The Inquirer Dec. 2024

What’s Inside...

Campus News – Pages 2-4 Local News – Page 5 Features – Page 6-7 Opinions – Pages 8-9 Sports – Page 12 December 5, 2024

Volume LXXV, Issue VI

Hey ChatGPT, Come Up With a Compelling Headline for My Article About Plagiarism

By GAGE WALKER Generative AI chatbots are becoming a ubiquitous part of higher education, whether you’re a student trying to brainstorm for your midterm English paper or asking ChatGPT to answer your discussion post for you. One thing is clear: these chatbots are here to stay, and their capabilities will only improve with continued development.

According to an online Study.com survey, 48 percent of students nationwide admitted to using ChatGPT for an at-home test or quiz, 53 percent used it to write an essay, and 22 percent used it to write an outline for a paper.

But not everybody is on board with the growing trend of AI-assisted education. As professors learn to cope with the effects of this technology on teaching and learning, many are still trying to decide whether to fight it or learn to make it part of the curriculum.

“I don’t feel like AI has any positive use in the classroom,” said Chris Rasmussen, a humanities professor at Diablo Valley College whose in-class policy prohibits all AI use.

“I have no interest in reading how a computer transforms a student’s work into something more coherent or legible. I am only interested in the student’s work.”

Rasmussen, who uses the AI- and

plagiarism-detection program turnitin.com, said he sees artificial intelligence shaping if not outright creating his students’ work regularly. But that doesn’t make the technology any more legitimate in the classroom.

“Academic dishonesty is born out of laziness and usually not done very well,” added Rasmussen. “I’m not a luddite, I like technology, [and] I like to use technology in the classroom.

But this is one of those things where I think it’s not constructive. It’s actually

probably destructive most of the time.”

Rasmussen is not alone in his pushback. Many professors at DVC are trying different methods to avoid the use of AI in their classes, such as requiring that all writing be

Illustration by Edda Morazan

done in person during class time.

Dr. Jacob Van Vleet, a philosophy professor at DVC, told The Inquirer, “Instead of longer writing assignments [that are] due at the end of the semester that students write at home, I have students do shorter in-class writing assignments.”

He also added that he is seeing AI plagiarism more often in his online classes than in his in-person classes, and this is part of why he is moving away from online teaching.

Meanwhile, others are structuring early semester assignments as bait, dangling them in front of students with prompts that would fit well into AI generators. Because professors are aware of commonly generated responses, they say they can easily catch students cheating with AI. “I’m definitely seeing [ChatGPT],” Rasmussen said. “You don’t have to be a genius to spot plagiarism, even without Turnitin or other plagiarism detection systems.” However, not all professors agree with this sentiment.

According to Rasmussen, instructors feel this method is effective because if they can flag a student early enough in the term, the student won’t miss out on too many assignments that severely impact their grade, and quickly learn the lesson that academic dishonesty is not tolerated in the class.

“I talked to my colleagues, and they all have different ways of thinking about this and approaching it,” said Rasmussen.

“A lot of them are just doing inclass writing assignments, which is okay, but frankly that’s not much of See AI, page 11

DVC Economics Professor Elected Mayor of Vallejo

By NATE WENDLING Andrea Sorce, an economics professor at Diablo Valley College, can now add another title to her name: Mayor of the City of Vallejo.

Sorce won her mayoral race by a narrow margin earlier last month after her main opponent, Pippin Dew, conceded on Thursday, November 7. Sorce built her campaign around tackling public safety and police reform, as well as creating a more transparent government and putting the interests of the community first.

On Nov. 22, she sat down for an interview with The Inquirer to discuss her campaign and her mission as she prepares to move into the mayoral role in January.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Nate Wendling: What is the feeling, now that you have won the election and you’re the new mayor of Vallejo?

Andrea Sorce: Yeah, it’s still sinking in. At the broadest level, it’s exciting. I decided to run for office because I saw a need for change, and I saw this beautiful city with beautiful people that had a government that really wasn’t working for folks. And I ran for office to

try to bring about positive change, and knowing that now I’m in a position to do something is a wonderful feeling.

The response has been incredible. It was a close, hard-fought race, and people are really excited because I think it was at first seen as a long shot bid— you know, going up against the establishment—and winning has really given people a lot of positive energy.

Even going out in the community, I still think of myself as myself, but people think of me now as the mayor-elect. I went to some Veterans Day events and met some Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and they were so excited to meet the mayor. It takes a minute to sort of realize that, yeah, this is something that I now have. I have the ability to work with people and impact people in a way that I didn’t before. It’s exciting.

