DELTACOLLEGIATE
Volume 86 • Issue 8
STUDENT RUN SINCE '61
April 6, 2020
'Tiger King' controversy Pg. 6
Local businesses support each other during COVID-19 Pg. 3 Online resources for students Pg. 5
Illustration by Lindsay Lang
2 NEWS
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APRIL 6, 2020
Michigan fights an ongoing battle to receive federal aid Bill Badour Reporter @BadourBilly As of Saturday, April 4, Michigan is currently the state with the third most confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 10,791. For the second time in Michigan, the confirmed cases have increased by more than 1,000 in a day. With no sign of the COVID-19 pandemic slowing down in the United States, it is more than reasonable to ask how Michigan and other states are receiving medical supplies. On March 27, Governor Gretchen Whitmer stated in a radio interview: “What I’ve gotten back is that vendors with whom we’ve procured contracts – they’re being told not to send stuff to Michigan.” The next day, President Trump approved Michigan’s request for a major disaster declaration. By approving the request, Michigan was able to receive more federal aid. The same day, Michigan received a shipment of 112,000 N-95 masks from the strategic national stockpile. While that may sound like a generous amount, that is merely 0.56% of the 20 million N-95 masks requested. The state of Michigan also received 1,700 ventilators. While this is a somewhat substantial amount, it still falls short of the 25,000 ventilators that were requested. While some states such as Michigan and Washington have received only a fraction of the supplies that they’ve requested, other states such as Florida have received all of what they’ve requested. For example, Florida requested 430,000 surgical masks and 180,000 N-95 masks on March 11. On March 14, Florida received all of what they had requested.
On Feb. 5, the United States had only 12 confirmed cases, yet tens of thousands of confirmed cases were reported around the world. On that same day, according to the Washington Post, Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar requested $2 billion to buy respirators and other medical supplies to add to the federal stockpile. Weeks later, the request was brought down to $500 million. During a March 19 coronavirus briefing, President Donald Trump stated: “First of all, governors are supposed to be doing a lot of this work, and they are doing a lot of this work. The federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping.” The largest problem with not supplying states from a federal stockpile is that it creates a bidding war between states and other countries for medical supplies that are already in shortage. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stated on Monday, March 30: “Our experience has been that other contracts we’ve entered into have been delayed or have been diverted to the federal government, as has been the case in Massachusetts and Illinois and Kentucky.” One way to combat this would be for President Trump to use the Defense Production Act to force private companies to produce medical supplies. Trump was reluctant to do this though, because he felt that it was “nationalizing our businesses.” The Trump administration has used the Defense Production Act before this pandemic. It was previously used to place orders for the building of drones and missiles, as well as body armor for border patrol agents. On Friday, March 27, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act and required General Motors to make ventilators. Governor Whitmer was among the leading voices who
pressed the federal government to produce more ventilators. While more ventilators are beginning to be made, there is
still a worldwide shortage of most life-saving medical equipment.
NEWS 3
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APRIL 6, 2020
Populace Coffee supports local businesses during ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ order Jordan Green Reporter @Jordan_Green6 BAY CITY – In the time of need for many small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bay City’s Populace Coffee – a wholesale roasting coffee company – is coming to the rescue and supporting local businesses. The Bay City-based coffee company is selling 300 gram (6.5 lb) bags of custom branded coffee through their website – with a local small business printed on the front – called Partner Support Bags. Populace Coffee is giving the small businesses half of the revenue for each custom branded bag of coffee purchased with their business on it. Andrew Heppner, founder of Populace Coffee, says most of their business comes from selling coffee to other coffee shops in Michigan and around the midwest. When Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order took effect on March 24, Heppner said about 95% of his customers closed. “We had to figure out a way to sell coffee, and then also hope that [our coffee customers] don't go out of business,” says Heppner. Heppner says he and two other business partners put together the coffee packages over the course of three days. The idea came to Heppner because they already had custom label printed coffee bags for sale on their website. The shift into turning those coffee
Courtesy of Electric Kitsch Facebook page Electric Kitsch at 917 Washington Ave. in Bay City advertises to its Facebook audience to buy its partner support coffee bag from Populace Coffee. packs into promoting other local small businesses was easy, according to Heppner. In a press release, Heppner states: “It's crazy out there, not only for our partners but coffee shops and restaurants across the country. We wanted to create a platform to empower them and use their networks.” Most of the businesses that are partnered up with Populace Coffee are restaurants and coffee shops. “We started off with six of our partners joining us and now we're up to 22 or 23 different businesses that are doing the program,” says Heppner. Local Bay City record store Electric Kitsch on Washington Avenue is partnered up with Populace Coffee for the Partner Support Bags. The record store is temporarily closed due to the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order. Courtesy of Populace Coffee Facebook Several different bags of company-branded coffee offered through Populace Coffee’s “Partner Support Bags.
