Psychedlics for better mental health
Newsom earns easy victory in recall
The Collegian DELTACOLLEGIAN.NET
OPINION, PAGE 2
Issue 1 • Friday, Sept. 24, 2021 •
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DELTA MANDATES COVID-19 VACCINES BY DAVID VICTOR Editor-in-Chief
The Delta College Board of Trustees voted to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all employees and students during its Aug. 17 meeting. Members of the board casted a 6-1 vote in favor of this implementation after Trustee Teresa Brown expressed concern for the health of students and employees prior to motioning a mandate recommendation from the Return to Campus SubVAXXED FOR STACKS committee. “I’ve had covid and I’m still dealing with the after-effects,” said Brown. “I don’t want this to happen to anybody else if it doesn’t have to.” Delta College is offering free textTrustee Cathbooks for vaccinated students erine Mathis prothrough its #vaxxedforstacks vided the second program. Read more about the for Brown’s moprogram at deltacollegian.net. tion to proceed and later thanked the board for its decision. “ I truly believe we saved some lives,” said Mathis. “I hope that everybody who is eligible gets a vaccine, not just for yourself but for those who cannot get them. They are depending on us, this is a community effort.” The recommendation from the Return to Campus Subcommittee motioned in the meeting states all employees and students accessing district and college facilities will need to show proof of having both vaccine doses or approved exemptions by Oct. 15. This includes students attending in-person/hybrid classes, student services and any indoor activities happening on Delta’s campus. Vaccines will not be required for students taking courses fully online. The mandate applies to students registering for
Flyer showing vaccine requirements for students and employees on campus as Delta mandates vaccines. PHOTO BY TONALLO COLON
classes for the Spring 2022 semester and will not affect those enrolled in Fall 2021 courses. Students and staff may not get vaccinated if they have approved religious exemptions or by showing proof of having a documented medical condition that makes them unsuitable for the vaccines. Those exempted from the mandate are required to get tested for COVID-19 at least twice a week. Not everyone agreed with the board’s decision. Trustee Lance Elliot was the only member of the board to vote against the mandate. “I don’t see how keeping these people [students] from school is going to help them,” he said. “We’re keeping them from coming to school because of a virus that has a 99.6 percent survivability rate.” Elliot even doubts the vaccine’s efficacy to pro-
tect against the virus. “I don’t think this vaccine works as well as they’re telling us,” said Elliot. Classified Senate member Susan Rodriguez made comments opposing the mandate. “We are getting some pushback because we’re telling people what they need to do with their health care, and that should really be decided by their physician and them,” said Rodriguez. “I don’t know what this is going to do to our students’ enrollment because I know a lot of people, I have a lot of friends that know that I work there and they’ve been worried about whether or not we’re mandating vaccines for students, and the majority of them have said that if we mandate vaccines they will not be at Delta.”
IN-N-Out opens second restaurant in Stockton near Sherwood Mall
In-N-Out opens its second restaurant in Stockton at Sherwood Mall on Sept. 17 on Pacific Avenue. PHOTO BY ANI GUTIERREZ
BY ANI GUTIERREZ Staff Writer
In-N-Out has opened its second location in Stockton
on Pacific Avenue, right across the street from Delta College. The grand opening was held on Sept. 17.
Located in the shopping center of Sherwood Mall, right across from the main entrance of the college, it’s now attracting students, faculty, and staff as a convenient place to grab a bite to eat. “Beginning Sept. 17 2021, In-N-Out hamburgers, fries, and shakes will be available at our newest location in Stockton, California,” In-N-Out said in a press release. For more than 25 years, Stockton was home to only one In-NOut location found on West March Lane. At the grand opening of this new restaurant, Denny Warnick, Chief Operating Officer of In-N-Out, said the company is “really excited to
have this second restaurant in Stockton because we opened our first restaurant over 25 years ago and we have so many loyal In-N-Out customers here.” Warnick said the opening has been a long time coming. “We’ve known for some time that we wanted to find the right location to build a second restaurant to better serve those customers,” said Warnick. Warnick also confirmed the new location is hiring, with pay starting at $17 an hour. The near distance to Delta College and University of the Pacific may make the location desirable for young people. “We continue to look for
more associates and so the hiring will continue right past opening and those who are interested in employment can go to In-N-Out.com and follow the links to the employment opportunities,” he said. Students here at Delta College are excited about this new In-N-Out. “It’s a new and convenient place to eat in between classes without having to drive a long distance,” said Brandon Focaracci, a second-year student. He said that his favorite item on the menu is the Double Double combo with Animal Fries.