NW: What’s it like having people put faith in you to help the City of Vallejo?

AS: There’s a deep sense of responsibility. I think that’s the big thing. I’ve been following the local government now for many years and have a sense of the changes that I want to make, and I see sort of two things. I think we have to change systems, and I want to be a

culture carrier, to try to change the culture in the city [and] how we do business. Then, of course, there’s policy issues that we are going to have to tackle. We’re not going to be able to bring about change overnight. And so for me, the sense of responsibility I have is to be as transparent and inclusive as possible in working with the community, to communicate what we’re doing, what we’re able to do, [and] the timelines we’re looking at. Because yeah, people have put their faith in me, and even if I can’t deliver on everything immediately, I need to create systems where folks feel heard, they feel that the government’s being more responsive, and that their concerns are valid.

NW: Talking about the things you want to accomplish, what would be one of the first objectives to pinpoint as soon as you get into office?

AS: [For] the culture and system, I’m looking at how the mayor’s office communicates with the public, and how the city council meetings are framed and engage with the public. And I would like to create more channels for communication, updates and ways to increase participation. That’s an initial goal—

Courtesy of Andrea Sorce

that’s a first hundred days, you know, [looking at] how do we engage people on critical issues and create good, regular methods of communication where we can really be fair to everybody.

And then issue-wise, I think for Vallejo it has to be public safety. There’s a lot of issues we have to tackle right away, but dealing with the public safety crisis is number one. And so I’m really looking at creating a task force out of the mayor’s office to bring different agencies together, and networking and lobbying to the governor’s office to try and get California Highway Patrol support for Vallejo. That’s a huge top priority for me.

See Mayor, page 10

2 The Inquirer December 5, 2024

DVC Fights Student Hunger in Partnership with Food Bank

By DIEGO RUIZ-SAGRERO For students at Diablo Valley College, balancing school, work, sports, extracurriculars and other personal responsibilities can be a daily struggle. Worrying about food, especially if you’re on a tight budget, can make it even more challenging to focus on classes.

The DVC Food Pantry, in partnership with the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano, is committed to filling the gaps. The pantry is a campus resource that provides free groceries to all enrolled students, whereas CalFresh, known for providing food stamps, has eligibility requirements around income and family size.

A 2018 RealCollege survey reported that 68 percent of students enrolled at DVC experienced a form of basic food insecurity. The food pantry opened that same year, and the impact became quickly evident. RealCollege’s follow-up survey in 2023 showed the percentage of students experiencing food insecurity had dropped by almost half, to 36 percent.

There are other factors that may have contributed to the decline, but the food pantry’s presence likely played a key role in alleviating food insecurity.

Every semester, the pantry hosts two Free Produce Days, during which the patio of the Student Union becomes a mini-farmers market

with a wide selection of fresh produce for students to take home.

At a recent Free Produce Day, some students said the pantry gives them support they didn’t expect they would need.

“I never thought I would need help with food, but the pantry has

Organizers of the counties’ food bank said the goal of their partnership with DVC isn’t just to supply food, but to make sure they are providing goods that students enjoy and that align with their needs.

“The pantry orders food through our

Courtesy of JP Contreras The Food Bank partners with DVC’s Food Pantry to provide free groceries to students.

been a lifesaver,” shared one student, who preferred to remain anonymous. “At first, I felt embarrassed.

But now I’m more comfortable knowing it’s here for supporting students.”

Another student at a Free Produce Day anonymously shared their gratitude for the assistance it provided for their family.

“It really helps to fill in those gaps, especially for grocery shopping for my family,” the student said.

agency portal, allowing them to select specific items they know their students need, from snacks to fresh produce,” said JP Contreras, a CalFresh outreach coordinator employed by the Food Bank.

The outreach coordinators also help students apply for programs such as CalFresh, California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which gives eligible individuals a monthly electronic benefit card (EBT)

that can be used to buy certain food items.

Contreras and Bryan Espinoza, another CalFresh coordinator at the Food Bank, understand the stigma some students feel when applying for programs like these.

“When I was a college student, I struggled with buying groceries myself,” Espinoza said. “I wish I’d known about CalFresh back then.”

On Free Produce Days and Pizza on the Patio days, the workers said they try to deal with students’ misconceptions about the food programs, emphasizing that the resources are there to support students and allow them to focus on school.

“We pass out brochures with general info, and students can text us if they have questions. We want them to feel comfortable,” Contreras said.