4 COLLEGIATE LIFE
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April 6, 2020
Unison celebrates LGBT awareness month virtually in April Jordan Green • Reporter @Jordan_Green6 UNIVERSITY CENTER – Instead of roaming the halls at Delta College to view the timeline of LGBTQ icons, students are able to access it virtually as Unison – Delta College’s LGBTQ student awareness organization – continues their scheduled LGBTQ pride month. Alison Ginter, Unison advisor and coordinator of Campus Life and Student Engagement at Delta College, says she’s been in contact with the Unison “crew” to work on making their events virtual. “Next week, we’re doing a Zoom virtual LGBTQ awareness event, so anyone can participate,” says Ginter. “It's just a question and answer session, and just keeps people engaged.” In addition to celebrating Pride Month and bringing awareness to Delta College’s campus, Unison also focuses on specific theme days. The organization provides awareness for Transgender Day of Remembrance, Lesbian Awareness Day, Gay Awareness Day and Bisexual Awareness Day. Unison supplements the days with informational tables set up around campus. An April-Pride exclusive path that winds through
Illustration by Lindsay Lang
Delta’s hallways displaying LGBTQ icons and their accomplishments is visible online. Students are able to click on a picture of a well-known LGBTQ figure and read a description to learn more about LGBTQ leaders. The national LGBTQ Pride month is held in June, but with the smaller student population during the summer months, Unison decided to hold their own pride month annually in April, before the winter semester lets out. The month is typically filled with educational tables, awareness campaigns and available resources. Along with Unison, Delta provides Safe Space, a program where faculty and staff are trained on different subjects in the LGBTQ community; for
example, talking to a student for support, being an ally or showing support for the community. The faculty member or teacher then places a Safe Space sticker on their office door indicating that they've been trained with Safe Space. Unison’s mission is to provide students with a safe space in the LGBTQ community. Ginter says that she, along with organization president Hannah Kinsman, want to create an organization that is open to all students and for those who may be struggling in the LGBTQ community. “Our biggest thing is about creating awareness, but also creating a very safe space and creating a community where people could come together and be comfortable,” says Ginter. “Because sometimes it's a struggle for some people.” To join the student-led club, email Alison Ginter. Meetings are held weekly, and for students who are looking for a flexible organization to join on campus, class schedules will be taken into consideration at the beginning of the semester to ensure participation for all group members. Alison Ginter Contact: Email: alisonginter@delta.edu Phone: (989) 686-9121 Student and Civic Engagement A003
Davenport University employs new education partner representative, Crystal Pfuehler Patrick Sochacki Editor-in-chief @SochackiPatrick
UNIVERSITY CENTER – Davenport University (DU), like Central Michigan University, Ferris State University and many others, has a transfer program with Delta College that makes transfers and degree continuation a breeze. Crystal Pfuehler, education partner representative for DU, helps get students on track to get into these transfer programs. An education representative assists students transitioning from a two-year college to a fouryear university. Pfuehler helps students who don’t know what their plans are after finishing core classes, or their associates degrees, to make the transition seamlessly. How much is a credit hour and what transfer programs are offered? The in-seat tuition cost at DU is $767; online tuition is $777. According to Pfuehler, “95% of
students receive financial assistance, whether that be scholarships, state or federal grants, or DU tuition grants. DU offers merit-based scholarships for students who earn a 3.75 or above at Delta, or 20% off tuition just for transferring to DU from Delta.” There are three options for transfer to DU: The 3+1 program - This program allows students to transfer 90 credits to Davenport, meaning most students can earn their bachelor’s degree in just 10 classes, or 30 credits, at DU. The 60+ program - Not just for seniors! This is for students who earn an associate degree but decide they want to go in a different direction with their bachelor’s. DU will accept all 60 credits of the associate, leaving 60 to take for the bachelor’s. Customized transfer plans, aka. Articulation on Demand - This allows undecided students or those with transcripts from multiple schools to continue with credits earned at Delta. Davenport offers resume building, interview skills, salary and benefit negotiation, free lifetime access to Career Services, and free brush-up classes. Brush-up classes allow students to retake any undergraduate class they’ve passed.
Photo courtesy of Davenport University
Crystal Pfuehler, education partner representative for Davenport University.
Davenport University has 150 years of experience, and with their student to faculty ratio of 12:1, they successfully help busy adults achieve their goals and push them to their personal best. If you want more information, contact Crystal Pfuehler at cpfuehler@davenport.edu or stop in to the advising office at Delta (Room D102).
