I
INQUIRER Student Voice of Diablo Valley College
Volume IV No. 6
Tuesday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 www.DVCInquirer.com
Student election needs revisiting Addressing flaws with ASDVC See Page 8.
Free bus passes for students? ASDVC and County Connection team up for student benefit See Page 2.
Spring sports slumber for summer Recaps and highlights of spring favorites See Page 6.
JESSE SUTTERLEY / The Inquirer
news 2 Statway enables student success Thursday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
calendar Thursday, May 5 College Rep Visit: Cal Poly PomonaCareer, Employment and Transfer Center, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Friday, May 6 Symphonic Band Spring Concert Performing Arts Center, 8 p.m. 9 p.m. Friday, May 6 Clybourne Park Arena Theater, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 10 College Rep Visit: University of San Francisco Career, Employment and Transfer Center, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 10 Academic Senate Meeting Community Conference Center, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 11 College Rep Visit: CSU East Bay Career, Employment and Transfer Center, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 11 Research Planning and Evaluation Committee Media Conference Room (L151), 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
police beat Monday, April 25 DVC Learning Center 11:20 a.m.-Student complained of chest pains. AMR responded. Student was transported to Martinez County Hospital for further medical treatment. Monday, April 25 DVC Parking Lots Lot 1A 4:02 p.m.-Two male subjects (non-students) were viewed in a physical altercation in parking lot #1. Both suspects were arrested. Tuesday, April 26 Bike Rack NW of Police Services 5:51 p.m.-Student reported that their bicycle was stolen from campus property. There were no witnesses. Saturday, April 30 DVC Parking Lots Lot 3 10:43 a.m.-A vehicle was found in Lot 3 with the contents scattered all over the ground surrounding it.
SEAN ROSS News editor
A given student that begins the traditional statistics course track at Diablo Valley College only has a 22 percent chance of successfully completing it, according to DVC Councilor Raine Dougan. Enter Statway, a program for students who are not STEM majors or business majors who have passed Math-75 that completes general education requirements. With Statway, qualified students are able to complete their mathematics requirements in just two semesters with a success rate of 80 percent, nearly quadruple that of the traditional math track. One of the program's success stories is Elizabeth Stewart, who is getting an A in the Statway course after having to repeat Algebra multiple times. Stewart says what made the difference was the program's emphasis on "group work and words, not numbers; it's easier." Charles Witherington, a geography major who has just received acceptance to UC Berkeley, said, “The approach is so different and intuitive. They don't assume you have a strong math background, it's more step by step." Witherington also noted that he was missing three semesters worth of prerequisites, and the accelerated pace of the program was invaluable to his transferring in a timely manner. Yet in spite of the program being four times as successful and taking a semester less to finish, students
JESSE SUTTERLEY/ The Inquirer
Sarah James and Joseph Porter work together on problems in the new Statway math class to help students succeed in advanced math on May 2. continue to largely favor enrolling in the traditional math track. Statway professor Anna Sohi attributes the lacking enrollment to both the newness of the program and the consequent lack of aware-
ness of the program by the student body. As qualified students become more aware of Statway, Sohi hopes that enrollment in this program will increase, and that more stu-
dents will consequently succeed in completing their math requirements. Contact SEAN ROSS at SRoss@DVCInquirer.com
ASDVC pushes for less expensive bus rides for DVC students DOMINIQUE SMITH Staff member
Diablo Valley College students can expect to ride the bus for free anywhere in the central Bay Area by Spring 2017 if the Associated Students of Diablo Valley College and The County Connection transportation service can reach an agreement. The current plan, which is still being figured out, would allow all DVC students to ride any County Connection Bus for free with proof of their student I.D. Wesley Xia, ASDVC President, presented this idea to ASDVC about three weeks ago when the plan was just an idea. He has already met up with two executives from County Connections and has them scheduled to talk more about the plan at next weeks ASDVC meeting.
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.
“They’ve worked with ASDVC before and they’re really happy to collaborate with us again,” said Xia. According to Xia, having free bus fare through County Connections will cost between $160,000 to $300,000 a year. Depending on how many DVC students like this idea, starting in Spring 2017, students will pay an extra fee to pay for this service. The amount has not been estimated yet. Quantitative data surveys will be distributed in the future to get an idea of how many students would find this service useful, “We need to gather at least 2,000 student responses,” said Xia. Xia thinks this plan will be both useful for DVC students and for the environment in hopes that more DVC students will use this
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
bus service instead of driving their cars which would decrease the amount of carbon print emitted into the air. According to Xia, “There are County Connection bus stops within a 1/4 mile radius of everyone’s house who lives in the central Bay Area.” DVC students were encouraged to attend next week’s ASDVC meeting in the Student Union room from 2- 4 pm on Tuesday, April 26, to ask The County Connection representatives whatever questions or concern they may have about the free bus fare plan.