Even with all of the outreach efforts, some students still expressed worry that by accepting food aid, they are taking resources away from others who need it more.

But, “that kind of thinking can actually harm the system in the long run,” Contreras added, because “if fewer people use a resource, the funding might be cut in the future, affecting everyone’s access.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, waivers were in place that expanded accessibility to CalFresh, but many of these allowances have since expired. This has See Food, page 10

Scholarships Renamed in Honor of DVC Alum and Alum Associate

By TORI PEARSON The DVC Foundation will be renaming two $1,000 scholarships for students in English and Journalism at Diablo Valley College.

Peter Zaballos, the founder of Diamante Scholars, a program that aids high school students with their transition to DVC, made the announcement on Oct. 25 following a Q&A event on campus where Frank Mallicoat, KTVU Fox 2 news anchor, interviewed award-winning author and DVC alum Daniel James Brown.

This event was hosted by the DVC Alumni Association in honor of the college’s 75th anniversary.

The scholarships are named in honor of the two men. The Daniel James Brown Scholarship will be awarded to an English student who “demonstrates both a passion for literature and a commitment to excellence,” said Thomas Martin, who works in the development office at the foundation.

“This scholarship is a tribute to Mr. Brown’s outstanding contributions

as an author, alumnus, and inspiration to the DVC community,” he said.

During the Q&A, which took place before a packed audience at the school’s Forum, Brown discussed his life journey from overcoming his crippling anxiety as a teenager to moving forward and becoming a DVC student.

Brown later earned English degrees, finishing his undergraduate work at UC Berkeley and his graduate studies at UCLA. From there, he embarked on a decade-long teaching career, splitting his 10 years evenly between San Jose State University and Stanford University. He then spent 15 years as an editor at technology companies like Computer Curriculum Corporation and Microsoft.

Brown ultimately returned to his love of literature, and in 2006 he published his first book, Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. From there, he would write three critically acclaimed novels.

His most popular book, The Boys in the Boat, centers around nine young men who won the men’s eight rowing

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event for the United States in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a film directed by George Clooney and released last Christmas.

During the event’s discussion Brown said, “None of what made my professional life so rewarding would have happened without DVC.” The second scholarship announced at the event is the Frank Mallicoat Journalism Scholarship, which will be awarded to “support a deserving journalism stu-

dent” who pursues a career in the field.

Mallicoat, a UC Berkeley alumni whose two sisters attended DVC in the 1970s, refers to himself as the “Swiss Army knife” at KTVU Fox 2 News, where he has worked in a variety of broadcast roles and platforms for the past 40 years.

Predominantly, Mallicoat specializes in covering the sports beat, and is the station’s on-air news anchor on weekend mornings.

See Scholarhips, page 11

Courtesy of Charley Daly with the DVC Alumni Association Author and DVC alum Daniel James Brown (left) speaks with KTVU news anchor Frank Mallicoat.

Staff Writers Colin Dalvand, Olivia Delucchi, Elizabeth Flinn, Jaden Montano, Jasmine Naemi, Tori Pearson, Ella Potts, Carla Rivera, Diego Ruiz-Sagrero, Gage Walker, Nate Wendling Editor-in-Chief Alyssa DuFresne Layout Designer Alyssa DuFresne Social Media Team Olivia Delucchi, Ella Potts, Carla Rivera, Tori Pearson, Jasmine Naemi Advisor Michael Levitin

To send a Letter to the Editor or to get in touch with other queries, contact: INQUIRER@DVC.EDU | WWW.DVCINQUIRER.COM

December 5, 2024

The Inquirer

3

Rarest Bird in Continental U.S. Returns to East Bay Celebrating

Thankfulness

By ELIZABETH FLINN

Almost 40 years ago, the California condor – the largest soaring bird in North America, boasting a wingspan of nine to 10 feet – became extinct in the wild, as the 22 surviving birds were taken into captivity in a last attempt to save the species. Roughly half a century before that, condors had disappeared from the Bay Area altogether, decimated by lead poisoning and other threats.

But now, thanks to extensive conservation efforts, more than 300 condors fly free in the wild – and for the fourth year, they have returned to the East Bay on an “aerial tour.”

“The condor story has wings,” said Seth Adams, land conservation director at the environmental nonprofit Save Mount Diablo, based in Walnut Creek. “It’s soaring, it’s inspiring, it’s all kinds of things.”

On Aug. 18, 2024, seven condors from the central California flock soared north over Alameda and Contra Costa counties, circling Mount Diablo and nearby areas for three hours.

