Eric Firpo stood beside the raised family plots at Boggs Tract Community Farm in west Stockton and explained how the soil is fertilized.

"The difference between our farm and other farms like this one is that there are ways to manage a farm so that you're actually increasing fertility," said Firpo. "That's the key to sustain-ability, because if you don't need to add a bunch of extra chemi-cals to grow crops, you can have a very long-lasting farm."

Sustainability, both environ-mental and economic, is key to the mission of PUENTES, a non-profit organization based in Stockton that pays Firpo's com-pany, Stockton Harvest, to man-age its Boggs Tract farm.

Jeremy Terhune, PUENTES' executive director, said Stock-ton Harvest is a prime example of what the organization hopes to develop in the community: small, local businesses growing healthy, affordable food.

"Eric Firpo and Stockton Harvest are an example of what we want to cultivate in other people," said Terhune. "The goal of PUENTES is to create a net-work of Stockton harvests, all spreading their business, and we will help however we can."

That is why PUENTES has introduced a series of urban faming classes for those interest-ed in starting a farming-related

business within the city. Ideas may be as simple as

growing and selling fresh flowers.The classes, which begin on

April 5, are focused on creating a viable business plan centered on growing and selling crops.

Students are expected to ar-rive at the first session of class with a specific crop in mind.

A registration fee of $50 must be paid online or in-person via

cash or check to attend. According to Terhune, schol-

arships to pay the registration fee are available for students

who "can demonstrate they're really going to do something with this, and they have a real need."

thecollegianIssue 11 • Friday, March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.net

Delta student arrested on allegations of terrorism

Stockton non-profit plants seeds of knowledge for crop-related businessesby sonya herreranews@deltacollegian.net

FIND US

INSIDE

UPCOMING

Creating the perfect mix Page 6

Mustangs strong for the upcoming season Page 7

Trees definesurroundings Page 4

ASBG Family Game Night. Free for all in Locke lounge, 6 p.m. today

Baseball vs. American River, 1 p.m. March 22, $4-$6

One free copy

PUENTES offers courses for urban farmers

by justin tristanonews@deltacollegian.net

PHOTOS BY SONYA HERRERA

WORKING THE FARM: Top, Jesus Aceves, works to prepare for the next set of crops to grow. Above, Eric Firpo tends to other crops and a set of beds.

Campus veteran cited for questioning man about Ranger uniform codeby alexis bustamantenews@deltacollegian.net

An incident involving a man allegedly portraying an Army Ranger resulted in a Delta College student being cited on campus last week.

A man dressed in military fatigues standing outside the campus bookstore was con-fronted by other veteran stu-dents. These students believed the man's wearing of the uni-form was fraudulent.

Kristopher Vieira was one of the veterans approaching the uniformed man.

Vieira said he didn’t con-

front the man for recognition. “I confronted the man be-

cause he was in twenties wear-ing a ‘E8,’ ‘Ranger tab’ and a ‘EOD tab’ which I know takes a lot longer to acquire. I was charged with causing a dis-turbance on campus because he showed up on Thursday, March 13 [on] campus again wearing the uniform with the American flag turned upside down,” said Vieira.

The man in fatigues has been identified on several blogs and Facebook pages, includ-ing in comments on Delta

continued on PAGE 8

Delta College student Nicho-las Teausant was arrested March 16 on terrorism charges for alleg-edly attempting to enter Canada and then catch a flight into Syria to join international terrorism organization al-Qaeda.

Teausant attempted to join the National Guard in April 2012. However, he wasn’t al-lowed due to failing to complete basic academic credits, accord-ing to a news release from the Guard.

The National Guard was in

the process of discharging Teau-sant when he was arrested.

According to the criminal complaint, investigations into Teausant began on Oct. 3, 2013.

Since then Teausant posted to Twitter indications of terror-ist intent.

"Will I go to hell for killing other brothers of islam? I am un the US ARMY and I fear for my soul and of Allah’s wrath (sic)," he wrote.

There were other indications.On Facebook he posted: "De-

mocracy is a lie they say we of-

continued on PAGE 8

CLASS SERIESBeginning April 542 N. Sutter St., StocktonCall Jeremy Terhune at (209) 922 - 8215 or visit PUENTES-americas.org for information.

Summertime brings negative body imagesby seth lowmannews@deltacollegian.net

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

by eric carranzanews@deltacollegian.net

Issue 11 • March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.net2 opinion

THE COLLEGIAN — SPRING 2014

Editor/feature editorChris Howze

News editorJustin Tristano Sports editorJermaine Davis

Copy/entertainment editorKenneth Huntley

Opinion editorHeidi Sharp

StaffAlexis BustamanteEric CarranzaMonica GomezSonya HerreraMichael JohnsonRobert JuarezSantana JuacheOrlando JoseSeth LowmanSean MendozaSean ReillyRichard Reyes

AdviserTara Cuslidge-Staiano

AdvertisingThe Collegian offers display advertising at competitive rates.

Call (209) 954-5156 or email deltacollegian@gmail.com for more information.

Letters to the editorLetters raising issues and opinions not represented by the newspaper are encouraged, but should not be taken as a reflec-tion of the opinions of the staff or adviser.

EditorialUnsigned editorials reflect the po-sition of the entire Collegian staff.

Comments, letters and editorials with a byline represent the opin-ion of the writer, solely. This paper does not endorse or represent the opinions of the adviser, the mass communication department, the Fine Arts Division, the printer or San Joaquin Delta College administration.

Mission statement The Collegian is a student run First Amendment newspaper that prides itself on its commitment to the students of San Joaquin Delta College while maintaining its independence of any outside influence.

