The Inquirer Vol VI no. 2

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'Nice to meet you' DVC art instructor has autobiographical exhibit. See Page 5.

inquirer

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Volume VI, No 2

Town hall talks about health care DANNY YOEONO Staff member

What more could transfer students ask for? Face to face meetings with not only the college they want to transfer to, but also useful information about getting financial aid and making it possible to attend their college of choice.

Beneficial transfer events like these are what keeps transfer students both getting into their college that they dream of, and also pushing them on to achieving their bachelor’s or master’s degree of choice.

“It’s beneficial because it starts when you’re young and they encourage you to come back when you’re older,” DVC student Nia Monk says.

Three US House representatives came together for a town hall meeting entitled “Protecting the Affordable Care Act,” on the first day of a recess.

At a time when republicans are ducking their own town hall meetings and are being booed by their voter base for supporting President Trump’s agenda, three democrats, representing an area that spans from Napa to Walnut Creek and Crockett to Stockton, came face to face with hundreds of more people than an average town hall meeting. People who wanted to hear from their representatives on the state of the Affordable Care Act were in attendance.

Inside the Contra Costa County administration building, Congressman Mark Desaulnier (11th district), Congressman Mike Thompson (5th district) and Congressman Jerry McNerney (9th district) were joined by California State Senator Bill Dodd (3rd district), Contra Costa Health Services director Bill Walker and three other panelists spoke regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, to a crowd of an estimated 500 constituents. Rep. Thompson opened the meeting saying, “we are here today because the president wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act.” Which got a response of boos from the packed chamber.

To soothe the people he noted there were three committees in the house working on the on the ACA, and the three congressmen at the town hall were in all of them.

McNerney took a stance and said “we are going to have to adopt single payer.” A message which seemed to resonate with the chamber.

Rep. DeSaulnier said that the fight for Obamacare will require the urgency of protecting the constitution. Reiterating McNerney, he spoke of a universal single payer system and added that Dodd had introduced a bill to the state legislature that would bring a single payer system to California.

The remaining of the meeting were questions from the audience and remarks from the Congressmen and the other panelists about the dangers of repealing the ACA without replacement, which would raise costs for those who can least afford it, and the benefits to California the ACA has brought like 20+ billion dollars in healthcare funding.

Around 40 minutes in, Rep. Mcnerney said “Excuse me I have to leave to fight the appointment of Scott Pruitt.” In his closing remarks Rep. DeSaulnier recounted the advice Fredrick Douglas gave a young man on the day he died, “agitate, agitate, agitate.”

Meanwhile, in a study that included surveys of 1,200 congressional staffers, “90 percent said that in-person constituent visits could influence a lawmaker.” Mark DeSaulnier has another town hall meeting Thursday Feb. 23 at DVC in the cafeteria.

Contact COURTNEY DONAHOE at CDonahoe@DVCInquirer.com

Contact DANNY YOEONO at DYoeono@DVCInquirer.com

Archive Photo / The Inquirer

Dental hygene student Rachel Alvernaz working on Haley McDonough last semester.

Dental program offer students discount

MAHRUKH SIDDIQUI Staff member

DVC offers not only a low cost dental hygiene program but also a low cost dental clinic to serve the community.

The dental hygiene and dental assisting programs at DVC offer low cost exams, deep root cleanings, and other basic services to students and the community.

According to Dana Colvin, the Lab Coordinator at the clinic, students in the program conduct all of the exams, X-rays, and procedures but are supervised by registered dental hygienists and licensed dentists. This allows for students to get hands on experience in the field and being a career technical education program, so students are able to attain jobs in the field after graduating from DVC.

“The program is the best in the area. I love the program (because) the faculty is devoted to the program and wants to see everybody succeed,” said Catherine Van Ness, a student in the program.

Van Ness, who returned to DVC to attend the program after receiving her bachelor’s degree, said the program is different from a bachelor’s degree because it’s “more focused.”

“Although I did get accepted into another dental hygiene program, I choose the dental hygiene program at DVC because the staff seemed warm and welcoming and statistics show a 100% national board pass rate. The pass rate is something I feel is extremely important to consider when applying to dental hygiene programs,” student Brooke Mollring said.

The program boasts a 100 percent pass rate on the National and Regional Dental Hygiene Board exams.

“I chose this program because it I think it has a great reputation in the dental community. My favorite part is how much I learn every single day. It’s overwhelming but so rewarding because I really feel like I’m being prepared for my career in Dental Hygiene,” said student Haley McDonough.

The low cost services are provided whether or not you are a student and have insurance or not. The program does not offer more extensive treatments such as fillings and teeth removal.

Contact MAHRUKH SIDDIQUI at MSiddiqui@DVCInquirer.com

HBCU transfer fair help guides students COURTNEY DONAHOE Staff member

One thing that students planning to transfer can benefit from are transfer fairs like the HBCU (Historical Black Colleges and Universities) that Diablo Valley College held for interested students. This transfer fair has some amazing benefits that every student should go and take advantage of while in the process of transferring schools.