Contact DOMINIQUE SMITH at DSmith@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 •
news 3
Thursday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Grub and grooves at UF birthday JESSE SUTTERLEY Co-editor-in-chief
The United Faculties celebrated their 40th birthday, Wednesday April 27, with students and faculty by providing a free barbecue lunch from the Culinary department, and live music. Even though the weather was less than ideal, there was a great student turn out. Tables filled up quickly and many students were just sitting on the grass listening to funk. “We are throwing this little birthday party and feeding students and brought over some great music,” said Jeffery Michels, executive director of the United Faculty. Food was provided for students by the Culinary Arts department and a student funk band, Hard as Funk, opened for the event. ”We have been playing together for a little while now,” said Daniel Oriti, 25 and the drummer for Hard as Funk. Most of the group met here at Diablo Valley College aside from Miles Davis, 22 bassist and vocalist, and Connor Millitello, 22 guitarist for the band. “We have known each other a while,” Millitello said referring
to Miles, “maybe since sophomore year of high school, but this band is brand new.” They also play small gigs around the East Bay but were asked to play at the event by their professor, Matt Zebey. It wasn’t just students that enjoyed the barbecue. Staff members also joined the festivities between classes. Julie Derby Jaecksch, the new crime scene investigation professor at DVC, pulled up a chair to enjoy the music. “This is my first semester here and I just wanted to check out the activities,” said Jaecksch as she ate, “it is so inclusive here, faculty and students get to spend time together outside of class.” After Hard as Funk finished their set, DVC Spanish professor Marina T. Crouse came on with her band mates, who will also be playing in New Orleans for Jazz fest in a few days. The event wrapped up at 2 p.m. as Crouse’s band finished playing. Overall the event went off without a hitch with students and faculty enjoying themselves. Contact JESSE SUTTERLEY at JSutterley@DVCInquirer.com
Left, Spanish professor Marina Crouse poses with her band, before their set on April 27. Far right, Trevor Strohl, 18, and Miles Davis, 22, play saxophone and bass respectively for a crowd of DVC students during the United Faculty BBQ.
Budget cuts put health program under the knife ERIN SMITH Staff member
The Joint Medical Program, a 45 year partnership between University of California Berkeley and UC San Francisco, is being threatened by budget cuts that could bring the Berkeley School of Public Health to a close. The program is an award winning five year graduate and medical degree program in which students study medical curriculum at UCB and the School of Public Health for three years, and then transfer to UCSF to continue their training and get their doctorate. It was previously reported by The Inquirer that UCB was facing a budget deficit of $150 million and it looks as if the medical school is at risk of closure because of this. UCB currently receives $3.2 million for the program through tuition and state funding, but only $1.3 million is allocated to the School of Public Health. That’s less than 50 percent of the money. It currently costs $1.9 million annually to run the program. This averages to about $40,000 per student. The national average cost of a medical student in the U.S. is upwards of $70,000.
Without the program the local community would be directly affected. According to Josh Pepper, a current student enrolled in the program, the students provide free medical services. They held over 64 free clinics and saw over 240 patients in 2015 alone as they learn medicine through real life clinical cases, benefiting students as well as those in need of cheaper healthcare. Pepper continued, “Practically, this means that our learning is very clinically contextualized and we are constantly having to question how socioeconomic factors like insurance, housing, addiction, and culture affect a patient’s health outcomes.” Program graduate & alumni, Colette Auerswald, MD, MS reiterated, “I would not have embarked on a 20-year career caring and advocating for marginalized children and youth in California had it not been for the program. Period.” The closure of this program could also spell bad news for Californians looking for a primary care provider. Not only do 64 percent of graduates enter into the primary care field, 70 percent continue to practice in the state after gradua-
tion. Currently ranked 43rd in the nation in number of physicians available for every 100,000 people, the loss of the program would worsen an already substantial problem for the state. Closure would mean 16 fewer trained and qualified physicians in California each year, and reduce UCSF’s graduating class by 10 percent. It’s no wonder this decision has caused such upset. As the program supporter Chenoa Allen said, “UC would be doing a grave disservice to undeserved patients in California and elsewhere by cutting the program. The program is truly unique and trains an amazing set of future physicians who care deeply about improving health and reducing health disparities, while reforming the health care system to save money and lives. While other medical schools struggle to figure out how to train compassionate, empathetic, skilled physicians, JMP has been doing so for decades.” A petition was created to save the program and has collected over 1450 signatures, with an end goal of 1500. The petition can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savethejmp.