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

So you see a beautiful girl pass by you or have one in class, what do you do? Most guys would do absolutely nothing, and have

regrets later.There are a variety of reasons why that happens. You

can have low self-esteem or fear of rejection.Guy’s with these problems will rather come up with

every excuse in the book than take initiative.Lets say you’re out with the boys and see a gorgeous

girl. All you’re doing is imagining what to say to her and your friends tell you to go talk to her.

Instead you say something like: “She’s not all that” or “she looks busy.”

Don’t make excuses.Instead think of it as a win-win situation.Worst-case scenario, she rejects you; no loss to you,

as least you can say you tried!Who knows? You could have just made friends with a beautiful

girl — and you took initiative.

You never know what can happen after that.Some guys will see a girl they want to talk to, and

will waste time thinking of what they have to do or say to impress her.

However, they spend so much time over-thinking their approach, they psych themselves into believing there’s no way to lose.

Always speak in an inviting and positive tone.Tone of voice could be the deciding factor between

getting a number, and getting the big fat no!There’s also the fear of running out of things to say.They immediately run to the 20 Questions game. This is for beginners! This is not a job interview;

you are trying to get to know her.One way to avoid those pitfalls is by replacing ques-

tions with statements. For example instead of saying "Hey what is your

major?" say something like "I’m guessing you’re major-ing in Cosmetology."

This will help you be different from most guys they talk to, because the questions are being left open-ended, allowing her to talk more.

These methods will help you one step closer to hav-

ing more confidence.Which brings me to the most important idea you

must embrace and when talking to a girl. Confidence, which comes in various forms, is a

paramount aspect to finding a girl.Inner confidence from within your personality is

the confidence you want to embrace.Some guys focus too much on confidence in their

looks or money; these aspects of a person can be taken away at the drop of a hat.

Confidence in yourself, however, will never be taken away.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself, if you like reading comic books or go to reenactment of a Harry Potter, then don’t be ashamed of it!

If she doesn’t like it, she wasn’t the one anyway.Something that increases your inner confidence is

learning to accept rejection.You will not, and no one will ever go 100/100 when

it comes to talking to girls. Sometimes accepting rejection will make it easier,

and make you ready to move on!

As summer inches closer, the mercury rises, but the scale sometimes plateaus. There are plenty of reasons why so many want to

lose weight before hot weather arrives. These reasons include: advertising, celebrities, social

influence or just simply wanting to look “hot” at the beach.

Delta student Gabby Valdes admits the need to lose weight is mostly all “mental,” but the signs telling us to exercise are all around.

“It’s in your surroundings and what you watch and especially who you look up to,” Valdes added.

Even looking at the magazine rack at the grocery store, we cannot escape the urgency to lose weight or to tone our bodies:

"9 Great Ways to Get That Perfect Summer Bod!""3 Simple Exercises to Get Sculpted Abs!""6 Easy Steps to Make Yourself Thinner!"Looking at these headlines makes readers more

inclined to put down that bag of Oreos. Right?

Not exactly. I believe summer should be a season of pure in-

dulgence and enjoyment. Instead of eating food that we enjoy, we’re usually too busy eating up the judgment made by others.

"YOLO" might be an adage a year too late, but it’s one that could still apply to those who feel plagued by the pressures of look-ing a certain size.

If you want to fit into that bikini or look buff in that tank-top, then the steps you should be following aren’t the ones found in magazines. The steps to follow should only include simply put-ting your body into that bikini or tank-top.

It’s that simple.It’s all in your self-confidence

and how you work with what you got. Ultimately, if you don't look as "hot" as the weather, your attitude

toward your self-image should be positive. With this said, it’s great if you want to hit the gym. But there’s a catch.

"I would say if you want to look good, do it for yourself and nobody else," said student Alice Russo.

This is a great attitude to have.

If you only try to achieve the body you desire because of someone else’s expectations, then you will set yourself up for failure.

You must self-reflect and find the answer to why you want to lose weight or gain muscle. The answer should always lead back to you.

So whether it’s flexing those arms at the gym or flexing those

lips on a tasty Oreo, make sure that you are enjoying yourself this summer—for you.

Confidence is key to making the ladies like youWriter provides tips on ways to impress girls, how to feel confident in oneself

'Curve grading' bad for studentsIssue 11 • March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.net3 opinion

Don't be ashamed to waddle with a baby bump!

pregnanttwo little lines

Heidi Sharp, 22, is a part-time Delta College stu-dent and part-time barista. She married her high school sweetheart, Wesley, in 2012. The same year, the couple purchased their first home in Stockton. Now, thanks to two little lines on a pregnancy test, the Sharp's are expanding in July.

with heidi sharp

Many professors on Delta’s campus, and many other campuses, grade students on

a "curve." The term "curve" typically refers to one of the several methods of adjusting students scores to reflect a higher letter grade than what was actually earned.

There are different methods that teachers use

to curve grades;

The simplest form is changing the amount of points possible. 

If a test is worth 100 points, typically 90-100 is and A, 80-89 is a B, and so on.  When a curve is in place, the highest score earned in the class becomes the new "highest score possible." 

If the highest score earned was a 93, the test is now worth a maxi-mum of 93, resulting in most of the classes letter grades being higher than actually earned. 

Another way is to find the average of all the scores and use set it as a B or C.

If the average score is a 70, the teacher sets that as a C, which will bring up many lower-scoring students into the passing range.

A professor once told me he "fit the test to the class, instead of mak-ing the class fit to the test."

This resulted in many more stu-dents passing the test than before he implemented the curve.

Instead of making his students

study harder to pass the next test, he just gave them all a reason to be lazy.

I am guilty of participating in the resounding "sigh" of relief when the professor says the test is graded on a curve.

