10 sports
thecollegian
Oct. 6, 2017
Mustangs fall short against Diablo Valley By Ramon Zuniga Senior Staff Writer
The Delta College Football team played the Diablo Valley College Vikings on Sept. 30. This was the sixth game of the Delta’s football team and the third loss this season. The final score was 30-31, Diablo Valley being the winner. Both sides played very effectively and some on the Diablo Valley team took a knee during the national anthem while no one in the Delta team didn’t. “It’s up to my team mate to do what they want to do. Everyone has their own beliefs. I’ll support them if that’s what they want to do,” said Player Receiver Keaton Hampton. Head Coach Gary Barlow didn’t comment on the kneeling during the anthem but did talk about his team and how he will proceed after the game. “I don’t like the outcome. We ended up losing when we expect to win. I think we had a good week of preparation and we played hard so our players competed in a high level,” said Head Coach Barlow after the game was over. This was the last non-conference game for the Delta football team. All the players shared their dislike for the outcome of the game and how both sides played it. “It shouldn’t ever be a close game. They were a pretty good team but nothing we haven’t seen so far. Obviously there was some mistakes but overall they did their assignments,” said player receiver Hampton after the game ended. The coaching staff and the players on the team all plan on doing better in the next coming games this fall. “I’m just going to keep doing the plays I’m supposed and the assignments I’m supposed too. That’s all there is to this game,” said Hampton Barlow has already began planning and improving the team’s skill level and their capabilities. “The first thing we will do is evaluate this game. We fill every snap so we will go through it and grade the players both on their alignment assignment and their effort,” said Barlow. “That will allow us to really look at the things that we did really well and the things we need to work on.” The next game for the Delta College Football team will be on Oct. 14 against Laney College.
Above, Darrin Gentry Jr. charges downfield. Bottom left, Offensive Linemen Kenny Porter (No. 63) and Anthony Harper (No. 72) before the start of the game against Diablo Valley College. Bottom right, Quarterback Wayne Brooks Jr. (No. 2). PHOTO ABOVE BY RAMON ZUNIGA PHOTOS BELOW BY RICARDO C. HERNANDEZ
Women’s sports teams no longer referred to by gender term By Debra Hyman Staff Writer
The term ‘Lady Mustangs’ will no longer be used to refer to the women’s sports teams at Delta College said Dr. Daryl Arroyo, Division Dean of Humanities, Social Science, Education, Kinesiology and Athletics. “It seems dated,” he said. “You don’t see ‘Gentleman Mustangs.’” There are currently nine women’s sports teams at Delta: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, track & field, volleyball and water polo. Beach volleyball, a new women’s sports team, will begin play in Spring 2018. In the future, all ten women’s sports teams will be referred to as ‘The Mustangs.’ Delta’s men’s sports teams already use that athletic nickname. The 1970s Women’s Movement inspired an examination of how language plays a role in both women’s oppression and women’s liberation. Since then, efforts have been made to replace gender-specific language with language that is gender-neutral. The objective is to create inclusiveness and elimi-
nate bias. The reason why Delta has continued to use the term Lady Mustangs is unknown. “Language matters,” said Linguistics Professor Ulrike Christofori. By calling a team “… Lady Mustangs, as opposed to Mustangs, you are ‘marking’ it.” In Linguistics, markedness is the state of standing out as unusual in comparison to a more common form. The unmarked term is considered dominant and normal. The marked term is perceived to be secondary and irregular. Policewoman, stewardess and actress are marked terms that were used in the past to refer to females in male-dominated professions. Police officer, flight attendant and actor are the unmarked terms that are used now. Inclusive sports language was less important before the enactment of Title IX in June 1972. Title IX was a federal civil rights statute that was enacted to end gender discrimination in public schools. It required that schools and colleges receiving federal money provide the same opportunities for girls as for boys.
Before Title IX, fewer than 30,000 women participated in college sports. In 2012, Title IX celebrated its 40th anniversary. President Barack Obama was asked to reflect on its impact on women’s sports by Newsweek. “… It wasn’t so long ago that something like pursuing varsity sports was an unlikely dream for young women in America. Their teams often made do with second-rate facilities, hand-me-down uniforms, and next to no funding,” he wrote. At that time, there were over 190,000 female collegiate athletes. This was an increase of more than 600 percent. Adrienne Sorenson, head coach of the women’s soccer team, said she supported Arroyo’s decision. “The women who participate on athletic teams at Delta College are student-athletes, period. I like the unity that “Mustangs” provides every student-athlete at Delta regardless of gender.” Women’s softball team member Eryn McWhorter had a different reaction. “I never thought it really mattered if we were called Lady Mustangs or just Mustangs.” Referring to Delta’s women’s athletic facilities, she said “We have this here so we can do it.”