The HBCU transfer fair included benefits like meeting with one-on-one recruiters from over 25 HBCU colleges, on-the-spot acceptance, scholarships, and application fee waiver opportunities that are available for qualified students, along

with learning the benefits of attending an HBCU. DVC student Lavona Bobo says that “transfer fairs like these are beneficial because you get to talk to a person from the school you want to transfer to.”

The transfer fair lasted from 4-7pm, at the Main Street Bistro in the HSF building on February 15.

Along with learning about the HBCU colleges, transfer students get to have one-on-one conversations with DVC’s financial aid representatives. Mahal Williams, student assistant at the DVC transfer services booth says, “because this event is in the Bay Area it brings it to the students, face-to-face, with better in depth information.”

Copyright © 2016 The Inquirer - www.dvcinquirer.com

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opinions

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, Mar. 8, 2017

editorial Social media detox necessary for well-being

S

ocial media is something that we all are familiar with, as recent reports note that 98 percent of college students use it. Admit it, you check Facebook and Instagram when you're supposed to be studying.

You also check it when you wait for class to start, when you eat lunch, or before you fall asleep.

It may seem harmless, but prolonged exposure to social media can seriously affect teen's and young adults' self esteem and image, along with a decrease in communication skills. "‘Facebook depression’ is a new term that refers to depression that develops as a result of children and teens spending a lot of time on social media sites and begin to experience depression as a result. When teens compare themselves to photos of others and the illusion of others’ better lives, they can experience decreased self-esteem and depression," according to a New York Behavioral Health blog post.

People should realize that these others also may have the same issue, and that not everything on social media, whether it's news or photos at a party, is completely true.

Even if social media seems like a great way to connect with faraway people and

share your lives and ideas on a public platform, there's something less social about it all.

You may notice how less people engage with each other and choose to spend time browsing on their phones. According to USA Today College, studies show that "even when there is an opportunity to see people face-to-face, on weekends for example, up to 11 percent of adults still prefer to stay at home and communicate on their devices instead."

When you are face-to-face with people, make sure to be present with them and not on your devices.

There are apps that are helpful to cutting down on social media usage, such as Checky, which logs how many times you check your phone. The numbers can be eye-opening for some people and can teach them how to rely on their phones less.social media can be important in documenting life experiences but should not take over your life. Find ways to detox, such as uninstalling the apps or leavNIKKI MOYLAN / The Inquirer ing your phone in another room to get work done. It may take time to find yourself less addicted to scrolling through Twitter end- Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, allow users to check lessly, but you will suddenly have free time multiple times and see what friends are doing. for school, work, and hobbies.

Trump and Bannon: as big a threat as ISIL? JAKE ILIFF Guest columnist

Are Trump and Bannon as great a threat as ISIL? Volunteers for military service must swear to defend the United Statesfrom enemies both foreign and domestic Recently, this oath caused an estimated two thousand veterans to support water protectors at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Those veterans responded to actions they saw as militarized state terrorism against peaceful citizens.

By ignoring these veterans and restarting construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone Pipelines, the Trump administration has endorsed that same state terrorism.

Trump’s administration, which was highly influenced by White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, now contains many people with questionable connections to the invasion of Iraq. If we are not careful now, they might take us into another risky conflict.

James Mattis, Erik Prince, and the recently rized against dissent. resigned Michael Flynn, are all well known But don’t take my word for it. According for their connections to war profiteering to Charlie Nash of Breitbart News, “Milo and other war crimes like extrajudicial kill- and the David Horowitz Freedom Center ings and torture. Bannon has also succeeded have partnered to launch a campaign against in politicizing the National Security Council ‘sanctuary campuses’…The campaign will to an obscene degree, which flies in the face be launched with the speech from Milo at of extremely important UC Berkeley.”

U.S. military traditions.

Given Bannon’s con...Bannon and the Maybe, a more immedinections to Breitbart, ate example is necessary Trump administration protesting Yiannopouto qualify as “terrorism” is easily interchangeare domestic terrorists los though. How about the able with rioting against nonetheless.

Berkeley riots on Februthe White House itself. ary 1st, 2017?

The intent is to sow Bannon is a militaristic opportunist, and more derision, and distract everyone from Milo Yiannopoulos is not simply a person the tenth amendment issues at the core with fringe ideas. He is a pawn of Bannon’s of sanctuary policy debates. Their style is propaganda machine, Breitbart News. The somewhat indirect, but Bannon and the spectacle engineered at UC Berkeley had Trump administration are domestic terrorvery clear goals, to equate opponents of ists nonetheless. Of course, our current Yiannopoulos’ with “threats to national se- conflicts with ISIL abroad pose a great curity” so that increased force can be autho- threat that should not be ignored. Their

methods of direct violence and relentless propaganda are certainly more extreme than the examples we have observed from the Trump administration thus far. However, this does not mean the new administration gets a free pass to do whatever they want in the name of “national security.” Admittedly, a direct comparison is imperfect, but there are considerable commonalities.