COLLEGIATE LIFE 5
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April 6, 2020
Closed but open: Delta College keeps resources available for students Michael Piwowarski News Director @DCMichaelFP
UNIVERSITY CENTER – It’s like turning your bedroom into your own mini-campus! Delta College is physically closed but with online learning continuing, there are still ways for students to get more from their college experience. On Delta’s coronavirus web page, there is a list of contacts for every department, both by phone and email. eLearning is one of the more notable departments here, since it’s clearly going to be the center of all the classes that now have to go completely online. Students who need help with eLearning can go to their resources page for more information and guidance, including FAQs and tutorials. In addition, here are a couple major on-campus resources that are still available remotely.
Shush! You’re in the library. “What I would like to stress is that we're open for business and here to help!” Head librarian Michelle Pratt points out that, while the Delta College library is physically inaccessible thanks to the building’s closure to the public, their online presence is here to stay. “Since most of our services are online, there's really little change from our normal day to day operations,” says Pratt. Librarians continue to monitor the online chat and their email throughout their regular open hours – Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
Stay connected while staying distant!
We're
Services offered by the Delta library include online databases and ebooks, and the Ask a Librarian chat feature, which are accessible through their Delta Portal page. “To put things in perspective [...] we have about 50,000 print books but over 200,000 e-books,” says Pratt. “While we might not have the exact ebook that we have in print, the librarians can help you find something similar.”
What I would like to stress is that we're open for business and here to help! - Michelle Pratt, Head librarian at Delta College LLIC
Pratt lists the following resources that the library has added, in addition to the articles they already have uploaded to their own online database: • • • • • • •
Statistical Abstracts of the United States Oxford English Dictionary JSTOR (Journal Storage) DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) R2 (medical and nursing e-books) ProQuest Central (database to search articles) Chilton Library (reliable automotive help 24/7)
More information is available on the library’s Coronavirus FAQ page, which also emphasizes that the due date for all checked-out books has been changed to Friday, May 1, in light of the COVID-19 closure. So don’t worry if you’re hanging on to that history book that you checked out for a research paper. Just make sure you don’t lose it!
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OPEN ONLINE T/LC and WRIT Center offer a helping hand The Teaching and Learning Center offers tutoring services in a variety of disciplines, from accounting and business to biology and mathematics. With everything happening remotely, the T/ LC still offers online services for students who need help mastering a subject. Questions can be submitted via CyberTutor, which is available at the Delta portal. Depending on the question, a tutor will respond by offering guidance on the subject, set up a live Zoom or phone conference appointment, or assist via both asynchronous and synchronous means of communication. The WRIT Center, which operates within the Delta library, is also closed to in-person tutoring and conferences, but they are still operating remotely. This is a resource that students can use if they need help with an essay in class. From gathering ideas to looking over the final draft, WRIT Center tutors aim to coach writers through every stage of the writing process. An online submission form is available at the WRIT Center’s portal page (go to portal.delta.edu, log in with your Delta credentials and access from the Student Resources directory). Students can submit their assignment as a Word document and get written feedback within two business days. According to the website, a Zoom conference may be held as well. Danielle Peterson, manager of the Teaching/ Learning Center, told the Collegiate that the T/LC and WRIT Center will release an updated form in the near future to request live Zoom conferences or phone appointments. The WRIT Center’s online-only hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
6 A&E
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APRIL 6, 2020
‘Tiger King’ prioritizes personal drama over animal welfare Sadie Shepherd Page Designer @DCSadieShepherd Chances are, if you’ve spent any time on social media in the past week, you’re well aware of a certain Netflix limited series that has taken the web by storm. “Tiger King” – which premiered on the streaming service on March 20 – has given way too much controversy and speculation regarding the reallife characters it follows. The show focuses on the story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage – aka Joe Exotic – who ran an exotic animal park in Oklahoma, primarily keeping tigers. Exotic began a 22-year federal prison sentence in January for the attempted murder-for-hire of his rival, Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskin, along with a host of animal cruelty charges stemming from evidence found on his zoo’s premises. The overarching theme of animal cruelty showcased in the docuseries is often overlooked to make time for more salacious details of the characters’ professional and private lives. While Joe Exotic is the main focus of the show, many of his connections in the exotic animal community are featured as well, including Baskin. From polygamy to cult-like activity and weaponry of all sorts, Exotic and his fellow animal keepers live very eccentric lifestyles. Most notable of the scandals seen in the show, though, is the idea that Exotic was framed in the murder-forhire plot and that Baskin may be a murderer herself based on the suspicious disapearance of her husband in 1997. These theories have been the basis of memes spanning all of social media, many insinuating Baskin fed her husband to the tigers. Still, all of these factors in the docuseries pale in comparison to how Joe Exotic’s sheer personality overpowers everything else. The gun-toting, outspoken tiger enthusiast isn’t one to shy away