According to Pepper, they are also in the process of two letter writing campaigns. The first of which is already underway and targets the UC Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, and Vice Provost to encourage UCB to more fairly allocate the money. The second campaign targets the state legislature. “This is intended to recruit legis-
lative advocates for our program who understand that, at a time when California ranks 43rd for the number of primary care physicians per capita, we need to be training more, not less, physicians in our state,” said Pepper.
Advertisement
Contact ERIN SMITH at ESmith@DVCInquirer.com
features 4
Thursday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Literary winners get dramatic brief involving Joyce Carol Oates, ‘Nobel Shocker,’ took second place. And Keri Flickinger’s ‘Treat,’ involving a family of women Students crowded into the Diablo Room, set in a crumbling dystopian universe from Wednesday April 27 to hear dramatic read- the perspective of a young girl, came in first ings from the winners of this year’s creative place. writing competition, hosted by the Diablo Up next were the winners from the poValley College English Department. etry category. Honorable mention, Sarah English professor Jessica Barksdale Gosling, started off with ‘Before Life Got opened the event thanking students for their in the Way,’ a poignant poem about the contributions. “Writing is the process of be- shifts of growing up. Kim Shotiveyartana ing rejected constantly,” followed with her second said Barksdale. “There’s place poem entitled ‘The “There’s a process to Professional,’ in which a process to really learning about rejection and really learning about she compared professional building that callous, work attire to a battle suit. so I applaud you all on rejection and building Douglas Redinger read your bravery.” again with his first place that callous, so I Entries for the compoem ‘Garage Sale,’ which petition included fic- applaud you all on your highlighted the momention, non-fiction, and tary envy in observing bravery.” poetry, and dramatic someone else’s life. readings were perThe final readings were ~JESSICA BARKSDALE formed by the first from the non-fiction catEnglish professor through third place egory, and all delved into winners who were the importance of family. available to perform. Audience members Third place winner Samantha Hernandez’s were able to hear beautifully written work, ‘Enchilada My Heart’ looked at the imporbut it was also an important lesson on how tance of a mother’s cooking as a family unifithe tone of delivery can either bring a story er, making them “all feliz.” Sterling Farrance to life, or make it fall flat. read again with his second place non-fiction Fiction winners started off the dramatic story ‘Bittersweet Citrus,’ which highlighted presentations, highlighting third place win- the juxtaposition of extreme happiness in ner Sterling Farrance’s passionately unsettled the Giants’ winning the World Series, and protagonist in ‘Morning Cigarette.’ Douglas extreme sense of loss in not being able to Redinger’s series of mock and satirical news share that moment with his father. The final KATHARINE HADA Co-editor-in-chief
E-cigarettes: more harmful than advertised
KATHARINE HADA / The Inquirer
Sterling Farrance reads ‘Bittersweet Citrus’ to an attentive audience at the creative writing contest dramatic reading in the Diablo Room, Wednesday April 27. reading of the afternoon, entitled ‘El Mar es Vida,’ was performed by first place winner Ernesto Avila, and spoke of his intense connection between a turbulent coming of age and the ocean. “I encourage anyone staying on at DVC to enter next year,” said Barksdale in closing.