The group was a mix of three wildhatched condors and four that were raised in zoos and conservation centers before being released. They ranged in age from three to eight years old, and like all condors, the colored and numbered tags on their wings identified them as individuals.

“I’ve been monitoring condors for nearly 20 years, and it’s wonderful to see groups of them exploring further north in the Diablo Range every sum-

By JADEN MONTANO

Photo by Joseph Belli Condors flock at Pinnacles National Park. The birds tagged as numbers 12 and 86 were among those which flew to the Diablo Range on August 18, 2024.

mer for the past four years,” said Alacia Welch, the condor program manager at Pinnacles National Park, in a statement released by Save Mount Diablo.

Because condors are still critically endangered – Ventana Wildlife Society counts 561 living condors in the world, of which 344 are wild and 101 reside in central California – scientists have fitted each condor with a radio transmitter to allow location tracking.

Some also have GPS tags, which allow for more precise tracking but require expensive subscriptions to operate.

“We would rarely know of these long-range flights if it weren’t for the GPS transmitters on some of the condors,” Welch added.

Adams said that Save Mount Diablo has helped fund GPS tags for condors partly to test a theory that

condors would explore the vast open spaces of the Diablo Range.

“Condors prefer intact habitat,” said Adams, and the Diablo Range is rich with it, serving as a haven for many rare plants and animals.

He added that while mature condors tend to stick to an established territory, juveniles under eight years old are more likely to explore further.

That is especially encouraging because 2024 has been a “banner year” for condor nesting, so more young condors will be ready to fledge in the near future. As of September 2024, the central California flock has hatched a record nine wild-born nestlings according to the National Park Service, and on Nov. 6 an additional six captive-bred young birds were released into the wild See Condors, page 11

California Launches New Climate Initiative

By NATE WENDLING During Climate Week NYC in late September, California Gov. Gavin Newson announced a new initiative to mobilize a million Californians in the fight against climate change. The plan, called Climate Action Counts, aims to unite people through everyday actions that can collectively impact the climate.

“The main goal is simply to inspire and empower Californians to take climate action, at home and together in their neighborhoods and communities, and to send a message that when it comes to climate change, we are not powerless,” Josh Fryday, the chief service officer of California volunteers in the governor’s office, said in an interview with The Inquirer.

“There is something that each and every one of us can do to be a part of the solution, and if we are going to meet California’s big goals, we actually need Californians to take action.”

According to the governor’s press release, the initiative educates people particularly around the impacts they can have as volunteers in their community.

“Every day, Californians are taking small actions that collectively are helping us create a better world for our kids and grandkids,” Newsom said in a statement. “From saving water and planting trees to taking public transit and being disaster ready – we’re all in this together.”

He added, “The Climate Action Counts campaign will empower

Californians to be a part of some- ing on board to lend their help thing big and impactful – making all to ongoing community actions. of our climate action truly count.”

“The best solutions to the climate Four years ago, the state launched crisis come from the grassroots,” the California Climate Action Corps, Corley Kenna, the vice president the country’s first statewide cli- of communications and public polmate program committed to “scal- icy at the clothing Patagonia, said ing and mobilizing” people to in a statement supporting the plan. take action, according to Fryday. Organizers of the state camAfter California paved the way, 12 paign also plan to expand in the other states followed suit and creat- future by partnering with univered their own climate corps. Earlier sities, businesses and nonprofits. this year, the Biden administration “We are going to continue to bring announced a nationwide American in new partners, we’re going to conClimate Corps built on that model. tinue to think creatively about how The Climate Action Counts cam- to reach people in their communipaign is seen as a way to supercharge ties and make it easy,” said Fryday. what has already been built through the Regardless of the direction the state’s climate corps, and engage more federal government goes on clipeople in the process, Fryday said. mate change in 2025, and beyond, “Californians know that climate is California doesn’t plan to back real, it’s not academic, we’re living it down in its approach to the crisis. every day and they want to know what “California has bold climate initiathey can do that’s meaningful,” he said. tives, policies and goals and we’re not The campaign lists 10 simple “pri- going to pull back from those,” said ority actions” that Californians can Fryday. “As long as we have those bold take to help do their part, including goals, we are going to need Californians reducing waste, composting, sign- to step up in their communities and help.” ing up to volunteer in their communities, and more. Solutions can be as easy as composting food scraps, creating one’s own garden, or even buying from a local farmers market.

“The whole goal is to make it easy for people to understand how they can make a difference on climate,” said Fryday.