While this seems to help the students in the short term, we must think of the long term consequences.

If a majority of a students teach-ers grade on a curve, that students transcripts are going to reflect inflated grades for most of their junior col-lege career.  They will not receive the education they, and the taxpayers, and paying for. 

If one compares their scores after curving to their raw scores of what

was actually earned, you end up with students pass-

ing classes with 40-60 percent.

“Grading on a c u r v e is just a way of pretend- ing tha t s tuden t s have actually understood more than is actually the case. I’ll never do it,” said Dr. William Ferraiolo, in an email interview.

The reason we can transfer from Delta College to a four-year university is because the classes here are supposed to be at the same dif-ficulty level as the ones at a UC, CSU or private college.

If the teachers are cheating stu-dents out of their grades and their chance to learn the material, they will pass, and then transfer to these colleges.

Unfortunately, they will flunk out

because the course material is much harder and they were not given the proper lower-division education.

Whether we as a student body like it or not, we need a standard of edu-cation no teacher can undermine.

It's my understanding that each teacher on campus is paid a base salary for a certain amount of students in their classes per semester. If there are stu-dents in the class over that set amount, the teachers are paid extra per head.

It would seem to me that teachers have the opportunity to dumb down the classes and make it much easier to get an A, so that many other students will take their class.

Simply put: they have the attrac-tive opportunity to earn extra cash by robbing students of their opportunity to actually get the education they are paying for.

Unfortunately, there is no incen-tive for students to actually care about this issue; the easier Delta College is to get out of the better right?

For as long as I can remember, I would only work as hard as the

teacher made me, and I suspect that may be the case for most

students.

The teachers should have a standard be-cause then they are forced to grade all students equally.

I believe this common practice fits into the category of "unethical."

I would move to totally abolish teachers being able to grade on a curve, the standard should be set high for everyone.

Many Americans have an issue with food preparers touch-ing their food without using

gloves. Are you one of them? If you are, you might be feeling some relief since a new law went into effect on Jan. 1 requiring that no one with bare hands touch food being served. This new California Food Retail Code will make using gloves and or kitchen utensils mandatory when handling someone’s ready-to-eat food. Restaurants caught not enforcing the new law will receive a warning on the first offense and may be hit with several violations. Restaurants and fast food establish-ments should have been abiding by

this rule a long time ago. Whenever I’m out dining with friends, I find myself paying close attention to the cooking area, if it’s in sight, because of germs and viruses that can quickly spread. Knowing that most people have a tendency to touch their hair, use hands to cover up a cough, sneeze or even pick their nose, makes me sick to my stomach when I imagine some-one preparing my food by doing one, or all, of these unsanitary acts. “I’m in favor of all restaurants us-ing gloves to handle food—It’s only right,” said Delta student Damien Warfield. The new law does have a gray area that makes no sense. It’s okay for food preparers to use bare hands when washing fruits and veggies, but not when making ready-to-eat food.

To that I say: Gloves should be used for all foods in a public setting; stop cutting corners. Though several restaurant own-ers and servers may feel the new law will slow down the process of getting plates out to patrons on time, many will probably feel the need to cut a few corners in any way they can to keep customers happy with the tim-ing of their meals. “If I happen to see anybody mak-ing my food without gloves, I’m not paying or eating what I ordered,” said Delta student Maurice Tucker. As a customer in any food related establishment you have the right to file a complaint with Department of Public Health if you notice any food handlers not wearing gloves. I suggest you do so, to avoid get-ting sick from food poisoning.

One of the worst things to deal with as a pregnant student is the staring.Walking (or waddling) down the

halls, filled with people who aren't trying to hide long glances can be frightening for young women, especially if they have been only been at the college for a semester or two.

Why are they staring?What are they thinking?Do they believe I am a tramp or something?

These are all questions that run through the mind, but the best way to deal with it is to just let it go.

Realize we are at a community college, not a four-year with a bunch of newbies. There are people of all ages and walks of life at a community col-lege, especially Delta.

Remember that some students are in their mid-to-late twenties, so being pregnant at their age is completely socially ac-ceptable. They just happen to be in college as well!

When considering the thousands of women who attend Delta every semester, the majority being of child-bearing age, there is bound to be a handful who are pregnant as well.

There wasn’t officially a "first girl to get pregnant in college," and there won’t be a last!

These are the choices that each woman has made in her life, and they are the right choices for her and for no one else. 

The passersby don't know the situation of any pregnant woman simply by looking at her in the hallway, so whatever ridiculous thoughts that could possibly run through their mind shouldn’t matter!

Keep in mind that a pregnant woman is doing something very special that no man could ever do. She is creating life and is going through a lot to do it! 

A pregnant woman needs to be treated well and not stressed out just by walking down the halls. 

Don't worry about discrimination from other students and teachers, our society is becoming increasingly accepting of all walks of life. 

Be proud of the bulging belly and waddle with a smile! 

THE GLOVES ARE ONNew Calif. law requires restaurants to handle food with gloves

by heidi sharpwhsharp@yahoo.com

by jermaine davisnews@deltacollege.net

NOT SO 'EVERYDAY' TREES

Issue 11 • March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.net4 feature

A student walks by a ginkgo biloba tree on Delta's Stockton campus and thinks nothing of it.

However, there is much to appreciate about the trees, as well as many other of the tree species on campus.

Delta Horticulture student Natalia Castillo has a fondness for trees, noting that most trees are capable of providing more than just oxygen.

According to Castillo, one such useful tree species is mela-leuca linarifolia, which lives in the Demonstration Garden on the north side of campus.

"It's used for tea tree oil, it's great for shade, and it's an ever-green tree, so it drops its leaves continuously and it provides a great mulch for the lower habi-tat," said Castillo.