The Inquirer will be featuring works from the creative writing competition in our final magazine issue, which will be available during finals week, May 23 through 27. Contact KATHARINE HADA at KHada@DVCInquirer.com
CHELSEY SCHALLIG Staff member
Studies have found toxic chemicals, including an ingredient used in antifreeze, in vapes. It’s likely that you’ve seen commercials The Food and Drug Administration about the dangers of e-cigarettes or compa- (FDA) doesn’t regulate these products, so nies advocating that it’ll break your smoking there aren’t any requirements around the inhabit. gredients companies use. There are myths on just about everything People use vapes to quit smoking beand e-cigarettes are no exception. cause it’s believed to contain no nicotine, Diablo Valley College held a brown bag but almost all e-cigarettes contain nicotine, event for students in the Student Union, including the products that claim they are Thursday April 28, about the realities of nicotine-free. e-cigarettes, hosted by A study by the FDA Carolyn Mehard, Kaiser “Nicotine is an addictive in 2014 found a widePermanente health eduof products that substance that will cause range cator. contained high nicotine Vapes are still a trend harmful impacts on the levels. around campuses and body. The more nicotine “Nicotine is an addicin public places and it’s tive substance that will a person uses, the more cause harmful impacts alright to assume that ecigarettes are safe. addicted a person gets.” on the body. The more The truth is that they nicotine a person uses, are non regulated prodthe more addicted a per~CAROLYN MEHARD ucts, and with over 500 son gets,” said Carolyn Kaiser Permanente health instructor brands and 7,700 flavors Mehard. on the market to choose Companies state that from, you don’t know e-cigarettes will help peowhat you’re getting. ple quit smoking, but the FDA has found “Large companies are selling unregulated that it’s not effective with quitting. products as safe and clean, but the reality is People don’t actually quit smoking if they more complicated than that,” said Mehard. move on or continue vaping while still using
CHELSEY SCHALLIG / The Inquirer
Carolyn Mehard hosted a brown bag event on the negative effects of smoking e-cigarettes in the Student Union, Thursday, April 28, 2016 in Pleasant Hill. conventional cigarettes. “The only way to quit smoking is by talking to your doctor to find a solution with one of the seven FDA-approved medications, or some just quit cold turkey,” said Mehard. The number of students in middle school and high school who use e-cigarettes have tripled from 2011 to 2013. People tend to think that vapes aren’t marketed toward younger audiences, but clearly this is a misconception. “Candy flavors like bubble gum or fruit loops, and industry tactics with the use of cartoons catch the eye of young kids. Studies show an increase in young users and it doesn’t surprise me,” said Mehard.
Even second hand smoke from e-cigarettes could potentially be harmful. E-cigs contain a similar amount of tiny particles of heavy metals found in traditional cigarettes that can damage the lungs both for direct smokers and those they surround themselves with. “Before you join the trend of vaping, either with friends or to quit smoking, remember there are better routes to stop smoking. You shouldn’t vape just to do it,” said Carolyn Mehard.
Contact CHELSEY SCHALLIG at CSchallig@DVCInquirer.com
sports 5
Thursday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Softball takes off to playoffs ERIN SMITH Senior staff member
The Cosumnes River Hawks took a swift lead over the Vikings in their final home game of the season. With a two run lead and runners on second and third base, sloppy field work gained Cosumnes River two more runs and a four run lead. Julianna Deighton managed a base hit in the bottom of the first and advanced to second, but got thrown out on an attempt to steal third and the Vikings remained runless. DVC defense managed three quick outs in the second and Mallory Barnard got to first in the bottom but the score held at 4-0. DVC defense again made quick work of Cosumnes River, getting three outs in the top of the third, and Deighton got on base the bottom of the inning, but no runs were scored. With two outs in the fourth inning the opposition stole second base and a fly ball brought the player home giving the Hawks a five run lead. DVC managed to load up the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but Bailey Simmons was the only one able to make it home bringing the score up 5-1.With two outs in the top of the fifth, DVC defense allowed a triple. A double then got Cosumnes River
from third to first getting the Vikings a much needed out, but they were ultimately unable to come back from the abyss and surrendered the seventh inning. The Hawks won, 9-1.
