thecollegian Issue 13 • Friday, April 26, 2013 • deltacollegian.net
INSIDE
SHOWCASING SPEECH & DEBATE
ANIMATED RESPONSES: Top, Jeff Toney, left, and Harry Mersmann debate against instructors keeping concealed firearms in the classroom during the Tuesday, April 23 speech and debate showcase in the Atherton Auditorium. Left, Scott Nelson gives an “after dinner” speech about how which decade was better, the 1990s or the 2000s. For more on the event, visit deltacollegian.net. PHOTOS BY JUSTIN TRISTANO
Spelling Bee Tillie Lewis Theater, 8 p.m. May 3 - May 5 Aspargus Festival Downtown Stockton April 26-April 28
FIND US
Scorecard numbers raise concern news@deltacollegian.net
Homeless veteran tells his tale of struggle Page 5
UPCOMING
JH
by christina cornejo
Hipster mentality grows at Delta Page 4
Student duo finds success founding two production companies Page 6
One free copy
Group advocates for feral felines to keep campus rodent free by james striplin news@deltacollegian.net
The environment on campus is managed by staff and students alike, but hidden behind every bush is a wild feline that keeps Delta in top shape. In a delicate balance, the cats of Delta eat wild rodents and in return a small group of cat enthusiasts feed, hydrate and watch over them. Claudia Mackey, a community education coordinator, is one of the said enthusiasts. She said there are more than 17 cats roaming freely on campus. When feral cats are found on campus, the group takes them to local veterinarians where the animals are spayed and neutered. The cats are then released back on campus. Many, though, are found good homes, said Mackey. “We probably found homes for 20 cats in the last five years,” said Mackey.
All cats at Delta are fed with donations, which comes from students and little events held by the group, including garage sales and raffles. This group runs roughly on $1,000 a year. “I bring three-gallon bags with me, but I usually don’t use three-gallons of food in one day,” said Mackey. Cats are only fed dry food, and altogether the animals eat about three pounds a day. This unofficial cat community was founded several years ago to deal with stray cats on campus, and was later disbanded. The group came back after a rising issue with rampant vermin. “We don't have much of a rodent problem because we have cats,” said Mackey. Anyone interested in helping the cats on campus can donate food or money to the cashiers’ office for the “campus cats.”
Less than half of all Delta College students have completed degrees or transferred to fouryear colleges in the past six years according to recent student performance statistics. On April 9, Delta released results of the California Community College system Student Success Scorecard, which measures student performance across different demographics and success indicators, such as completion and persistence rates. This follows new state law establishing the use of the tool across all state community colleges, including Delta. Although the rate of completions seems low, Interim Vice President of Instruction Matt Wetstein notes that not all first-time students who take classes at Delta do so with the intention of completing a degree. According to research by Peter Bahr of the University of Michigan, about 30 percent of those first-time students just experiment with EXPLORE one or two classes with no intention of completing a degree. THE SITE “They are taking one or two Visit http:// classis in topics; it could be book- scorecard. keeping, agriculture, or business cccco.edu classes. They are taking those to explore classes and going back out into the Student the workforce with those skills Success and making more money,” said Scorecard. Wetstein. “Those are successful students, but they may be totally missed by those statistics.” Other major findings in the scorecard showed that persistence rates are high, 72.5 percent of the student body returns from semester to semester, while the rate at the state level is at 65 percent. Additionally, there are higher persistence rates among students who are unprepared for college, rather than those who are prepared, suggesting that the college may be adequately addressing the needs of those students. However, findings from the scorecard also highlight the presence of an achievement gap among different ethnic groups. African-American students who come prepared for college have a 42.3 percent completion rate in contrast to the 81.3 percent rate among prepared Asian students. “We know we have some progress to make in closing the equity gap at the college, but the scorecard shows how strong our college is, and how committed the staff and faculty are to student success,” said Delta’s Board President Lisa Turner in a press release.
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