Large companies are also comCourtesy of California Volunteers

On Tuesday, November 26, Diablo Valley College hosted its second annual Thankfulness Potluck, aimed at gathering the community and spreading gratitude among students, faculty and staff.

Organized by the Math and Engineering Student Center, the celebration took place in room LC 206, and everyone was welcomed.

Concha Gomez, a math professor and faculty lead for the Math and Engineering Center, emphasized that the celebration is not about Thanksgiving in the traditional holiday sense, but about giving and sharing thanks.

“We’re encouraging anyone to bring a dish to share, but we’ve made it clear that they’re not expected to bring anything related to American Thanksgiving,” Gomez explained.

“We think that gratitude is a more inclusive theme for a celebration.”

Last year’s event saw over 50 attendees, and this year organizers were expecting upwards of 75 participants. With a focus on connection and community, Gomez noted, “I believe that every student should have a ‘home’ on campus, and this is our way of inviting students to find theirs in our student center.”

“We’re hoping that students will feel more connected to the college if they see the humanity of DVC faculty and staff and how much we care about them,” Gomez added.

While the event did not directly address the history of U.S. colonization, Gomez acknowledged that the school can do more to uplift indigenous voices and recognize this important aspect of American history.

Gomez pointed out that, although the celebration revolves around themes of gratitude and generosity, the educational narratives surrounding Thanksgiving often gloss over the painful realities of colonization.

In many K-12 schools in the U.S., the story of Thanksgiving is taught as a harmonious gathering between Native Americans and Pilgrims, emphasizing themes of cooperation and benevolence.

This portrayal overshadows the horrific history of colonization that followed, including the treatment of indigenous peoples and the lasting impacts on their cultures and communities.

At the recent Thankfulness event held on campus, attendees experienced a welcoming atmosphere among staff, students, and their family.

Amber Esquivel, a civil engineering major, said, “My family and I decided to go so I can show them a little more around the campus.” Despite not bringing a dish to share, Esquivel noted, “There was plenty of food for us.”

Students like Esquivel are hopeful for an even stronger turnout next year.

4 The Inquirer December 5, 2024

Award-Winning Author Héctor Tobar Discusses Race and Latino Identity

By CARLA RIVERA and ALYSSA DUFRESNE In late October, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Héctor Tobar visited Diablo Valley College to discuss his most recent book, Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino,” which came out in May 2023.

“This book that I wrote, Our Migrant Souls, is building on a very deep intellectual tradition, which is the tradition of writing about race in the United States,” Tobar told the audience of students assembled by English professor and Puente Program co-coordinator Anthony Gonzales.

At the event, Puente students were invited to discuss their take-away from Tobar’s book.

Edwin Hernandez, a computer engineering major, expressed gratitude to Tobar for writing his book, which he said taught him a great deal about his own history and heritage.

Hernnadez shared his own father’s personal journey from the Sonoran Desert of Mexico to the U.S. in the effort to better provide for his family.

“They have missed lots of life experiences in order to give me the life I have now,” Hernandez said, describ-

ing the sacrifices of not only his parents, but of many other immigrant parents who dropped out of school and worked endlessly to provide their children a life they had only dreamed of.

Not only do Latino immigrants work to provide their families better opportunities, but they also play an essential role Latinos play in America, Tobar said. “We all know that this country does not eat without Latino labor.”

The focus of Tobar’s talk, and book, revolved around a question of identity and a re-evaluation of the notion of race.

“What does it mean to be Latino?”

Tobar asked. For much of American history, he said, the answer has been out of the hands of Latinos.

“People think that because of our origins, our biological origins, we have certain qualities,” Tobar said. “One of the first things I learned… in my fifties, is that race has no basis in science.”

Tobar, a second-generation Guatemalan immigrant, shared that his parents’ race is listed as Caucasian on his birth certificate because in the 1960s, the U.S. government had not standardized the use of the terms Hispanic or Latino.

That doesn’t mean scientists studied or analyzed DNA, To-

bar explained, but rather that being Latino means having a “racial relationship” with the United States.

“Latino is a story of an empire,” said Tobar. “Behind the idea of Latino identity there is the border.”

Tobar clarified that race is an idea, and racist ideas, which frame types of people in a certain way, justify inequality. “We’re just all different shades of brown, but white and black are real ideas in our society, because they’re from a way of thinking, of creating ideas of inequality,” he said.

Tobar referenced Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, the week before the presidential election, at which comedian speaker Tony Hincliffe mocked and made degrading assumptions about the people of Puerto Rico.