“The pitcher has thrown over 240 innings just this season alone.” ~BAILEY SIMMONS Third baseman
JULIANNA CARDINALE / The Inquirer
Third baseman Bailey Simmons takes her at bat in the top of the fourth inning in game against Cosumnes River. another run, 6-1. Natalle Larsen landed a base hit for DVC in the bottom of the fifth, but the score remained the same, 6-1. The Hawks started off the sixth inning
with a home run bringing the score to 7-1. With a player on first and second, a triple brought the score to 9-1, no outs. Simmons made a great defensive play
Julia Pelletier said in regards to their performance, “In the beginning we were on it and ready to play. Keeping up our confidence is the hard part.” She continued to mention that the Big 8 conference, in which they play, is one of the toughest leagues in the state and as the season winds down the competition becomes fierce. The team also used the same pitcher for every game, as Simmons pointed out, “The pitcher has thrown over 240 innings just this season alone.” The Vikings clinched themselves a playoff spot to take on Merced at home on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8. Contact ERIN SMITH at ESmith@DVCInquirer.com
Tough loss to end season for Viking baseball and had a run walked in, making the score 6-3. DVC also gave up a run in the top of the Diablo Valley College took a hard loss in ninth, giving the Panthers a greater lead goThursdays baseball game against Sacramento ing into the bottom of the ninth with a score City College. With a final score of 7-5 the of 7-3. Vikings let a close game slide between their With the bottom of the eighth also going fingers. poorly for the Vikings, it was down to the The first two innings were almost a warm bottom of the ninth for the Vikings to atup for the Vikings as the Panthers were tempt a final come back. struck out quickly in both innings. Josh Stevens was able to get onto first and The Vikings began to was pushed to third by lose their ground in the “We just gave up a lot Daniel Defazio’s fly ball bottom of the third in- of runs and walked too into center field. ning as Panthers pitcher Bradley Gosiengfiao Isaiah Nunez struck out many people today, we popped out but was able every batter that came to pull in an RBI bringare just going to have to the plate. ing the score up to 7-4. to do better next But with a shut out But that wasn’t the end in the top of the fourth for the Vikings as Zachary season.” inning, the Vikings were Guardino brought in anable to take the lead other RBI with a ground~JAMES WHITE getting two RBIs, one er to the short stop. But Pitcher through an error by the that was the end for the Panthers. Vikings rally as John AnDVC was only able to thon was struck out, endhold the lead through the fifth inning. ing the game at 7-5. In the top of the sixth two errors lead to “We just gave up a lot of runs and walked loaded bases, allowing Sac City to score, too many people today, we are just going to making the game 4-3. have to do better next season,” said White, Starting pitcher for DVC, Billy Babb was 10 and pitcher for the Vikings. then traded out for James White, who gave White’s response was much cheerier than up one earned run but was able to close the that of head coach Steve Ward who was dissixth inning with the score of 5-3. appointed with another loss for the Vikings. During the seventh inning the Panthers “This is the stuff we have been doing all and Vikings duked it out, each getting men season, giving up runs, errors, not getting on base, but leaving them stranded by the men on base, fast balls,” said Ward. end of the inning. The Vikings ended the season with five The top of the eighth did not go well for wins and 16 losses for the Big 8, and a tothe Vikings. tal of 15 wins and 21 losses for the entire Although they were able to get two quick season. outs, White was struck in the ankle by a line drive hit and had to be switched out for Andrew Merken. Contact JESSE SUTTERLEY at JSutterley@DVCInquirer.com The Panthers were able to load the bases JESSE SUTTERLEY Co-editor-in-chief
JULIANNA CARDIANLE / The Inquirer
Starting pitcher Billy Babb makes his last start of the season in game against Sacramento City College on Thursday, April 28.
sports 6
Thursday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Spring athletics at DVC come to a close JULIANNA CARDINALE Sports editor
JESSE SUTTERLEY / The Inquirer
Christine Nip, 20, swimming the 100-yard breast stroke for DVC’s placements before state.