Bannon and the Trump administration are promoting a culture of violence and derision, which has led to the destruction of private property and the loss of social capital both at home and abroad. The Trump administration Bannon connection and ISIL are two sides of the same coin because they all want war. Unless it drastically changes course, this Trump administration must be understood as just as great a threat to our national security.

Contact JAKE ILIFF through us at Inquirer@dvc.edu

The

Buzz What were your Valentine’s Day plans?

Interviewed by: Mark Lindahl Photographed by: Isaac Norman

SUFI SALATI, 19 Political science

OKSANA BARNES, 43 Psychology

MARCOS BERNARDO, 20 Mathematics

SOPHIA BAYATMAKON, 20 Economics

“Making dinner for my boyfriend.”

“I hope my husband will surprise me.”

“Bought my mom some flowers.”

“My boyfriend and I are going to dinner and he got tickets for Bon Jovi.”

3

features

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, March 8, 2017

The legacy of Ghost in the Shell and rebooting the cyberpunk classic KAYLA ROJAS Staff member

“Ghost in the Shell” is a 1995 Japanese anime film which served some inspiration behind the 1999 sci-fi film “The Matrix.”

This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the landmark cyberpunk anime, as well as the year the live action adaption from Paramount is slated to release.

With the announcement of the live action film, select theaters in the United States re-released the anime for a limited time. Before we anything can be assumed about the new film, it’s important to note what made the original so great, and break down the trailers so fans can figure what to expect without too many predisposed notions.

Originally a manga series by Masemune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell” follows Section 9, a part of the police department in the year 2029 in which cyborgs are mostly in use over humans.

Our lead character and her partner are tasked with tracking down an infamous hacker known only as “The Puppet Master”, who has the ability to hack into cyborgs via their brain or ‘ghost’.

One aspect of the film that makes it so great is attention to detail. Whether it’s water drop-

lets on a character’s goggles after a dive, or the background being full of life during a chase scene, the film doesn’t leave anything out of the frame. One of the most critically acclaimed scenes is the opening in which our main character is being crafted. The camera doesn’t shy away from every wire and bolt shown in the process, and the audience is immediately immersed into the story.

As with any book, TV show or film, the story is essential. It doesn’t stray too far from Shirow’s original comic series, albeit not suitable for work scenes of explicit sexual and overly violent content. However, the anime adaptation did retain the main plot and some scenes of violence that were necessary to carry on the narrative. The case in the film is a backdrop for our main character who battles her own feelings of estrangement towards herself as a cyborg with human brain cells, and at the climax of the film discovers herself in a way. Although it is animated, “Ghost in the Shell” pays homage to both crime dramas and Western film noirs.

Paramount hasn’t released too much information on the live action adaptation save for the cast, a few trailers and a brief plot summary.

However, even with such little

information, many fans of the original are in uproar over casting decisions. Most notably, the controversy is over the casting of actress Scarlett Johansson in the main role as the police Major Motoko Kusanagi whilst keeping the Japanese name. Keeping this out, it’s too early and unfair to assume the film will tank.

So long as the adaptation retains the important details from its predecessor, it could be safe to assume that it can do fairly well. From the trailers Paramount has released, it appears as though despite casting, much of Shirow’s vision is still being used and the source material is present. In a way, the casting could work in its favor as one of the main underlying themes of the original is the loss of feeling like an individual, and not as one sees themselves.

Although the animated film is held in such high regard, it is far too soon to hold such harsh judgement over the new adaption. While the decision of putting Scarlett Johansson in the role of a Japanese cyborg policewoman can be upsetting, it appears as though the film is still giving its source material credit and deserves a chance.

The live action film is slated for Mar. 31.

Contact KAYLA ROJAS at KRojas@ DVCInquirer.com

KAYLA ROJAS / The Inquirer

Handdrawn Ghost in the Shell moviestill KAYLA ROJAS / The Inquirer

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4

features

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, March 8 2017

‘RE7’ brings new life to

horror game FRANK GUITRON Co-editor in cheif

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard is a relieving departure from the direction previous RE games had gone. It focuses more on survival horror and ammo conservation than its action based ammo waster counterparts of the passed decade.

Starting off by realizing that isolation is the best way to make the player more engulfed in the game, Capcom decided to scale down their game from where Resident Evil 6 left off. This direction took out the global scale issues of large cities being infested with the undead, and instead implemented an intimate and horrific experience using claustrophobic environments and appropriate amounts of jump scares.

Thankfully, not overly used.