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2 OPINION 092421
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Return to campus, too soon or not soon enough? BY JAHDAI SPIKES
S
Entertainment Editor
tudents have begun to return to campus in a reduced capacity, and more students are expected to return next semester following a new vaccine mandate that says students must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15 to register for on-campus classes for Spring 2022. Although these are great steps to return to normalcy, they most definitely should have come sooner. Delta College should have made these decisions and actually implemented them before the start of the Fall 2021 term. The consensus among students around campus is that they’re glad to be back.
Brian Lek, a first-year student at
Delta says they’re excited to be back because there are “more opportunities” on campus, such as sports, clubs, and other on-campus events. Paulina Munoz, a 15-year-old dual enrollment student said she’s happy to be back, especially since “it doesn’t seem like anyone is getting sick.”
Students have also shown their willingness to comply with Covid regulations, including completing daily screeners (either on paper or digitally through the RAVE Guardian app), especially if it means they get to stay on campus.
Many students feel that the school is doing a good job of keeping students safe on campus through the use of the RAVE app and providing safety presentations for the students. Although the flexibility of asynchronous online classes is very ben-
eficial for some students, for others it simply doesn’t work well. There are many online students at Delta College who said it is the right time to come back to campus and envy those who have the opportunity to be back in person. “As long as people are respectful of Covid protocols and restrictions I think it’s fine,” said Raevyn Kaigler, a first-year student. Students seem to agree that if everyone follows protocols we should be able to return to campus.
So if the majority of students agree and understand, why did it take so long for the college itself to make any decisions?
If Delta College had acted sooner, students like Kayla Bates, a student in her last semester here, would be able to have on-campus classes again and be
“able to learn in that type of environment.” The rise of the Delta variant assuredly had something to do with the college being hesitant to make a decision, but these decisions should have been made before the rise of the variant. If Delta College had implemented a vaccine mandate, more people would be vaccinated and less susceptible to the virus overall. The vaccine didn’t get mandated until late June initially, with the board then reversing the direction the following meeting, only to come back and approve the mandate in mid-August. The way Delta College has handled the pandemic thus far has been slightly subpar, but it seems the college is finally starting to make better and quicker decisions.
Trippin’ our way to better mental health BY ALBERT GAMEZ
P
Staff Writer
sychedelic. A word that can give a variety of impressions — some good and some bad. But one thing is for sure, our understanding of them is at a revolutionary cusp. Psychedelics are Schedule 1 substances that alter perception, mood and affect numerous cognitive processes. This includes magic mushrooms, MDMA and LSD. Despite their federal drug classification, scientists have been using them in an attempt to treat various types of mental disorders — from PTSD and anxiety to addiction and Alzheimer’s. More than two decades of research by John Hopkins University were a catalyst for a rapidly shifting dialogue on how to approach these substances. Their studies found that psychedelics have the potential to cure mental disorders, as well as promote healthier brain function in adults. A study by Professor Albert Romeu-Garciais one of the most influential publications by John Hopkins. His team took 343 individuals with alcohol use disorder or “AUD” and submitted them to a psychedelic treatment. They found that after a single, moderate-to-high dose of LSD, 83 percent of the individuals no longer met the AUD criteria. “Participants rated their psychedelic experience as highly meaningful and insightful, endorsing psychedelic-associated changes in life priorities or values as facilitating reduced alcohol misuse,” according to the study. This response is attributed to the effect these substances have on the biochemistry within the brain. Essentially what happens is there is a decrease of blood flow to the brain’s default mode network that results in the creation of new neural pathways. Creating new neural pathways within a therapeutic setting is what solidifies the positive response from the individuals suffering from the illness. A treatment with this high of a suc-
cess rate for alcohol addiction is instrumental when considering that there is no functional treatment in place to help those with the addiction. This is one of more than 75 peer reviewed studies that have provided sufficient evidence for their utility. It is promising results such as these that have raised awareness to the necessity of these studies, and are exactly why they are being studied in the field of psychology in colleges and universities across the country. Last year UC Berkeley opened up a center dedicated to Psychedelic Science and Education with a plan to educate the public about the advancement of psychedelic research. Professor Michael Pollan of UC Berkeley wrote a book in 2018 about how psychedelics, if used properly, can aid psychologists in the pursuit of mental health treatment. He is releasing a new book this year as a continuation of that thought which revolves around the social implications of introducing psychedelics into society as a mainstream treatment. “I’m looking at the age-old human engagement with plants that change consciousness,” he said in an MSNBC interview Aug. 25. “All of us are involved in those plants whether you drink alcohol, coffee, tea or even more powerful things like magic mushrooms. This is a curious innate human drive to want to change consciousness. We need to accept that it’s just part of our humanity, instead of going to war with that urge. Which is what we’ve been doing for at least 50
The Collegian The Collegian is the student newspaper of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif. The paper is published six times a semester. As a First Amendment newspaper we pride ourselves on a commitment to the students of Delta College while maintaining independence. We 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.