In the 2015-16 spring sports season, Diablo Valley College showed that they can be a continuous force in the Big 8 Conference. Women’s basketball proved yet again to be a tough competitor in the Big 8, finishing the season with a record of 22-10. They also made it all the way to the elite eight round in the Northern California playoffs before being defeated by arch rival City College of San Francisco. Forward Jojuan Carrington lead the Big 8 with 519 points scored during the season. Although softball dropped the last two games of their season, they finished tied for fifth place in the conference and with a record of 26-13-1. Softball made the playoffs and will host Merced on Saturday, May 7. Pitcher Nicole Nordahl finished the season off with a 1.98 earned run average and led the state with 260 strikeouts. Baseball finished the season tied for last place in the conference with a record of 15-21. Freshman Zachary
Guardino led the team with a .300 batting average. And freshman pitcher Billy Babb led the pitching staff with 43 strikeouts. After finishing last season in 11th place in the state, Men’s basketball didn’t have the season they would have liked to, as they finished the season with a record of 14-14 leaving them in sixth place in the Big 8 and just missing the playoffs. Swimming and Diving finished out the season strong. Brandon James won the 100-yard backstroke and 200 backstroke titles and the men finished second overall with 680 points in the Big 8 Conference Championships. Mirelle Augst, of the Women’s swim team was second in the 1,650 meter freestyle, and Melody Pope came in third. The women were fourth overall with 477 points. Swimming and Diving are looking forward to competing in the State Championships at East Los Angeles College on May 5-7. Men’s tennis finished the season out strong with an 11-4 record, se-
curing them a playoff berth. They would win the first round against Fresno before losing to Foothill. In the Big 8 Conference Championships Garrett Goldman won the Men’s Singles championship. He and teammate Mariano Salvador won the Men’s Doubles title. Women’s tennis finished the season with a record of 2-8 overall, with Seila Besirovic and Kristina Lencesova winning the Women’s Doubles title in the Big 8 Conference Championships. Track and field finished the season strong sending many athletes to the Big 8 Championship meet, which began last Monday April 25 at Modesto Junior College. Spring sports set the bar high for not only the upcoming spring season, but for fall as well. As the athletes gear up, lets look forward to entertaining and competitive seasons of football, cross country, volleyball, soccer and water polo. Contact JULIANNA CARDINALE at JCardinale@DVCInquirer.com
Advertisement
DON’T SCRATCH THE SURFACE. EARN A DEGREE . MAKE A DIFFERENCE . Degree Programs in: Management | Nursing
C A L L T O S C H E D U L E A N A DV I S I N G A P P O I N T M E N T 9 2 5 . 8 6 7. 2 7 1 1
usfca.edu/pleasanton
U n i ve r s i t y o f S a n Fr a n c i s c o
pleasantoncampus@usfca.edu Change the World from Here
PLEASANTON
INQUIRER
Check out the Inquirer's new podcast : the Inquiring Minds https://soundcloud.com/the-dvc-inquirer
BREAK THE GROUND. NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2016 STAY ON TRACK.
GRADUATE AND START YOUR CAREER ON TIME. • Small classes, personal attention • $2,000 Diablo Valley College transfer award • $14,000 Honors at Entrance Scholarships RSVP for the May 26 transfer information session at smcadmit.com
Saint Mary’s College of California smcadmit@stmarys-ca.edu
(800) 800-4SMC
opinion 7
Thursday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
The case of the cracked eggs Diablo Valley College has a plethora of geese. Unfortunately for our buildings and grounds department this means a lot more cleaning up of fecal matter. DVC recently spent $50 million on the new commons area, and they didn't exactly intend for it to get shat all over. With this, it's understandable why there's a push by John Nahlen, Vice President of Business Administration at DVC, to get rid of geese around campus. Nahlen has been taking recent initiatives to try and prevent geese from nesting on campus rooftops by installing strobe lights, which essentially disrupt geese sleep patterns, and passive aggressively tell geese to kindly leave. Nahlen is making sure that no inhumane ways of dealing with the campus geese are being used — he instead is looking for humane ways to slowly get them off campus. Helen DeMarco, a Nutrition Professor and Program Coordinator at DVC, used to enjoy watching a goose nest outside her third floor office window in the Science Center building. Abruptly, a few weeks ago, DeMarco came into her office one morning to find the goose nest abandoned with its eggs smashed — and next to the nest, a large, out of place rock. The destruction had to be human caused, and seemed to go against Nahlen's understanding — yet resentful — plans against geese. DeMarco was, and still is, very upset about this recent demolition. She's gone to the buildings and grounds department and demanded an answer for such an unlawful act; yet she wasn't given one. That's when she reached out to me: Marcel, the down on MARCEL SCOTT his luck reportOpinions editor er. I quickly took the case — eager to get my reporter's badge back and earn The Inquirer's respect again, but it wasn't going to be easy. I needed answers, and I needed them fast. Deadline was coming at me like a goose turd hitting the new commons pavement. That's when I went to Nahlen: He'd have the answer's, but he'd be a tough egg to crack (pun), so I needed a disguise.... I ended up dropping my disguise, my hard boiled detective act, and my ice cream before making it into Nahlen's office. If I was going to get an answer, I was going to have to take on Nahlen mono e mono. So I asked Mr. Nahlen, "Do