Tobar also addressed racism in the representation of Latino people in entertainment media, noting the unflattering association between Latino characters and cartels in TV shows.

Tobar said that some white American writers, angry about economic inequality, project their frustration with corporations onto drug cartels and scapegoat Latinos in the process.

Tobar added that the non-Hispan-

Photo by Carla Rivera

ic screenwriters of such shows and movies typically choose “authentic” names for their characters. “There’s too many José’s. So Hector – because it sounds exotic,” Tobar added jokingly.

These reflections enabled Tobar to criticize the idea of race. “That’s how my book came to be,” he said. “It’s an assimilation of this attempt by many scholars to fight back against the prejudice and stereotypes that exist against us.”

Sharing a passage from his book, Tobar read, “Our collective origin story is a million unfilmed soap operas and a million unproduced ‘Hamlets.’”

“We are our history,” he added.

BSU Showcases Student Talent at ‘Rhythm & Roots’ Event

By ALYSSA DUFRESNE The energy in the Diablo Room was electric. The snaps, claps, and hoots of laughter conjured an atmosphere reminiscent of a family reunion, thawing the students’ timidity as they let their raw talent shine.

This scene was a snapshot of the premiere Rhythm & Roots talent show, organized by Diablo Valley College’s Black Student Union (BSU) on the evening of Nov. 6.

Open to all DVC students, the event featured a variety of student performances, including spoken word poetry, an improvised praise dance and a duet by DVC basketball players.

Sophomore Deiondre Durham dazzled the audience with his tortured love poem, “King of Sorrow,” a semi-autobiographical narrative about navigating trauma and love as a young man growing up in San Francisco’s housing projects.

“It felt relieving just to be able to let go of some of my feelings or emotions,” said Durham, 25, who decided to share his poem after watching his friend Kristen Freeman receive a warm reception upon reading her own poem. He added that it helped to have a supportive audience that might be able to appreciate or relate to the story.

Deiondre Durham (bottom center) dazzled the room with an original poem. (Courtesy of BSU)

“It’s kind of like an insulated, secular thing,” Durham said, referring to BSU. “Nothing else matters besides whatever it is that you guys are doing in that room. It’s like the whole world goes silent while the voices in the room are amplified.”

BSU President Brianna Woodcock said the club organized the event to help students unwind and express themselves without fear of judgement.

“Since, I want to say, the first week of school, everyone’s been saying how much of a workload they have on their plate, whether it’s school, work, personal life,” said Woodcock, a 26-year-old dance major. “We wanted to just concentrate on creating and hosting events that will help people forget about all of that, even if it is just for a few moments.”

As BSU members rocked out to “FDT,” a diss of Donald Trump by rapper YG, they let the music, laughter and applause drown out any turbulent feelings provoked by the election results announced that very morning.

The timing was coincidental, ​​ Woodcock said, but the event wound up pro-

viding a place of healing and support.

“I’ve received text messages saying, ‘I didn’t realize how much that election stressed me out and how much I needed this relief and just needed to be in a safe space or with other people that I feel like will actually be there for me,’ and protect them during these hard times,” Woodcock said.

Throughout the evening, the floor opened up for spontaneous dance numbers and group karaoke to songs like “Can You Stand the Rain.” Student soloists also performed songs such as “Rise Up” by Andra Day and “Almost There” from Disney’s Princess and the Frog.

The event shined a spotlight not only on performative talent but also on literary ingenuity, featuring a lineup of original spoken word poetry.

Jayden Adams-Thomas, the founder and former president of the BSU club at DVC, read his poem “Sankofa.” Before beginning, he explained how the title and theme of the poem derived from an African proverb about letting the past inform the future.

One student shared an original

song and said he found the event enabled him to expand his fanbase and network with other musicians.

“I wasn’t expecting anyone to use this platform to release their music,” Woodcock said after the gathering. “And he was able to get new fans and new people interested in his music, and be able to even collab with some other people from the bay that do music as well.”

For Durham, who performed spoken-word poetry, the opportunity to share his personal craft with fellow BSU members for the first time was liberating. A computer science and physics double-major, Durham said writing poetry has played a big role in his life since he was six years old.

“I have ADHD, so sometimes I struggle with processing my thoughts when speaking and stuff like that,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to put things on paper and decipher it.”

Having been part of BSU in both high school and DVC, Durham recognized the benefits of connecting to a community on campus.

“I think that spaces like [BSU] are needed for everybody, like all creeds, colors and studies,” he said.