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EDITORS DAVID VICTOR Editor in Chief
JASON DIEZ Opinion
JAHDAI SPIKES Entertainment
CONTACT US:
years.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of The War on Drugs, and the California senate is looking at bill SB-519, which may cultivate a new approach. It was introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener, who is an advocate for psychedelic science and drug reform. In early September, the Chacruna Institute hosted a web forum where he spoke to a few non-profit organizations advocating for psychedelic reform. “In the big picture, we need to end the war on drugs—for all drugs—and we should not be criminalizing possession and use of drugs,” Weiner said. “Drugs are a health issue, drugs are many things, they’re not a criminal issue.” Bill SB-519 is a bill that would essentially allow individuals 21 or older in the state of California to possess and share these substances If the bill is signed, then we could be looking at a major shift on how the government will approach drugs in the future. This act would follow the lead of Oregon and Colorado. California, Oakland and Santa Cruz have already decriminalized these substances but a statewide shift is close. More importantly, this means that further research will be allowed to take place. The change in regulation will open the doors for further education and investigation. Learning more about these drugs has proven to be instrumental in expanding the general understanding of mental illness and how to treat it. According to the CDC, mental illness is at a steady incline. Adults with symptoms of anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4 percent to 41.5 percent, and the percentage of those reporting an unmet mental health care need increased from 9.2 percent to 11.7 percent. The rise is attributed to the repercussions brought on by the global pandemic. The main factors range from social isolation to unemployment. At a time when mental illness is on the rise, this may be exactly what mental health treatments need to stay ahead of the curve.
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DELTA ARTS RETURN TO CAMPUS BY JAHDAI SPIKES
Entertainment Editor
The arts programs have returned to campus this semester after more than a year due to closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is a brief list of the events these programs are holding.
LH HORTON JR GALLERY John Hitchcock - Bury the Hatchet Pamela J. Peters - A Legacy of exiled Ndnz • Sept. 23 - Oct. 27 • Virtual artist talk Sept. 30, 5:30 p.m. Cannupa Hanska Luger • Online exhibit • Virtual artist talk Oct. 13, 5:30 p.m.
BAND CONCERT
• Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. • Warren Atherton Auditorium
DELTA DRAMA
“Cyrano” • Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 7 p.m. • Nov. 7 and 14 at 2 p.m. • Tillie Lewis Theatre Sarah Ortega, left, and Krista Schaffner, right, working with pottery wheels on Sept. 15. PHOTOS BY JAHDAI SPIKES
From left: Michael Rivera, David Morones, Garret Mandujan, Marcus Rowe and Nathan Forschen practice during band rehearsal on Sept. 20.
Professor M.J. Wanhoff, left, conducts during band rehearsal while Alexandra Costa plays clarinet on Sept. 20.
Drama students Alvaro Hernandez, left, and Parker Rose, right, practice combat blocking during rehearsal on Sept. 21.
Vietnam relived through Haggin exhibition BY ALAN SOLORIO LEON Staff Writer
An elderly man stands frightened and shocked, looking at Nick Ut’s iconic image of 9-year-old Kim Phuc running naked down Route 1 near Trang Bang after aerial attacks were launched on suspected Viet-Cong hideouts in the Vietnam War. “This picture stood out the most to me,” said 84-year-old Navy vet Jerry Dimas. “When it comes to war the children suffer the most. The Vietnam war was a useless war, though we fought for Democracy and capitalism against communism, there didn’t have to be so much violence.” Jerry did not serve in the Vietnam war but his brother, Rick Dimas, did. It was Rick who told him about the exhibit and recommended him to visit it. “Absolutely,” said Dimas, when asked if the exhibit pays enough homage to the war. “The photos are beautifully shown...they describe everything my
brother told me.” The photo of 9-year-old Kim is one of the many Associated Press photographs of the “Real War: Vietnam” on display at the Haggin Museum. The exhibit shows 50 large-format photographs taken by the photojournalists that were gathered by the Associated Press to cover the war live and is free of charge to veterans “to show our appreciation and to honor those who served.” The exhibit is organized by the Huntsville museum that travels it around the country. “The exhibit is important to help keep the past alive,” according to Haggin Museum CEO Susan Obert. “When we look at our temporary schedule exhibits we try to balance art and history and we felt that it would tell a story in history that sometimes is forgotten and for us doing it through the photography of the Associated Press is a great way to get that word out, so the history is not forgotten,”she said. So why
should people come and visit this exhibit? “(The exhibit shows) very serious content,” said Obert. “It can be difficult for some people to see but I think we have learned as a society that we need to learn from our history and I think it reminds us of both the good and bad of humanity and the role we play in our society. It’s just one glimpse of it, but it’s the reality of something that happened and it is important that people don’t forget it.” Stockton resident Ana Laura, 44, agreed. “I think it’s very cool to have an exhibit as nice and descriptive as this one here in Stockton that shows me about a war I know little about,” said Laura. “It’s a great exhibit to show anyone from any range about how these people reacted and suffered during the Vietnam war.” The exhibit runs until Oct. 31, is open Wednesday through Friday from 1:30 to 5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. Admission for students from the age of 10-17 with a valid ID is $5 and adults from 18-64 is $8.