you know anything about the destruction of some goose eggs on campus?" and to my surprise, Nahlen gave me a very straightforward answer. He said, "I have knowledge of one employee who destroyed some nests and it shouldn't have happened," Nahlen continued, "He is a part time worker and his job, at that time, was to clean the gutters. We talked to him about the incident, and we're going to use it as a learning experience for our staff." The answer I'd been looking for was given to me on a silver platter. My case was finished. Professor DeMarco could have some closure with the eggs, and I'd finally have my title back at the newspaper. But there's still one part missing, and that's of course my opinion about the removal of geese on campus.... Well, I'm not willing to share my opinion about that, but I'm willing to share some advice: I think Mr. Nahlen and the science department should figure out a compromise — because as shitty as geese can be (pun), they also add to the biodiversity of campus. Contact MARCEL SCOTT at MScott@DVCInquirer.com
Impossible appeals for teen lifers
T
he United States is the only country in the world that gives minors life sentences without the possibility of parole. That’s right, commit a bad enough crime and you get to go away forever because you have no redeeming qualities and will never amount to anything in society. And if you’re African American, you’re even more likely to get life without parole. This was true up until 2012 when the Supreme Court case Miller v. Alabama ruled that life without parole for juveniles was unconstitutional because it is cruel and unusual punishment. But what about all of the 2500 teenagers, now grown men, currently serving life without parole for offenses they committed as minors? Well, if they are in California they are going to need executive clemency, a signed note from the governor, which you know will take forever when the “How to apply for a Pardon” guide reads: “There is no requirement that the Governor take any action on an application for a pardon.” JESSE SUTTERLEY Co-editor-in-chief Once submitted, the application will need to float through the governor’s office, the Board of Parole Hearings, District Attorney, and other “relevant persons.” And if you don’t think that’s slow enough, if there is more than one felony committed, the application must also go through the state supreme court where they must recommend a pardon before that application finally finds its way to the Governor’s desk, where...it will sit in a pile of papers he will look at five years after he retires. Just this past week the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a law suit against Maryland claiming that its current sentencing and parole policies are unconstitutional. Maryland has the same policies as California when it comes to granting parole for “lifers.” And guess how many inmates have been released — zero. Zero in the past 20 years. Were you the same person 15 years ago as you are today? My guess would be no, because people change over time. To think that we as a society are willing to throw away someone’s life because we think they can’t change is a bigger reflection on ourselves than on the individual. Our prison systems are meant only to house the unwanted — keep them away from the general population— rather than rehabilitate offenders and try to create productive citizens. I am not saying people are inherently good, I don’t know if I believe that, but I do believe our society is a failure if we give up on making a person better when they are only at the start of their lives. If we lock them up and throw away the key we are admitting defeat without even giving them a chance. According to the Vera Institute of Justice it costs Americans an average $31,286 per inmate annually. I don’t have 31 thousand to spend on myself in five years, but thats how much we collectively spend a year per inmate, who we want to house, and keep away from society because they will never make something of themselves. However, California is on the up and up with Senate bill 9 which allows inmates to apply for a resentencing, where they might get the chance to be resentenced with parole. But it still looks grim for the 2500 men that are rotting away in our prisons, printing your license plates and preforming menial labor for the rest of their lives. Our prison system is based on punishment, not on rehabilitation and unless we make a change we will continue to pay for inmates to be housed away from society. Contact JESSE SUTTERLEY at JSutterley@DVCInquirer.com
Graphic illustration by JESSE SUTTERLEY
opinion 8
Thursday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Editorial
ASDVC election needs to be re-evaluated With election season currently underway in the United States one can barely turn on the television, let alone go on social media, without hearing some type of scandal going on. Be it super delegates, miscounted votes, purged voter rolls, or the state of Ted Cruz’s citizenship. Our election system is riddled with problems. But we don’t have to look on a national level if we want to see election controversy. Just walk down to the student union building here at Diablo Valley College and sit in on any Associated Students of Diablo Valley College meeting. During the ASDVC elections between April 13 and 14 were riddled with policy problems. Let’s quickly go through them for you; first polling stations were partially staffed by members of ASDVC, even ASDVC president himself Wesley Xia was spotted working the polling stations — huge conflict of interest. Second: the Integrated Alliance coalition had fliers scattered around the polling place, with photos of their members who were running for office. Third: Daniel Pardo, a member of the United Students of Diablo Valley College coalition, was missing from the ballot even though he claimed to have turned in all of the proper paperwork. What we need to see is a much clearer version of the election code. As of now, we can’t seem to get a straight answer from ASDVC