Another campus tree spe-cies, umbellularia californica,

has overlooked yet interesting properties. Also known as the California Bay, the species is re-lated to the Mediterranean Bay Laurel, the leaves of which are typically used for cooking.

The California Bay tree's oil contains the tryptamine bufo-tenin, which has the well-known psychedelic drug DMT (dimeth-yltryptamine) in its chemical structure. Popularly known for being licked off the backs of poi-sonous frogs, bufotenin is regu-lated in the U.S. as a Schedule I drug.

Horticulture professor Mi-chael Toscano has been teaching at Delta since 1995 and thinks that many campus tree species are undervalued.

"We have ginkgos on cam-pus, and to a lot people the ginkgo is a regular tree, but it's actually a living fossil; they got samples of ginkgo leaves from when the dinosaurs were run-ning around," said Toscano.

Not only does the ginkgo biloba species itself defy death. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center Ref-erence Guide, its members also live longer than any other spe-cies', with a single tree capable of living "as long as 1,000 years."

Trees of many species are capable of living for hundreds of years—under the right con-ditions. However, Toscano says that some of the trees on Del-ta's main campus were poorly selected for Stockton's climate.

"I think we need to preserve species of trees that are critical for student learning; redwood is not one of them," said Toscano.

"They're designed for 100 inches of water. If you notice, we're lucky to get 20 inches of water."

"So when people say 'save the redwood, save the redwood,' it's in the wrong area," Toscano continued. "They're gonna die anyways."

Meanwhile, Toscano has seen at least one unique tree species lost due to construction mistakes.

"There was a tree we called the Bunya-Bunya—had a ten-pound fruit—they accidentally took it down," said Toscano. "They weren't supposed to, but they took it down when they put the new Science building up."

The Bunya-Bunya pine (ar-aucaria bidwillii), also known as the "monkey puzzle" tree, has yet to be replaced with another. However, Facilities Manager Stacy Pinola is currently seeking a substitute.

"Any trees that get taken out with projects, are in the way with things, we try to replace some-where else on campus," said Pi-nola. "I'm very cautious about what has to come down, what doesn't have to come down... it affects everybody."

Pinola says that some cam-pus trees may never be removed.

"The trees on the front are off-limits," said Pinola. "Those were here with the State hospital, and if one of those trees needs to come down, that's gonna be a media circus."

For students who don't know, the land on which the main campus was built had for-merly featured California's first State Mental Hospital.

Many of Delta's trees sur-vived the transition from hospi-tal to college campus, including those located near the Yokuts and Pacific Ave. Intersection.

"If you look up, one of the trees is actually wired together," said Pinola. "They don't want the tree to come down."

Toscano said there are a lot of interesting tree species on cam-pus.

"We have a wide variety of stuff out here," Toscano said. "Some of it is really unique, and some of it is just everyday trees."

by sonya herreranews@deltacollegian.net

bring life, color

Campus home to numerous trees with unique stories

PHOTOS BY SONYA HERRERA

A VARIETY OF GREEN: California Sycamore, left, Ginkgo Biloba, with little to no leaves, center, Ginkgo Biloba, days later with brand new leaves adorning its branch, right.

TO DELTA

Issue 11 • March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.net5 feature

No matter what educational plan a student follows to graduate from Delta College, chances are biology will part of the plan.

Taking Survey of Biology, might mean they will be in for a treat.

The class is taught by Professor Paul Ustach, of the Agriculture, Science and Mathematics department. He does more than teach – he professes his knowledge of biology to students so they can use it in their lives.

Ustach has been a professor on the Delta College campus for nine years.

Current and former students of his will tell of his humor in his lectures.

"When you lecture, it brings out your personality," Ustach stated.

It's not all fun though. "Be prepared to work hard. You can

have fun but there is lots to learn."He noted the success of the lecture

is the accuracy of the information and making sure its relevant and up to date.

Evolution, he said, is the “most fun” topic to lecture.

If Ustach has time to fit it in, he tries to give holiday special lectures from Valentines Day to St. Patrick's Day. On Valentines Day he will give a lecture on the many ways that bio-organisms re-produce.

A favorite place on campus for Ustach, is the nature trail across from the Science and Mathematics Building, where the wildflowers are. The trail contains no pavement, just rocks and flowers.

"It feels like a forest," Ustach said. When Delta College was asking for

ideas for the re-design of the trail near Cunningham, Ustach said the school had collected information from the

biology department. When not doing his job at Delta

College as a professor of biology, Ustach can be found working as a park ranger at Yosemite National Forest. Even during summer break this professor is breath-ing biology, a subject that he has been fascinated with since his childhood days.

According to Ustach's Delta College employee website, he has always mixed sports with biology in his early life.

"Two things were important in my life growing up in the Central Valley: sports and nature. These two categories provided me an education about the wonderful diversity of people and habi-tat unique to California’s Great Central Valley," he said.

In fact, Ustach's love for California's unique biology and geography, is why he returned to California after years of working at places such as the Smithson-ian Institute in Washington D.C, he said.

Ustach said he was lucky to find that Delta College had a position open when he returned.

Book Swap returns

by heidi sharpdeltacollege@gmail.com

PROFESSOR PROFILE

Former Par Course fitness trail is missed on Delta campus

by orlando josedeltacollege@gmail.com

Before the times of new buildings and fancy cosmetic tune-ups, Delta College had a Par Course fitness trail that surrounded the campus. It was a 1.91 mile track that had 18 stations. Each station featured a different stretch or ex-ercise.

The benefits to the community were great, it was self-paced, self-directed, and available to anyone who wished to use it.

The fitness trail has been apart of the Delta College since the trail was built in approximately the 1970s, and different exercises included sit-and-reach, pull-ups, dips, and balance walks.