The graphics in this game are fantastic, even when run on the console which always runs the risk of stifling the intended frame rate. While playing textures would sometimes tend to have a 5 second delay before being fully rendered during the load of a game save, but if you're using a computer that shouldn't be an issue. The textures are also run on a new gaming engine called Re Engine, designed specifically for Resident Evil 7. The lighting in the game coupled with the textures afford the game its creepy horror status.

The audio in this game does its job

well as it can not only unnerve the player, but help them navigate to safety without having to deal with every single After resting in Zoe’s trailer you go to fight Lucas. enemy in the game. You are thrown back into a cent of Saw, through the sadistic games world of survival horror through the eyes that the genius engineer that is Lucas creof a man named Ethan Winters. Using first ates. person camera angles, constant background This diversity touches three horror noise (such as doors slamming shut) and tropes that can reach out to most people various shuffling sounds that are intended who play whether it is through fear of a to constantly chip away at the comfortabilkiller in the house Jack, an inhuman monity of the environment. ster like Maruerite, and a psychological fear The diversity of the boss fights can be which is Lucas. considered a tad divisive due to having only The gameplay is a little light on the a handful of boss fights, and having the puzzle aspect, however that doesn't break same enemy, Jack Baker or "Daddy", as a the game for most as while there are easy the boss in 3 of them. puzzles to solve in game, the spirit of the The interesting part is that one of the original Resident Evil games can be found boss fights is a pseudo boss fight that in this title. makes it impossible to kill Jack, as he tries Resident Evil has gone from zombies in to follow you around the house and kill the first three games, to parasites controlyou at every turn by breaking down walls, ling the hosts in the following games, and and even going so far as to give off that has now evolved to an enemy called the Deliverance vibe by screaming "here piggy Molded. piggy!"

These Molded are more fungal in nature Marguerite Baker is a completely differand similar to the other zombie viruses in ent boss fight as she changes into a spider the game, tend to reanimate corpses into like insectoid boss that hides in the walls their own image. While it is never explained and can strike you at random if you take in full detail, it is shown that they can be the wrong step. created by anyone infected with the spores/ The son Lucas isn't quite a boss fight as virus. it is experiencing events that are reminis-

FRANK GUITRON / Capcom

About a month has passed since the initial release of Resident Evil 7 Biohazard and Metacritic gave a score of 86, while IGN gave a 7.7 with fans collectively rating the game an 8.6. Steam also favorably ranked its reception as very positive, and Destructoid 10 out of 10 saying the game was, "the best Resident Evil game in ten years."

AngryJoe also gave an 8 out of 10, while he included that if you had the VR (virtual reality) experience then it would be a 9 out of 10.

Many Youtubers have also done “Let's Plays” of the game and have mostly given positive feedback, including three of the biggest: Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, and Markiplier.

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard was released on January 23, and has sold over 3 million copies as February 10, according to a financial Q&A that Capcom held, meaning that they have made back production costs and can be considered commercially successful.

Contact FRANK GUITRON at FGuitron@DVCInquirer.com

Improv club battles it out at local warehouse wrestling venue DANNY YOEONO Staff member

In the warehouse where East Bay Pro Wrestling (EBPW) calls home, improv comedy team Dragon Viper Cobra made the cold pavement their stage and the dull fluorescents their stage lights.

Three one-hour shows in the spirit of improvised comedy were completely original and different.

The improv comedy team did a triple header show on Friday, Feb. 17.

“We’ve been going in a new direction for a while and tonight was an example of that.” ~JEREMY DORADO Director of Dragon Viper Cobra

The 7 p.m. show paid homage to the location with an improv battle between two sub teams labeled gray team and maroon team.

They began with a rap game, each team vying for "LOL's." One game led to improvisor Kate Pursley pleading on her knees

screaming, “Elvis is still alive,” and the audience chanting,“we gotta stop killing our bees.”

The winning team was chosen by a referee who prompted the audience to cheer loudest for the better performers.

In the roar of the cheers and applause, coupled with the aroma of burnt popcorn and dry sweat, an audience member could easily close their eyes and transplant themselves to a wrestling match that might have occurred in the same location just a week DANNY YOEONO / The Inquirer earlier.

The show is a great example of improv From left to right: Jeremy Dorado, Greg Reasoner, Travis Reaves-Buttercomedy. field.

Whether it is your first time or you have rado said, “We’ve been going in a new direcdone improv yourself, it will make you laugh warehouse.

Reasoner went to the wrestling shows tion for awhile and tonight was an example through the evening. There's truly somewith Madison Brown, both original memof that.” Like an unscripted show, being thing for everyone. bers of the club. consistently good and funny is a challenge.

