an error by the Bear Cubs left fielder Cheyenne Cooper.

Nordahl came up next and got a hit to drive in Pelletier, sending Vikings up 6-2 at the end of third inning.

“I felt good hitting the home run when the team needed runs on the board,” said Simmons, “but we could have hit the ball on the ground more and that would have changed the game completely.”

Top of the fifth inning the Bear Cubs had some life, with Matthews leading off the inning with a double, and Swanson following with a hit of her own.

Runners at second and third for center fielder Katrina Ohleyer, who grounded out to first, allowing two runs to score, Vikings lead 6-4.

Top of the seventh inning, Santa Rosa’s Matthews led off the inning with a hit followed by hits from Swanson and Ohleyer.

Two runs scored, the game was tied at 6-6. Another hit from designated player, Ashley Stevens would give the Bear Cubs the lead, 7-6.

JULIANNA CARDINALE/ The Inquirer

There was no coming back for the Vikings in the bottom of the seventh inning, as they fell to the Bear Cubs with a final score of 7-6.

“Offensively, we can improve on staying down on the ball,” said Deighton on the game, “but defensively when we needed outs we didn’t come through completely.”

“We had good hits throughout the game,” said Nordahl, “we just didn’t execute as well as we could have.”

Up next, the Vikings take on Consumes River on Tuesday, April 26 at 3 p.m.

Above, designated player Kaitlyn VanMotman (#3) gets the sacrifice bunt down in attempt to advance the runner.

Below, pitcher Nicole Nordahl’s (#12) threw a complete game against Santa Rosa.

Contact JULIANNA CARDINALE at JCardinale@DVCInquirer.com

Pirates pillage the Vikings in extra innings ERIN SMITH Senior staff member

The Vikings set sail but ultimately sank when they took on the Modesto Pirates last Friday afternoon at Diablo Valley College.

After a run-less two innings, Modesto managed a run in the top of the third. Unable to match the Pirates, Carter Newton came out to pitch for DVC with a 1 – 0 score.

A line drive to third got Modesto a runner on first but as he stole second, defense got him out, two more outs followed and DVC was back up to bat.

Drew Downing came out strong with a double and Brian Gosiengfiao advanced him to third.

Adam Remotto came in and got Downing home tying up the game.

James White of DVC came out to pitch the fifth. Defense made quick work with two outs but with a player remaining on first, a ground ball advanced the runner to second.

Some sloppy fielding advanced Modesto’s runners to second and third, and a hit to left center field brought the score to 3 – 1, Pirates.

Andres Rodriguez took first at the on-

set of the bottom of the fifth. He quickly advanced and scored a run thanks to Ryan Tom and Zachary Maloney. Maloney scored a run as well tying up the game once again.

Downing came up to bat and ended the inning with Zachary Guardino left on third.

The sixth inning went by quickly with fast outs and no runs, leaving the game tied.

Doug Nimura pitched the seventh and allowed one run, but made a great play to first getting the third out, 4 – 3 Modesto.

Tom came up to bat for DVC and was walked. Maloney and Guardino managed hits that advanced Tom home tying up the game, 4 – 4.

The eighth inning marked another quick one, and neither team scored, keeping the tie intact.

Nimura came through and got three back to back outs in the top of the ninth, but Rodriguez was unable to score on a slide home and the game went into overtime.

With one out Modesto walked to first and then second as well. With a man on first and second an overthrow to second base by Nimura broke the tie, 5 – 4.

A bunt with runners on first and third allowed another run for the Pirates and ultimately cost DVC the game as they were unable to come back. The game ended 6 – 4.

JULIANNA CARDINALE/ The Inquirer

James ‘Tanner’ White, relief pitcher for DVC, comes into the game to close out the inning.

With five games remaining in the Big 8 conference and DVC currently tied for fifth DVC will have to dig deep to come up with the wins needed to proceed to playoffs.

White commented on the season so far, “We started pretty hot, slipped a little bit, but picked it back up over the last two weeks.”

As for the remainder of the season he said, “If we play well, we’ll almost certainly make playoffs.”

The Vikings continue to battle the Pirates Thursday April 21 at 2:30 p.m. at DVC. Contact ERIN SMITH at ESmith@DVCInquirer.com

editorial 8

Thursday, April 21 - Wednesday, May , 2016

Proportional equity isn’t equal

It isn’t easy being green, or cheap Diablo Valley College’s campus, as far as community colleges go, is extremely eco-friendly. Look, for example, at our new Commons Area — the project cost $52 million and used only native Californian plants — which are water efficient and encourage microhabitats for animals to live in — and are even watered, if need be, from recycled water. Recycled water isn’t only a theme in the new Commons Area, but throughout our campus — the grass is watered using this same method.

Now compare that to other colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District, say Contra Costa College, and although they do what they can, their school is nowhere near as eco-friendly as DVC’s.

Is this because here at DVC we’re better, more environmentally friendly people? No, of course not.

Once again this, as our journalist pals over at The Advocate like to point out, comes down to budget. DVC has a

bigger budget than CCC, since we have a greater population. However, does this make it right that our district isn’t allocating as much funding to a school which is in desperate need of repair? No. The Advocate reported, “The average age of the buildings on campus is 39 years, the oldest in the district...”

CCC — besides being a less eco-friendly college — is also potentially unsafe. Sitting on the Hayward fault line, CCC’s old buildings are in danger of a potential 6.7 or greater earthquake at any given time.

From an environmental standpoint, these buildings that average an age of 39 years, the oldest building being the gymnasium (built in 1955), could contain lead paint on the inside. Lead paint wasn’t banned until 1978 and was widely used until then. Lead also directly correlates to lower IQ’s, and a higher homicide rate, according to a Harvard study conducted by James J. Feigenbaum and Christopher Muller.

This may be speculation on our part, but it is also our understanding that the CDC believe that an estimated 14 million houses and public places still contain lead paint.

Here at the Inquirer, we believe it’s in our district’s best interest to allocate more money for renovating schools like CCC. With this, we can become a more eco-friendly district; instead of just one eco-friendly school.

We all benefit from having a better learning environment — one that is free of environmental hazards, where students don’t have to fear an earthquake potentially destroying the building they’re in, and one where there isn’t any speculation of harmful elements around them.

In conclusion, we thank our district for being environmentally responsible on our campus — and although our campus still isn’t perfect — please, look to our sister’s and brother’s at CCC and allocate a higher budget for them to create a campus that they enjoy as much as we enjoy ours.

The

Buzz

Where is your favorite off campus study spot? Why?

Israel Fine, 27 Allied Health

Scott Yip, 21 Nursing

Jeremy Larson, 35 Neurosurgery

Charon Eaves, 19 Psychology

“There’s Concord library. The community around the library is old people so they just read newspapers. No distractions, basically.”

“Starbucks in Benicia. It’s just the atmosphere; everyone’s focused on something which helps me focus too.”

“’Sweet Affair Bakery’ in Walnut Creek, because they have sugar and pastries that ups your glucose levels for energy.”

“It would be Barnes and Noble because it’s peace and quiet. And there’s Starbucks right there so if you get hungry.”