Unfortunately, due to lack of maintenance to each of the stations, they have recently been removed completely.

In an email interview with Zack Thompson, in Finacial Services, relayed that the equipment was not well main-tained and could possibly been plagued with termites.

About two years ago, there was a brief attempt to in-stall a brand new trail. It was Thompson's idea to attempt to get financial backing from institutions that promoted

health such as Kaiser Permanente or Sutter Gould Medical foundation. It was his belief that the project would move forward faster if the financial burden on the district was significantly lowered.

Unfortunately, the project was shelved by management. "I have not pushed forward anymore as I was told that

nothing would happen until all of the Measure L Bond projects were complete." Thompson said in the email.

Now that one of the major projects of the Measure L bond-the math and science building-is complete, the proj-ect could possibly be put back on the table.

"A couple of things the district would consider: 1. How much will the install cost? 2. How much will annual maintenance cost? (ie. labor,

supplies, vandalism, etc.) 3. What potential injuries could occur and how could the district reduce that liability?" he said.

The cost of this project would be approximately $9000 plus shipping and installation. With financial backing from other sources and possibly a volunteer group to help with installation, the cost could be mini-mal to the district and the Par Course could once again bring fitness and outdoor exercise to the campus.

by kenneth huntleydeltacollege@gmail.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COLLEGIAN ARCHIVE

PHOTO BY CHRIS HOWZE

DAYS OF FITNESS PAST: Almost nothing remains of the old Par Course trail now. What's left is slowly being reclaimed by campus foliage.

Professor lives, breathes biology

The Writer’s Guild’s Book Swap returned to Delta this Wednesday, March 19 in Up-per Danner Hall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Upon entering Danner Hall, one was overtaken by the smell of old books.

Donations vary from semester to se-mester. One such donation this time was of 1,000 books through Tama Brisbane and With Our Words, Inc.

Books are not the only type of media donated. The Book Swap is actually an all-media swap, magazines, CDs, DVDs, VHS, LPs, comics and video games are welcome as well.

This year a keen observer would have seen obscure Vhs tapes like M.C. Ham-mer "Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em," a vinyl single by Tom Petty and the Heart-breakers, endless lines of romance novels and law books, including one specifically for Canadian Law.

Through the day, people were able to

come and go, grabbing whatever peaked their interest, all the while Writer's Guild members informed people about the ac-tivities of the club and purpose behind the event.

Delta student Elizabeth Garcia was there at the Swap and expressed the im-portance of such an event

"There are so many books and there are so many different things and people need to know that books are still around and it's not just the internet. I have been coming to the books swap for four semes-ters now," said Garcia.

Angela Bardot, Alumni and former Writer’s Guild President was at the event volunteering and helping oversee the event.

"A few years ago we wanted to create a event that helps promote literacy within the community college and one of the ways we figure how to do it was to create book swap. With collaboration of The Writer's Guild, myself when I was president and the help of our advisor Paula Sheil," said Bardot.

PHOTO BY ORLANDO JOSE

BOOKS, BOOKS EVERYWHERE : Students gather, lost in the silent search of the next book to add to arms already full.

This Fall I am getting married to my best friend.As we plan for the wedding, my future wife gave me the right to create the music set list for the

reception. I take music seriously, much to the bemusement of my friends and my fiancée. I recently discovered a quote by the great "Dr. of Gonzo" Hunter S. Thompson that I feel perfectly en-capsulates my thoughts and feelings about music: "Mu-sic has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio." Music is my life blood. It allows me to be filled with every emotion. That's why making a good dance mix for our wed-ding night is important to me. It's not to be taken lightly, or worse put in the hands of some ding bat DJ who doesn’t know us. Rob Gordon, one of my favorite fictional characters felt that, "The making of a good compilation is a very subtle art. Many do’s and don’ts…you’re using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel, this is a delicate thing," said Gordon in Nick Hornbys "High Fidelity." I am sickened by the modern culture we live in and how they pay no heed to what they listen to. Girls dancing to songs demeaning to women but shrugging it off because “the beat is killer” sends out bad vibrations.

When I began my journey of making a killer dance mix for probably the most important night of my life so far, my goal was to create something fun but also relevant. If music is fuel then one must be sure to put the right fuel in. We don't put diesel into a gasoline engine, so we don’t include a song like Michael Jackson’s "Billie Jean" — a song about a woman accusing a man of having a child with her out of wedlock - in a wedding play list. I swear I feel the rise in divorce rates in this country coalesces with the lack of caring what music you use on the night you tie the knot. As I began compiling a set list I did run into songs that I felt had good elements but were detracted by the overall package. For example, I want to use the chorus of Robin Thicke’s "Give It 2 U," but for the love of god couldn’t use the rest of the song, so at that point I had to utilize what I know about audio production and make a remix, splicing Thicke’s song with Stardust’s"Music Sounds Better With You." A lot of songs had to excised from my first run compiling for over all lyrical content, killer beat be damned. Others had more ambiguous lyrics that required me to research them before making the list, including The Romantic’s "Talking in Your Sleep." Song placement is as important as what songs end up making the cut. Its harder than it looks and can take ages to get right. I recently found a couple old CDs I made for fian-cée back in high school and was sinking into my seat, embarrassed by how terrible they were compiled. Song placement is like music itself, there are dips

and crests, highs and lows that must be followed so it’ll flow naturally. You have to start off strong to get the attention of the floor, then raise it up a notch then cool it off a bit, you don’t want to front load the night with all the best songs, leaving the end of the night with slow jams. My song list has swelled to a little more than 70 songs so far. I still have until November to get it all together.