members or faculty involved with ASDVC about violations that may have taken place during the last election. ASDVC board members, and Election Committee members especially, should be explicitly banned from serving as polling workers. Moreover there needs to be a larger window to file complaints or discrepancies with the election process. It seems as though once the election is underway, there are no ways for someone to submit complaints in a timely manner, due to the small two day window submissions. Two days is not long enough to gather evidence to substantiate a claim against ASDVC and who knows how quickly they will return with a message. The Inquirer’s own investigation into the matter took nearly a week. But we have already gone over this in our previous coverage of the ASDVC election, the bigger question is why does it matter. This may seem like a trivial matter to some students, but we can not forget that ASDVC gets to control a huge portion of the student budget. In 2012 for example with the Inter Club Council — which is funded by ASDVC — budgeted over one thousand dollars for a ‘Halloween Festival’ for students. That’s not chump change, and that’s only for a party. I’m not saying that parties and student activities should go away but ASDVC has a lot
From left, Xiaojun “Kokun” Yang, Ashley Leung and Wesley Xia at the ASDVC voting booths of pull and a large budget and we do not need it to be tainted. If they can barely get through elections without a scandal, then how can the student body trust them to get through a fiscal year without a scandal? To clear these discrepancies, and put the student body at ease, we suggest a special redo election. This can be done if the ASDVC board gets a two thirds vote, or a petition with signatures from five percent of the
student body. It is crucial that we understand what went wrong with this election, so that we do not see these problems in the future. We should not be ok with the results of an election that has so many holes the Swiss might call it cheese. We should petition ASDVC to hold a new election.
Letter to the editor
Insider thoughts on ASDVC election troubles Being a former member of Associated Students of DVC, and participant in many ASDVC elections, I would admit having members of the Election committee serve as poll workers can be a bit worrisome. On the other the hand, they can also enforce election guidelines to keep all candidates honest. More on this later. The Student Life Office is within its right to ‘hire and train’ anyone they deem fit to serve as a poll worker, but the common practice has always been to hire or reassign a classified staff member or student worker (from the student life building) to work the polls. Nowhere in the election code does it state they need to be independent. This now becomes a policy issue that would need to be addressed for next year’s elections. This is where it becomes a bit more complex. Having members of the election committee serve as poll workers may not necessarily create a conflict of interest but they would have to recuse themselves from the elections committee to review alleged election code violations if they are witnesses or are claimed to have witnessed a violation. Thus
reducing the number of voting members the election committee, and this could have a significant effect in any ruling from said committee. Something to think about. As for the ASDVC adviser Demetria Lawrence — I first met her and dealt with her during my election for student trustee, she served as Los Medanos College’s Associated Students of LMC advisor and was helpful and professional. But during my time as the student trustee, I heard nothing but good things about her from students, management, and people working at the district office. That is not to say, that all things work well with our advisors. We have differences of ideas, and they are here to help us even if it means they force us to rethink some issues. That is not to say, they are above any code of conduct or ethics. Further, the will (i.e. the vote) of the students should be honored, and if changes need to be made then they should be enacted at the policy level. This should not be the reason why one person or persons, should lose an election. Unless their actions are so egregious that it violates and/or threatens the integrity of the election process itself, but anything
short of that cheapens the earnest efforts of all, and creates issues of credibility, and the hostility associated begets forth wedge issues for next year’s governing body, and this hurts everyone. Lastly, trust me, I know how hard we all work during an election, and how passionate we become over it. The time we spent campaigning, interacting with the student body, engaging with their ideas, and those late nights getting our message just right is important to all of us. Whether we win or lose it was awesome to have been part of the election process. I have lost many ASDVC elections, but my willingness to grow from them, allowed me to become more determined to lead and humble enough to follow. God speed to all. Sincerely, Francisco Hinojosa Current DVC Student Former ASDVC President-elect Former ASDVC Executive
The
Buzz
What are your predictions for “Game of Thrones” season six?
Michael Di Giorgio, 23 Mechanical Engineering
Adam Heartely, 21 Buisness Administration
Eric Levine, 28 Allied Health
Josh Grupe, 21 Psychology
“Jon Snow is going to be a zombie guy and Bran is going to be important in upcoming episodes.”
“I do watch Game of Thrones and Jon Snow is dead. He’s not coming back.”
“’Jon Snow is coming back.”
“I do watch Game of Thrones. My prediction is that people are going to die.”