Joe Exotic poses with one of the tigers in his exotic animal park. from how he really feels. Much like the old adage about not being able to look away from a terrible car wreck, it's impossible for the audience to turn away from Exotic’s odd charms. With his flashy wardrobe and quoteworthy one-liners, Exotic has gained many supporters from the show, including rapper Cardi B who tweeted advocating for his release from prison. The series may be filled with a variety of crime and many different people on the receiving end of it, but the true victims of the exotic animal entertainment industry are constantly on the outskirts of every scene. Two chimpanzees kept apart in separate cages; a lemur confined to a small indoor enclosure; and of course, tigers galore; all being used for profit. In interviews, the subjects seem to have a constant supply of tiger cubs at their disposal to cuddle and play with. Cub-petting is a source
of major contention throughout the series. Exotic and others on the show took to breeding tigers for the sole purpose of birthing cubs to be used in interactive events where guests can hold them and get their picture taken. Admission to these events often costs hundreds of dollars per person, and when looking at the logistics of being able to produce a constant assortment of cubs, the cost makes sense. In the U.S., cubs can only interact with the public between the ages of 8 and 12 weeks old. This limited window of time means that, to make a profit off of cubpetting, constant breeding must take place and the cycle of cubs being taken from their mothers way too soon continues endlessly. Baskin made it her mission to end cub-petting, though she herself took part in breeding when she first began working with big cats, and would follow Exotic on his popular mall tours featuring
Screengrab from Tiger King young cubs. She would often reach his destinations before him and manage to cause enough protest to get events cancelled. This may have been the beginning of the truly vicious rivalry and hatred between the two of them. Though the docuseries dedicates part of its final installment to acknowledging the problem of captive tigers in the U.S., the rest of the drama in the series is what many have taken away from it. As the show cites, there are currently between 5,000 and 10,000 tigers living in captivity in the United States, compared to around 4,000 in the wild. Towards the end of the last episode, an old clip is shown of Joe Exotic himself when he first started his park, saying that big cats belong in their natural habitats and it’s his goal to return them there. That should be the takeaway of “Tiger King”.
SCIENCE & HEALTH 7
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APRIL 6, 2020
Delta College and Persall honey farm sustain bees Haeley Huggard Reporter @HaeleyHuggard MONTROSE – When we think of bees, there are two general reactions people have: either how cute they are, or how scary they are for people with allergies. But many people are realizing that bees are essential to our ecosystem – pollinating plants, helping fruits and vegetables bloom and produce seeds, and producing honey. Michigan honey farmer Cheri Persall has been a honey farmer and beekeeper, with her husband Chris Persall, for more than six years. Her husband has been in the bee business since the 1980s. Cheri Persall says that bees are incredibly important to our ecosystem and without them, we will not have food. “They are a big deal and a lot of people don’t realize that,” says Cheri Persall. “A lot of people are like ‘well, who needs bees anyway?’ Well, we all do because if we don’t have bees, we are not going to have food – we are not going to have human life.” Though being a honey farmer is a hobby for the Persall family now, they plan to open a honey shop in the future with set business hours for all of their honey enthusiasts to stop in. The Persall
honey farm sells honey and other honey-based products – hand sanitizer and lotions are some of their more popular items. Cheri Persall stated that she never used to care about bees, but now she understands. She stresses their importance to our ecosystem to others. Delta College’s sustainability program has been working to create a bee-friendly environment on campus. Bee boxes will be added to the campus trails once Delta’s main campus reopens. Delta is the first college in Michigan to be a certified Bee Campus USA member. This means that Delta has committed to having areas on campus that are pollinator-friendly. Delta’s facilities management coordinator Wendy Harness shared the importance of bees and their impact on our environment. “Don’t be afraid of bees, and get knowledgeable about the things that they are beneficial for, like providing good food sources and helping beautify our environment,” says Harness. “Without bees and pollinators in general, we wouldn’t have any of those things. From the food to our natural environment, they are really important.” To get more involved in making the bees feel more at home on Delta’s campus, you can email sustainability@delta.edu and become a member of the Pollinator Alliance Team. Cheri Persall stands by her future honey shop.
Haeley Huggard • Reporter
Isolation Procrastination
Written and Illustrated by Lindsay Lang
DISCLAIMER
Since 1961, the Delta Collegiate has been written and produced by Delta students for students without any input or oversight by administration. The paper does not represent the views of Delta College, its faculty, staff or administration. Stories are selected by the student staff members to bring reliable information and entertainment to our readers.
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