6

Editor's love of music, fiancée plays out like a new mixed tape

PHOTO BY CHRIS HOWZE

by chris howzenews@deltacollegian.net

Issue 11 • March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.netentertainmentExploring the universe

New series lifts viewers off into the 'Cosmos'

Come with me."These are the words of astro-physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

as he takes off in his "ship of imagi-nation" in the new television series "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey." Tyson, like many others, was in-spired and captivated by the original Cosmos series, presented by Carl Sagan in 1980. The original became a landmark in technical achievement and made Sagan a household name. It has been more that 30 years since Sagan’s journey through the cos-mos. Since then Sagan has ignited the imaginations of many and inspired a new generation of star-gazers. The first episode of the 13-part series, began with a tour that took the viewer through the galaxy they are most familiar with — their very own.At the very end of their galactic tour, Tyson presents the viewer with the

"Observable Universe." "An observable universe? What does that even mean?" Tyson asked. The Observable Universe are the galaxies and space material we can study and evaluate from Earth. "... There are parts of the Universe that are too far away. There hasn't been enough time in 13.8 billion year history of the Universe for their light to have reached us," Tyson continued. The show makes the viewer feel small compared to the vastness of the cosmos as more about the "observ-able universe" is revealed to be a part of an infinite network of universes. These networks are unveiled to be within a bubble, that neighbor other bubbles. One by one these bubbles accumulated into a waterfall con-sisting of multiple cosmos. And we actually exist somewhere within all of this. After being immersed by the cos-mic waterfall of bubbles, the viewer was taken back to 16th century Italy

where philosopher Giordano Bruno faced scrutiny for his belief that the Sun was actually the center of the universe, rather than the Earth. Bruno’s theory was proven to be correct over time, but he was exiled and executed for radical theories regarding the cosmos. The first episode concludes with Tyson recalling a meeting with Sagan and how the meeting not only inspired him to become scientist, but inspired him to become a better person. In this sentimental moment the show demonstrates its strength. From the sweeping and cinematic score composed by Alan Silvestri to Tyson’s gripping storytelling, we are met with a sense of nostalgia. We are taken back to a time where we dreamed of the unknown and where we thought we could explore the deepest regions of space with just our imaginations. These were the moments of our

lives where we thought of being the Carl Sagans or Giordano Brunos of the world. In Bruno’s moment of exile, he dreamed he was in a world confined by a "bowl of stars." This starry bowl was the cosmos which people of his time believed to be true. In this dream, Bruno inches his way toward a curtain at the edge of this world. He lifts it up to reveal a boundless universe, free from limitations. Bruno wasn’t afraid of exploring the unknown. This is what Cosmos challenges us to do. The series dares the viewer to question, but more importantly it gives an opportunity for us to dream for great possibilities. It gives us a glimmer of adventure and a sight into the unknown, wherever that "un-known" might be. Cosmos inspires the viewer to lift up the curtain to unlock the secrets to their universe and to the boundless potential that it holds for them.

by seth lowmannews@deltacollegian.net

A LOT OF RULES : As my list grew I had to modify or flat out excise songs to better suit the mix.

by jermaine davisnews@deltacollegian.net

Issue 11 • March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.net7 sportsStrong start to the season for Delta baseball team

Lady Mustangs winning streak, season comes to an end

Baseball’s reign as America’s pastime may be in the past. In past generations, baseball was everything. That ex-citement for the sport has failed to carry on into recent

times.The recorded television viewing of the World Series tells

the story.   The World Series in 1973 was watched by an estimated

34,750,000 people nationwide while the most recent World Series barely cracked 15 million with 15,200,000 as recorded by Baseball Almanac.

The on-going trend of declining viewership has put those that still worship the sport in a scary place when the thought of competing with America’s new darling, football, arises.   When baseball’s popularity was at it’s peak, it didn’t have much competition because at the time football was still earn-ing it's stripes. To put it metaphorically, baseball was leaning back with its feet up being showered with society’s admiration. However, that time has come and gone due to specifically football’s rise.   "According to Variety, ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast drew a 4.5 rating and 11 share in the coveted 18-49 demographic, and 10.84 million viewers. That easily bested the TBS broadcast of the Yankees-Tigers baseball playoff game, which got a 2.1 rating and 5 share in the demographic, and 6.05 million viewers," according to an online Oct. 2011 NBC Sports article.

Even when baseball is on the big stage with two of it’s best teams going at it, it still struggles to compete with football

When looking for opinions from students on campus, they all answered with the same heartbreaking word: BORING.

"Too long, and too boring," said Delta student Ruben Tachiquin.Richard Flores agreed. "It’s not as intense as other sports," he said.Baseball just doesn’t have the same flare as its competition.However, baseball isn’t at its third strike quite yet.

As said before, baseball was everything at one point in time. It’s how fathers bonded with their sons, it’s how coworkers

got along. It connected communities.Football may be bullying other sports in America, at least

in viewership. But it can’t beat the rich history and tradition of baseball.

Can America's pastime sport survive the changing times?by robert juareznews@deltacollegian.net

The Delta College baseball team remains ranked among the top three teams in the Big 8 Conference, despite losing to Santa Rosa 6-3 in front of the home crowd on March 14.

The Mustangs entered the game against the Bear Cubs with a 2-0 conference record.

Speed and pitching location from Santa Rosa’s starting pitch-er Brett Obranovich kept Mus-tangs hitters off balance.

Obranovich faced 24 batters throughout his seven innings on the mound, as he gave up four hits and allowed one earned run.

"A few calls didn't go our way, a few of their players hit the ball hard at us and that kind of cost us the game," said freshmen Kris Bartlett.

Even though it’s still early in conference play, the Mustangs can quickly evaluate what ad-justments need to be made on the field and the mound as the team moves forward.