They have physical comedy, gut punchReasoner said they are always looking for “Right now we are just following the fun,” ing one liners, bizarre scene premises and venues to perform at and Brown’s husband said Dorado. reference comedy which Greg Reasoner is happened to be a ref at EBPW, who got the The club has monthly shows with the a master of. club in contact with Bartlett who said, “any next one at the Campbell Theater on March EBPW owner and pro wrestler, Tim advertisement is a good advertisement,” and 10.

Find Dragon Viper Cobra on Facebook Bartlett (stage name Maynard Skynrd), said put the improv show in the books. for more information. this was his first improv show and that it The current iteration of the club that has reminded him of the classic television show evolved since the troupe’s genesis in 2010 ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway.’

Contact DANNY YOEONO at Bartlett also told the story of how the im- is the best.

Current leader and director Jeremy DoDYoeono@DVCInquirer.com prov show came to be at his pro wrestling

5

features

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, March 8, 2017

‘Nice to Meet You’ makes you think NAGISA TSUKADA Staff member

Mouse traps made of credit cards. Deer injured by pens. A Japanese armor made of equipment for blue collar workers.

The current DVC faculty show exhibits artworks of Jeremiah Jenkins. Jenkins has worked as DVC art professor since 2015, and the exhibition, titled "Nice to meet you," introduces his style of art to students.

Jenkins chronologically placed his artwork, beginning from his graduation show, and ten pieces of paper on the wall which describes what he experienced each year after graduation.

"I thought students are a kind of interesting to know what happens after you graduate and after you finished your school. It doesn't always like planned out

like you expected to. And then, just for me, it was interesting to go back over those ten years because they served the significant ten years for me," Jenkins said.

Jenkins did not put titles and captions beside his work because he wanted to respect visitors' first reaction. Instead, he placed small numbers, so that visitors can check the information of the work seeing a list which they can get at the counter.

He used his broken typewriter to write on papers on the wall. In addition, he placed the typewriter at the end of the exhibition and offered visitors to write any advice. He likes typewriters because they are similar to life: you will feel each letter when you enter as if you step to walk; you cannot fix

NAGISA TSUKADA The Inquirer

Jeremiah Jenkins didn’t title art works like this typewriter, so the viewer has a fresh experience. mistakes more easily than computers like your life.

"It is a practice of letting it go," he said.

According to Jenkins, the essence of art is both selfish and selfless. Although the first reason of making art is to express the creator's thoughts or ideas, if he or she does not share it, it cannot convince people and "it is point-

less."

“It is introductory show... so I thought I"ll just be honest with anyone who comes through the door and sees, you know, read my writing or sees my work, and they have a better chance getting to know me that way by looking back from this very ten formative years my life," Jenkins said. "I'm not trying to impress anybody. I'm

just being honest with what I have done and who I am."

The show will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Fridays until Feb. 27.

Contact NAGISA TSUKADA at NTsukada@DVCInquirer.com

White Pony Express helps those in need NIKKI MOYLAN Co-editor in chief

White Pony Express, a volunteer service located in Pleasant Hill, picks up and delivers 5,000 pounds of food a day to those in need.

Stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts and Trader Joe's provide excess food to the WPE, and the totals often reach 1,000 pounds each day.

Three-quarters of what is donated to in the morning is distributed throughout Contra Costa County, where 11 percent of its residents are below the poverty line, despite living in the third richest county in California.

Steve Spraitzar, public relations director, encourages people to volunteer and visit "to see first hand what our nonprofit is doing to eliminate poverty and hunger in Contra Costa County."

The White Pony Express relies on volunteers to sort and deliver products to people, giving them only goods that they request in order to cut down on waste.

DVC student Zhelin Li, 20, volunteered at the White Pony Express because his friend suggested that the organization could use more volunteers.

NIKKI MOYLAN / The Inquirer Runners like Li keep track of what orders are coming in, and quickly prepare it and get it shipped off, covering the Clothes hang in the White Pony Express’ free general store. whole county and driving 20,000 miles a month.

One of their most recent programs, founded last Janu- which come to those in need.

Today, the nonprofit organization has won 6 major honary, was a cold weather clothing program where over 7,000 These boutiques set up at public places such as churches ors in the past 2 years. items like ponchos, coats, umbrellas and hand warmers to and schools, and are constantly restocking to keep fresh It partners with about 60 nonprofit organizations in the the homeless. supplies to people in need. county, and is praised for its high quality goods and promptWPE has also collaborated with WPE has done 43 of these boutiques ness.

Parkhaven Church in Concord, which “Many homeless don’t in the past 3 years, giving away 275,000 "We have given 4 million pounds of food that the hungry recently has opened its doors to the brand new items of clothing and 75,000 could have gone without- could you imagine?" Connor said. have protective stuff.” toys and books. homeless, and taken orders from there.

"Many of them don't have protective White Pony Express was founded in ~GARY CONNER stuff," said Gary Conner, President and 2013 with a team of less than a dozen President and Executive Coordinator Executive Coordinator at WPE. "The people. need is so desperate annually, so we give "We had no money, space, or assets.