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Delta’s Robert Hinojosa catches the ball on right field as Reedley’s Jahmere LaSane tries to deflect the pass during the Sept.4 season opener. PHOTO BY DAVID VICTOR
Football makes return after 21 months BY BRYAN RAMOS Staff Writer
After the COVID-19 pandemic caused sports to be shuttered nationwide, football is finally back at Delta College. But like everything else, it has changed. The football rosters have had some significant changes this year because of the pandemic, which led to departures of some football players and arrivals of other football players. “Kids who were going to
be sophomores still went to school and finished up their AA’s,” said Mustangs football head coach Gary Barlow. “This year’s team is predominantly freshmen.” The team prepared for the season online. “We had to utilize Zoom and did meetings and asynchronous workouts,” said Barlow. “We also utilized an app called TeamBuilder, where we could assign workouts, drills, footwork, agility, lifting routines.” The Mustangs started the
season with a 27-14 loss at home to Reedley College on Sept. 4. The team matches up against Reedley again on Oct. 2 for an away game. The Mustangs football sought redemption at Shasta, but lost a second game 42-27. The Mustangs also lost 40-19 against College of the Sequoias on Sept. 18. The 19 points for Delta College were scored all during the game’s second quarter. Even with three losses, the team still has high hopes for
the season. Outside and middle backer Princeton Abel has a great feeling about the season and thinks the team can progress if they unite as one. “If we do just that one thing it will change the path of our whole season. I believe that the more locked in we are at practice, the better the outcome will be for us on weekends,” Abel said. “We have a whole squad full of talented players and I’m so thankful for that.”
Mustang defensive tackle Adrian Figueroa said the team learns from each game after the third loss. “The three losses this season never affected our morale, we bettered from them,” said Adrian Figueroa. “Even though we’re having a rough start this season we always stand with pride and our heads up high and most importantly we learn from our mistakes, become more intense at practice and prepare for the next game.”
Women’s soccer opens long-awaited season each day that we get together is huge,” said Sorenson. As the 2021 season gets underway, the women’s soccer team seeks to continue earning its place as one of the most competitive teams in the state. Expectations for the team remain high after excelling in the 2019 season. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mustangs won the Big 8 Conference title with an undefeated conference record of 150-1 and reached the final four of the CCCAA State Championship. The Mustangs are also coming off of five preseason victories in which they’ve scored 28 goals The Mustangs celebrate a goal scored by Kaamna Shankar in Delta’s Sept. 7 game against Cabrillo. and only conceded one. PHOTO BY DAVID VICTOR Despite the preseason results, Sorenson thinks More than just being excited about her team is far from peaking. BY DAVID VICTOR 2021, head coach Adrienne Sorenson Editor-in-Chief “I think this team isn’t close to peakwill confront this season with a sense of ing yet. We have a long way to go in Delta’s women’s soccer team has gratitude as her team resumes competi- terms of what we are capable of,” said opened its season and is looking forward tion for the first time since the end of Sorenson. “We’re taking it each day as to this year after the COVID-19 pan- 2019. it comes trying to be our best each day, “We need to be grateful for every but I definitely believe this team has the demic forced the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) single game that we get because of what potential to go as far as they set their we’ve been through, being grateful for minds to.” to cancel all competition in 2020.
This team consists of returning sophomores who decided to stay an extra year after the pandemic reduced their options to transfer to a four-year college. Among these sophomores is forward Jasmin Mejia who was on the 2019 squad that reached the final four. This season she wants to take advantage of the fact she’s staying an extra year to win a state title. “My expectations are to make it to the final four again, and this time I want to win the state championship,” said Mejia. Forward Dayana Hernandez is another sophomore from the 2019 season, during which she scored 15 goals and gave nine assists. She claims that the team is motivated for this season after being unable to play last year. “It’s like so much more motivation, like everybody wants it, we all want to win,” said Hernandez. Peer support is an important part of the team and its head coach considers it the most valuable virtue the group has. “We’re very together, the group comradery is amazing. They really pull for each other both on and off the field and that is fantastic for us,” said Sorenson. The Mustangs have three preseason games left against Butte, Evergreen Valley and Diablo Valley before the team makes its Big 8 Conference debut at home on Oct. 5 against Santa Rosa.