Mustangs starting pitcher sophomore Sean Bennetts had a rough outing on the mound, and the Bear Cubs made the best of the opportunity.

Bennetts surrendered six earned runs on nine hits before being replaced after five innings.

"It was tough but we had to battle through and get going al-though we fell short," said soph-omore Brandon Taylor.

There were a few bright spots for the Mustangs, beginning in the sixth when sophomore Out-fielder Conner Torres hitting an RBI single to right field that scored Clark.

In the eighth inning, Delta tacked on two more runs with two RBI doubles from sopho-more Wyatt Castro and Torres, but that would be all the team could muster up against Santa Rosa.

On March 18, The Mustangs returned to the winners circle as the team trampled American River College with a landslide victory 12-1.

"We went into the game fresh, put the loss against Santa Rosa behind us and focused on

doing what we needed to do," said sophomore Nick Camare-na.

Delta College is tied with Si-erra College for second in the conference with a record of (3-1) and an overall record of (16-3).

The Mustangs have a solid team with coachable players who can make quick adjust-ments when needed, but the team acknowledges that there is room for improvement.

The next game for the Mus-tangs will be on March 22 at 1 p.m. as the team will face-off with American River College for the second time in one week, on campus at the Nick Cecchetti Field.

PHOTO BY JERMAINE DAVIS

The NCAA March Madness tournament has held many glorious moments throughout the years, and this year it’s hard to say that history won’t

be able to repeat itself. The 2014 NCAA Basketball

season had everyone buzzing before it even started due to the loaded talent of the incom-ing Freshman class, which will make it tough

for people to fill out their yearly bracket. The top schools weren’t the only ones making head-

lines week after week, the Wichita State Shockers have been making waves all season as they went undefeated 31-0 and powered themselves to the No. 2 spot in the rankings, one of the highest ranks for a mid-major school.

Wichita State isn’t the only team that’s going to be making a surprising appearance in the tournament as a high seed, the Virginia Cavaliers ranked No. 6 and ranked No. 9 San Diego State Aztecs are also hoping to make it on the road to the Final Four.

Is there a Cinderella team this year that can make? Can any of the young guns lead their school to a championship? Or will the experience of upperclass-men players simply thrive when needed? We’ll just have to wait and see.

March Madness bonanza

by richard reyesnews@deltacollegian.net

by sean mendozanews@deltacollegian.net

The Lady Mustangs were ranked No.1 in the pre-season polls entering the 2013-2014 season.

Delta struggled early in the season losing the first two games in conference play but recovered with a 12 game win streak, and

finishing record of (27-6) to capture the conference crown for the first time since 2009.

During the playoffs the Mus-tangs beat the Chabot Gladia-tors in a lopsided victory 85-47.

"There was no way we were going to lose that game," said sophomore Teylor McMiller.

In the Sweet Sixteen, Delta faced a tough Merced Blue Dev-

ils team that put forth a good effort, but the Lady Mustangs pulled away in the end winning the game 60-49. The win set up a showdown between the Delta and Big 8 rivals Sierra College.

"This game means so much to us this year, because we been through so much together and it would be redemption after los-ing last year in the same game,"

said sophomore Kelci Haueter. Delta won a real close game against Sierra College by the score of 81-72.

The 2013-14 season came to an end on March 15, after the team lost a tough game to de-fending state champions MT. San Antonio Pirates in the Cali-fornia community College Ath-letic Association Final Four.

Delta led 46-42 with just over 4 minutes left to play, but went cold shooting and the Pi-rates capitalized by going on a 9-0 run, winning the game 51-47. Freshmen Salina Moore scored a game high 16 points for the Lady Mustangs.

"Next year expectations will be higher, but were ready for the challenge," said Moore.

ON THE FIELD: The Delta Mustangs finishing warm-ups before the game against Santa Rosa on March 14.

Most of us get in our cars only thinking about getting from Point A to Point B.

Driving cautious and safe isn’t al-ways on our minds, so at times we drive mindlessly and distracted.

It’s critical that we drive safe. Need-less to say school zones and parking lots should not be an exception. But many Delta College students don’t drive safe on campus.

The set speed limit of 10-miles-per hour in parking lots is often ignored.

"The main thing that I see is people driving too fast, the speed limit on ev-ery one of the surface streets is 25 ex-cept for the one over by Target which

is South Burke Bradley is 30, all of the parking lots every single one on campus is 10 miles per hour so people are driv-ing way too fast in the lots," said Cam-pus Safety Officer Susan McAnelly.

Campus police observe other bad driving habits as well.

"The second thing we’ve noticed is the distracted driving, people doing something else whether it be talking on their phone, talking to whoever in the car looking around basically not pay-ing attention," said McAnelly. “The last thing probably that we’ve seen is people tend to cut corners … we’ve had quite a few accidents like that I’ve had two just in the last couple weeks.”

There has been a lot more traffic on the south side of campus this semes-ter, due to the new Science and Math

Building. There are a lot of pedestrians crossing the road or walking along the side of the road because there isn’t a full walkway for students yet.

Delta is working on making a walkway to the building to increase safety for students, said McAnelly.

However, McAnelly said that is a red zone, which means no stopping.

Following campus traffic rules will make for safer drivers.

Some students said they drive safe on campus overall.

"I drive very safe. I drive the speed limit and watch for pedestrians," said Levertis Woolfolk. "I don’t see too many accidents, because people don’t want their car hit."

Woolfolk also has a message for students while driving: "The text can wait!"

California is currently discussing an opportunity to allow community college students access to bachelor’s degrees in nursing and two other programs.

The state has run into a speed bump in education. To put it short, it’s not meeting requirements.