Contact NIKKI MOYLAN at them brand new clothes of the highest We only had one Google Voice number for people to call NMoylan@DVCInquirer.com possible quality that we can." and make requests for supplies, and we were delivering them Another program that they do is "mobile boutiques", in our own cars," Conner said.

6

news

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, March 8, 2017

calendar February 23rd, 2017 DVC Men’s baseball vs Cabrillo Baseball Field, 2:00-6:00 p.m.

Reel Love Film Fest Forum, 7:30-10 p.m.

February 24th, 2017 Spring Horticulture plant sale DVC p.m.

Greenhouse,

3:00-6:00

March 3rd, 2017 Men’s tennis vs Folsom Lake college Tennis courts, 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Three Way Jazz Performing arts center, 8:00 p.m.

Beethoven’s Eroica Performing arts center 8:00-9:00 p.m.

police beat Monday, January 30 BFL A student overturned garbage cans while yelling profanities at other students.

Tuesday, January 31 Bookstore A student was caught stealing three textbooks and was referred to the Dean of Students.

Wednesday, February 1 Lot 7B Two vehicles were involved in a collision.

Thursday, February 9 Bookstore Unknown subject used a victim’s debit/credit card without consent or knowledge of the owner.

Monday, February 13 Hospitality Studies/Food Court Belongings were stolen from a campus vehicle.

Poker party benefits athletics DANNY YOEONO Staff member

the athletes. Her goal is “to make no funds come out of player’s The sixth annual DVC Athlet- pocket.” ics Texas Hold Em Poker TournaThe poker tournament fundraisment Fundraiser, with all proceeds er started was started by the cross going to student athletes, occurred country coach Shelly Pierson over on Saturday Feb. 11 in the cafete- five years ago. After she ran it the ria. first year she turned it over to be Leading up to the fundraiser, coordinated by the athletic departDVC athletes had been tasked with ment with Greenberg and Chrissecuring corporate sponsorships tine Worsley, the athletic director. and selling event and raffle tickets.

The tournament features real The effort led to an attendance of poker. That is, DVC gets a gamabout 90 players and at the end of bling license and contracts out the the night, an estimated $18,000 card tables and dealers to the pokhad been raised in the name of er tournament fundraiser company DVC Athletics. That money is Blue Dog. tracked by the athletic department The authenticity of the gamdivision secbling coupled retary Marisa “Our team usually gets with the addiGreenberg, who tional license a couple grand.” said the teams to sell beer and will get a porwine means tion of the prothat once the ~CAILIN MULLINS Women’s soccer coach ceeds based on tournament the amount they starts, one raised. must be over Women's soccer coach Cailin 21 years old to be in the room. A Mullins said her team usually gets number of athletes help prepare a couple grand. Mullins mentioned the tournament and then left by that DVC can only cover the basic the six o’clock start time. Though costs and it's the fundraiser money one woman soccer of age volunthat allows for practice uniforms, teered throughout the night while taking trips in buses and meals for her boyfriend played in the tour-

Courtesy of CAITLIN LUQUET

Jeff Lanter and John Luis with DVC Softball head coach Dennis Luquet. nament. The softball team had six to eight players represented in the tournament.

The top three players got payouts. In order from first to third the winners got $500, $250 and $150 that went to winners Jeff Lanter, Julio Borge and Jon Luis.

Luis was a former first place winner. The tournament buy-in was $75 and included food. This year the attendance number was shy of the record set last year of 103 play-

ers.

The beer was donated by Creek Monkey Tap House in Martinez and the wine was donated by Southern Wine and Spirits.

The main sponsors of the night were the DVC Foundation, Phil Johnston, Nick Johnston, Lehmers Concord, Kia Concord, Walnut Creek AquaNuts and Benchmark Construction.

Contact DANNY YOEONO at DYoeono@DVCInquirer.com

Library puzzles provide respite for stressed students ISAAC NORMAN Staff member

ments to therapy dogs.

Working on a limited budget, DVC staff received permission from a bookmark company Students stressed over finals last semester to download some designs for free and staff found welcome relief from two words attached and student workers donated their own puzzles to a table in the library: study and colored pencils. break.

However it took a little “It’s a different type of time On the table were an asfor students to acclisortment of 1000-piece puz- mental exercise. Instead mate to the new table. zles and bookmarks with inStudent assistant Harvey of watching a video or Chen tricate patterns to be colored explained that at first in, along with a cup full of people just walked by and listening to music, it colored pencils. asked, “'what's this?' beworks the brain but in cause they thought it was Senior library assistant Alicia Huntley wrote via email another art exhibit.” a different way.” that one of the librarians Staff solved the problem read about another library by putting a sign out en~NICHOLAS RUIZ putting out legos for students couraging students to take Biology major who wanted to take a break. a break.