Given the event’s success, club leaders said they hope to make Rhythm & Roots a BSU tradition in the coming semesters at DVC. As he pursues degrees in the STEM field, Durham said he plans to continue writing for personal fulfillment, and he encouraged other students to do the same with their own hobbies.

“Don’t let your passions or dreams take the back seat to anything,” Durham said. “Just continue to chase them until your legs hurt. When your legs hurt, shoot, start to crawl, keep going after it.”

December 5, 2024

The Inquirer

5

Post-Election Discussion Explores Politics and Media Literacy

By ALYSSA DUFRESNE Following the November election that declared the presidential victory of Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, the DVC Social Justice program organized a panel discussion and Q&A session on Nov. 14 to address students’ concerns and queries regarding the election results.

A panel of five professors and a local immigration attorney shared their interpretation of the election results and how to move forward. The first two speakers discussed politics and media literacy while the remaining four emphasized the importance of community and resilience in the wake of the election.

The moderator, political science professor Dr. Albert Ponce, described the event as an opportunity to “analyze the ways that race, class divisions, gender, patriarchy, mis-/disinformation and critical media literacy are in dire need in the age of Trumpism.”

Before turning the microphone over to the panelists, Ponce reaffirmed the program’s fight against censorship and called for the immediate reinstatement of Asad Kabir, a Contra Costa College philosophy professor who has been suspended for sending district-wide emails expressing solidarity with Palestine.

“We stand with him and others who are arbitrarily targeted specifically for speaking and teaching about injustice the world over,” said Ponce, who co-directs the Social Justice program.

“Threats to our own academic freedom to do what we do here will intensify. “We know that. We’re ready.”

Ponce’s comments about the constraints on academic freedom and human rights reverberated in the remarks of the first speaker, Mickey Huff.

Huff, a history professor who helped revitalize and previously chaired the DVC Journalism Department, presented an analysis from the intersection of political science, education, and media analysis.

“The reason that this [election result] isn’t terribly surprising to those of us who really pay close attention to the intersections of media corporatism and politics is because for the last 50 years we’ve had a corporate culture that has captured the public commons: education [and] the Fourth Estate,” said Huff, who also directs Project Censored, a self-described media watchdog and critical media literacy organization.

Overtaken by the “professional managerial class,” Huff said the higher education system is “more concerned about numbers and metrics than what we’re actually teaching or learning.”

To remedy this, he proposed that academic institutions integrate social justice with history and offer critical media literacy, which teaches individuals to analyze bias, disinformation and corporate ownership of the press.

Taking a critical lens to the media, Huff analyzed how the press fueled political polarization in the lead-up to the election. He noted that shadow banning, social media curation algorithms and partisan bias in mainstream media have intensified ideological divisions.

“[The corporate media] pits people into different camps of Team Red and Team Blue that attack each other and talk past each other,” he said. “This hyperpartisanship and fragmented media landscape is not serving the public interest.”

Huff said the Harris campaign failed to rally enough progressive voters, because her platform upheld a similar center-right agenda as the Biden administration and catered more to conservatives than to progressives, especially regarding foreign policy and the border.

“The criticism of the campaign that somehow they were too woke is laughable,” he said. “They were campaigning with former war criminals.”

expanded upon by the following speaker, Nolan Higdon, a professor of media literacy and journalism at DVC and University of California, Santa Cruz.

Like Huff, Higdon said he found the election results upsetting but not surprising.

In order to learn from the election, Higdon supported the assessment of blame, but made it clear that this didn’t equate to singling out or scapegoating particular voting demographics. Instead, he said, “We need to talk about the real people who have power in this country.

That’s who needs to take the blame.”

Higdon criticized the capitalist elitism of the Democratic Party and

Photo by Alyssa DuFresne

Huff also noted inconsistencies in the Harris campaign, pointing out that she reversed her position on inflation and border policy. He also asserted that Harris lost the support of key voting demographics when she circumvented the genocide in Palestine and underestimated the economic concerns of the working class.

Huff cautioned the audience on Project 2025, the agenda formed by conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and associated with the Trump administration. “[Trump] is in the process of already nominating many people that have been associated with those very draconian and right-leaning policies that go against the public interest,” Huff said.

“But this also mirrors some of the problems with the campaign we just got out of with the Democrats,” he added, noting their neoconservative coalition and their decision to forgo a presidential primary upon Biden’s withdrawal from the election race.

Moving forward, Huff stressed the importance of independent news outlets, critical media literacy and social justice education. Huff also encouraged the audience to engage in constructive dialogue with people across the political spectrum.