California’s eyes are set on the 2025 projected demand, at which a number of bachelor’s degrees are required.

To meet demand, the state would need to increase bach-elor’s degrees awarded by almost 60,000 a year. Which is 40 percent above current levels, according to the California Community College Baccalaureate Degree Study Group.

A specific area of education that may be affected by this bill would be nursing.

"Two-year associate degrees are becoming insufficient for some fields, such as nursing and respiratory therapy, but bachelor’s degree programs in those areas are scarce. Ex-panding community college programs would help students complete a bachelor’s degree quickly, without the hassle, the

expense of transferring to another school and the dreaded delays," according to Katy Murphy and Paul Burgarino in the Feb. 19 San Jose Mercury News article "Bachelor de-grees from community colleges on California horizon."

The health profession in general has a growing number of bachelor’s degrees needed which has put the state up against the wall and forced decisions.

"As demand for bachelor’s degrees grows in health professions, information technology and law enforce-ment, also growing is pressure on California lawmak-ers to let community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees in high-need areas," according to Nanette Asimov in the Feb. 2 SFGate.com article "California community col-leges could offer bachelor's degrees."

The aspect of the proposition students should be ex-cited for, is the fact bachelor courses in community col-leges will be much cheaper than usual university courses.

"If community colleges in California start providing baccalaureate programs, it would open up opportunities for students who cannot leave home or attend 4-year uni-versities for financial or family reasons," according to a Feb.

26 Mesa Press article titled "Bachelor’s Degrees for Califor-nia’s Community Colleges to be Determined degrees for California’s community colleges to be determined."

Financial instability is one of the reasons students attend community colleges in the first place, and with the price of university classes being what they are, these students have a near impossible chance of getting that far. This law would rid of that liability.

Delta College’s own nursing students seem divided on the subject.

"So many schools are pumping out nurses," said stu-dent Emily Encinas.

Encinas is against the possibility of bachelor’s degrees being given in community colleges believing it will only increase competition to get into nursing professions.

"This can lower the credibility of bachelor’s degrees," said nursing student Michelle Heslop.

In other words, bachelor’s degrees would lose value if given in community colleges. However, Heslop also added: “People who couldn’t necessarily afford a four-year can do it here.”

Issue 11 • March 21, 2014 • deltacollegian.net8 news

by robert juareznews@deltacollegian.net

California looking to add bachelor degrees to community colleges

by monica gomeznews@deltacollegian.net

College's Facebook page. West Virg-nia Blogger John Lilyea of thisainthell.us published a document on Monday, March 17 from the National Personnel Records Center indicating the Social Security number and name for the man didn’t match personnel records for the Army.

A search on Facebook for name re-vealed a profile for a man citing he is a Delta College student. Private messages sent to him weren't returned to The Col-legian. The page has since been deleted.

Vieira said this was the second time he confronted the man.

"The arrestee had previously been warned to leave the victim alone in a prior incident. He was cited & re-leased," according to Delta College’s public Facebook page.

The page is now filled with com-ments from veterans.

"I cannot believe you would have a veteran arrested for doing what was right. ... I am currently looking for an-other school to transfer to because I no

longer want my GI Bill money to sup-port your complete lack of respect to all veterans!" one person wrote.

Delta addressed the situation by making this statement page on Face-book saying the college has been named a "military friendly school" the past two years.

"The list honors the country’s TOP 15% of colleges, universities and trade schools that do the most to embrace America’s military service members, vet-erans, and spouses as they work toward academic and career success," the page cites.

Student Ryan Brajkovisch com-mented on the controversy. "If the guy wasn't a real soldier I don't understand why he would even try to portray he's one, that doesn't make sense to me ... If anything military is a sore subject."

Vieira said he could have handled the situation differently.

"But I was overcome with the emo-tional distress that comes with the job that every veteran knows," he said.

Driving on campus not as safe as you would expect

continued from PAGE 1VETERANS: Veteran confronted man in uniform

continued from PAGE 1TERRORISM: Student arrested near Canadian border

PHOTO BY JUSTIN TRISTANO

GETTING AROUND: Without proper paths students often walk across the entrance of Shima 1 parking lot.

fer freedom and peace but if you disagree we will bomb and shoot you until you agree."He later wrote a post saying that the people “you call terrorist aren’t really terrorist they are just doing what your to afraid to do.” He continued by saying the government "fears these people and that’s why they are called terrorist."

Teausant also posted various videos supporting pro al-Qaeda messages, which were later taken down when he was ad-vised that it was a bad idea, according to the complaint.

The complaint also mentions an Ins-tagram account believed to be associated with Teausant due to an image on the account of him standing beside an engi-neering sign in Sacramento.

Under the username Assad Teausant bigolsmurfp, this was posted:

"don’t get me wrong I despise america and want its down fall but yeah haha. Lol I been part of the army for two years now and I would love to join Allah’s army but I don’t even know how to start (sic)."

Later, the user would ask where he

could get the "lone Mujahid pocket book," which has been identified as a 'how-to guide' for terrorists.

The allegations against Teausant in-clude exchanges with an informant where the accused outlined intent to bomb a Los Angeles subway.

The arrest shocked the campus com-munity, including those who thought they knew Teausant.

"He seemed really nice always smil-ing and being nice," said student Joseph Robinson. "He seemed like a regular per-son like everybody else."

Robinson said Teausant also had a girlfriend on campus.

The only indication Robinson had no-ticed of Teausant’s behavior that seemed different was one instance where he arrived on campus in traditional Muslim garb. Though Robinson believed this to simply be Teausant embracing a different culture.

Teausant is currently detained in Washington. Authorities are intending on moving him back to Sacramento to face charges.