A Google search of library study breaks The results have been clear. reveals the practice is becoming common "It's a good way to free your thoughts and get throughout college libraries across the country, away from school when you have been here for with libraries offering everything from refresh- a good portion of the day. The puzzles are en-

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.

Editorial Board CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR COPY EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR

Frank Guitron Nikki Moylan Will Nevin Erin Smith Kayla Robinson Geoffrey Weseman

gaging but relaxing," said biology major Sarah Frantz.

Nicholas Ruiz, also a biology major, said, "It's a different type of mental exercise. Instead of watching a video or listening to music it works the brain but in a different way."

According to Chen, the most popular puzzle students have worked on to date featured a design with three dogs on it. He estimates students put it together three times.

Most recently the study break table has featured puzzles showcasing Ford Mustang cars through the years and another with R2-D2 and C-3PO from Star Wars. So if you love to puzzle or need a break from the daily grind come to the library, where a timeless but enervating activity awaits you. And remember, donations are always welcome.

Contact ISAAC NORMAN at INorman@DVCInquirer.com

Staff STAFF WRITERS Vielle Arcani, Trevor Cheitlin, Courtney Donahoem Mark Lindahl, Ashley Loaeza, Julia Muskevich, Isaac Norman, Summer Pagán, Kayla Rojas, Camille Schwartz, Mahrukh Siddiqui, Nagisa Tsukada, Danny Yoeono INSTRUCTIONAL LAB COORDINATOR Julius Rea ADVISER Mary Mazzocco

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

7

news

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Potential dam failure haunts Oroville WILL NEVIN News editor

The Oroville Lake and dam, the nation's tallest, has been dangerously bombarded with heavy rainfall causing many structural issues including concrete breaking apart and the lake rising to levels which have not been recorded in decades.

On February 11th, Oroville reached a dangerous capacity causing the main spillway, as well as a never before used emergency spillway, to automatically go into effect.

Due to the possibility of complete structural failure involving soil erosion surrounding a damaged spillway ramp, an evacuation order was announced on February 12th for Yuba, Butte, and Sutter Counties.

Surrounding highways became parking lots, home owners and businesses were forced to leave their property. Some people even resorted to running down the street warning others of the potential danger.

According to the Associated Press, an estimated 188,000 people, were displaced.

In a press conference Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said he, "recognizes that this is displacing a lot of people. We did this because our primary purpose is to ensure public safety. It was a hard decision to make. Getting those people home is important to me, but I have to be able to sleep at night knowing that they are back in that area."

During the past few months, billions of gallons of water were controllably released out of the main spillway, moving at 50 miles

per hour onto a concrete ramp designed for guiding large amounts of water out of the main spillway and into the Feather River.

By the beginning of early February the sheer amount of force coming out of the spillway gates ruptured a small hole in the middle of the concrete ramp resulting in the gates of the main spillway to close, causing the water levels of the lake to rise even faster.

One theory for the concrete col-

“The first issue that comes to mind...” ~DR. RAY GARALKA Biology professor

lapse is a process called "cavitation," when tiny bubbles or water vapor begin vibrating the concrete surface enough to cause the material to break apart.

In an interview with The Mercury News, Paul Tullis, professor of civil engineering at Utah State University, explains how cavitation, "starts with small holes, but it can break off big chunks of concrete.

It’s like a big grinder. It causes concrete to be torn apart."

Another theory for the concrete collapse comes from Nicholas Sitar, professor of environmental engineering at U.C. Berkeley, who believes the drought caused the earth to shrink under the concrete ramp. "[The ground] shrinks and swells, they have a way of changing volume with seasons. Anyone who has an old house where the doors open and close differently through the year has seen it,” Sitar also said

to The Mercury News.

Regardless of the damaged concrete ramp, authorities decided to release enough water to fill "an Olympic sized swimming pool every second" down the damaged concrete ramp widening the once small hole and creating a massive crater under a waterfall at the bottom of the dam.

The main spillways in most dams are designed to release large amounts of water controllably downstream when lake capacity is close to reaching 100 percent, primarily to avoid water washing over the dam walls.

A never before used emergency spillway, a lower section of the dam off to the side of the main spillway with only soil to guide the water went into effect once the main spillway could not lower the lakes capacity below 100 percent.

As soon as the emergency spillway began releasing water down the mountain side, authorities began to notice further soil erosion next to the massive crater the main spillway had already established.

Bill Croyle, acting Director of the California Department of Water Resources explained in a press conference how the department decided to, "increase the main spillway output from 100,000 cubic feet to 200,000 cubic feet per second to hopefully lower the lake by 50 feet before the next storm comes in."

Temporary repairs were applied to the crater and soil erosion area near the emergency spillway by using helicopters to dump large boulders and pouring concrete in

Courtesy of CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

The main spillway at the Oroville dam.

between the crevasses.

Dr. Ray Goralka, biology professor at DVC said, "The first issue that comes to mind is when releasing that much water [into the river] fisheries and natural habitats downstream will be affected. I believe there are a couple of fisheries nearby the dam."

Fishing within the Feather River and the surrounding lakes was temporarily suspended when the evacuation went into place, preventing unaware people from being in harm’s way.

After three days of panic and

migration the evacuation was eventually lifted once multiple federal and state departments were satisfied with repairs and hundreds of thousands were allowed back into theirs homes.

After decades of neglect, California infrastructure finds itself in a very tough position where old levees and dam's need to be repaired or replaced before Mother Nature causes a catastrophe.

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Contact WILL NEVIN at WNevin@DVCInquirer.com

8

sports

Thursday, Feb. 23 - Wednesday, March 12, 2017

DVC women’s basketball look to rebound quickly after falling short GEOFFREY WESEMAN Sports Editor

The Diablo Valley College women’s basketball team came out strong to start the game taking a 9-0 advantage early on against Sacramento City College.

At the end of the first quarter DVC would hold a slim 1712 lead heading into the second quarter.

No matter how things were going it always seemed Sac City was never far behind. Although DVC held the advantage through much of the game.

The first half of play ended with DVC up over Sac City 30-24.

“Just win in the playoffs.” ~Safiyyah Yasin DVC Womens Basketball (Guard)

That lead would grow by a slight margin when play resumed in the third quarter as DVC went up 48-41.

Midway through the fourth quarter, after battling from behind all game Sac City narrowed the gap to four points.

As the game reached it’s final minutes Sac City managed to tie the game up. And the game remained in back and fourth action as neither team was willing to go down.

With 7 seconds left on the clock Sac City extended a three point lead to a five point lead thanks to a couple of free throws.

A last second two by DVC wasn’t going to help them pull this one out.

When talking to DVC guard Safiyyah Yasin after the

GEOFFREY WESEMAN / The Inquirer

Doris Jones drains a three-pointer for DVC. game she believes the team, “could have limited the turnovers at the end.” In any game limiting turnovers help win ball games.

The Lady Vikes look to rebound from this loss. When asking the DVC guard Yasin about moving forward from this

she kept it simple and said, “Just win in the playoffs.”

The final score was 65-62, with DVC missing the mark.

Contact GEOFFREY WESEMAN at GWeseman@DVCInquirer.com

John Dong: unsung hero MARK LINDAHL Staff member

When people think of DVC basketball, the names that often come to mind are Rodney Pope or Jovontae Carelton, the team’s leading scorers, or Eric Nielsen, the team’s big man that excels at patrolling the paint.

But, there is another Viking who this team could not perform without.

A red shirt freshmen because of an Achilles injury last year, John Dong often comes off the bench bringing stifling defense along with great energy and toughness. Listed at only 5’11, one would think that his defensive prowess wouldn’t be his strong suit, but it is the exact opposite.

Head coach Steve Coccimiglio explains, “He’s tough, he goes for every loose ball, he doesn’t hesitate at all defensively and to go for loose balls and rebounds. He gives 100%.”

In the second match up versus American River College, Richard Reed dropped 32 points on your Vikings in a loss. With the third match up residing at DVC, Coach Coccimiglio deployed Dong as the primary defender on Richard Reed after torching Pope early on.

Once Dong matched up on Richard Reed, he didn’t score another point in the game.

When asked if Dong was preparing to focus on MARK LINDAHL / The Inquirer Reed he said, “Honestly no, but when I started showSales Rep: ing him I can, I was the guy. He’s my responsibility Final Visual John Dong in the heatSWof the game. dhb Thu - 02/09/2017 AM 358308.5748 and- I10:01:47 don’t want to lose and I know he’s the man so I gotta stop him.”

This is the kind of mindset needed to lock down your opponent. It doesn’t matter how well he played last game, or in the first half, all that matters is doing your best while guarding him.

A widely used analogy in sports is that you need a short term memory to be successful. This means that no matter how the game is going, you can’t let what happened affect how you play still. Even though Reed had such a stellar game against us last time, and he had a few buckets going in early on this time, it didn’t affect John and his desire to put the clamps on to stop him from being a factor.

After the win against American River College, Carelton praised Dong, “I would say John is our toughest player. On the ball, off the ball. Basically every category of the game.”

These kind of players are vital to team success. You can have the very best player in the country on your team, such as Ben Simmons last year playing for Louisiana State University, but the team didn’t even make it to the NCAA tournament. Without the role players and glue guys to bring it all together, then team success is hard to come by.

The players on this team know how important John is even though he isn’t stuffing the stat sheet every game.

“We’re counting on him next year to be a leader on our team,” said Coccimiglio.

Contact MARK LINDAHL at MLindahl@DVCInquirer.com

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