“I know that it seems sometimes impossible in our society, especially in another contentious election year,” Huff said. “But I think that the alternative – of either ignoring these types of issues or trying to attack them or going into denial – I don’t think any of those things are actually useful. In fact, they end up causing more long-term harm.”

As a nation, Huff said, “We need to really get serious about corporate capture of our institutions. We need to get serious about having news media in the public interest. And we need to get serious about human rights for all.”

“This is not a time to mourn; it’s a time to organize.”

These sentiments were shared and

said the public has consistently rejected its neoliberal agenda in favor of the populist campaigns of Barack Obama in 2008, Bernie Sanders in 2015, and Donald Trump in 2015.

But when Trump won the 2016 presidential race after campaigning as the populist icon of the Republican Party, the Democrats attacked and blamed the political left for their loss.

Estranged from their party, Democratic populist voters joined the Republican Party. Rather than learn from its mistakes, Higdon said, the Democratic Party continued its non-revolutionary, neoliberal policies of the Biden administration, once again driving voters to the Republican ranks.

“I am skeptical, to say the least, that Trump will deliver on these goals that he promises for working people,” Higdon said. “But what does concern me is there is a dearth of organization amongst the left. If you looked at that electoral map, all I saw was, this is what happens when you have a left that’s individualized, that’s market-driven, that’s focused on career or getting their credentials.”

He called for fellow college and university instructors to question the neoliberal ideals that are embedded into higher education institutions.

“I think the very fact that so many of us normalized our administration censoring political messages on email is a prime example of that,” Higdon said.

“That very same administrator will send out messages about Black Lives Matter and Ukraine, but, all of a sudden, when someone sent out messages about the Palestinians, it was like, ‘We need to shut this shit down. This is official school business. Please stop sending that email,’” Higdon said.

“That’s the exact type of hypocrisy that runs in neoliberal spaces such as this.”

Beyond academic neoliberalism and censorship, Higdon called out the media coverage of the presidential candidates, noting that while lib-

eral news sites rightfully discussed Trump’s problematic qualities, (including racist rhetoric, sexist behavior and dozens of felony charges) they concealed Harris’ shortcomings with enthusiastic coverage of her exuberance, humor, and “good vibes.”

Higdon also discussed how the Harris campaign also bungled their voter outreach and mobilization efforts among podcast listeners.

“That’s where the audiences are at.

Donald Trump was reaching those audiences. Harris is not the podcast-type politician,” Higdon said, adding that the Harris campaign avoided leftist podcasts that criticized Democratic policies and rhetoric.

Higdon also argued that the Democratic Party was racist and sexist in its own way by spotlighting Vice President Harris only as a political icon for women of color. Then, after throwing her into a presidential race with only 100 days to make up the 400 electoral votes which Biden was predicted to have lost, Democratic strategists considered nominating only white men for a better chance to win future elections.

“There’s nothing more racist and sexist than that,” Higdon said.

During the Q&A session that followed the panel discussion, one student expressed discontent with the two-party system and asked if anything could be done to change it.

Higdon responded, “[Two party politics is] not turning out every four years and electing someone and then going back home. That means every single day, 24 hours a day, you need to try and find a person in power that you can agitate and annoy, to get to do what you want.”

“It’s like finding someone to marry,” he joked. “You need to keep annoying them constantly to get them to the position you want.”

But he made it clear that a political relationship should not be in any way obsequious.

“That means don’t have an ‘I’m with her’ bumper sticker or wear your dorky Maga hat,” Higdon said. “These [politicians] are people you need to put pressure on. These are people who’re supposed to be representative, so don’t treat them like celebrities and friends – treat them like targets. And that’s what they are.”

Higdon’s parting advice was to use this election as an opportunity to question the neoliberal status quo of the Democratic Party.

“Don’t let a good crisis go to waste,” Higdon said. “I’ve never seen liberals in my life be this self-reflective on the Democratic Party, and I promise you the consultants will explain it away if we don’t act fast. So act now, stick a middle finger in their face and tell them you want something different.”

6 The Inquirer December 5, 2024

A ‘Passage’ to the Heart: How Theater and Community Brought One Student Director Back to DVC

By TORI PEARSON Evelyn McCollum, a Diablo Valley College alumni and the director of DVC’s new theater production, “Passage,” always hoped the stage was where they would end up. Their time at Diablo Valley College made this dream possible, and put them on the path to pursuing the performing arts and putting a label on their identity.

“It took me a while to figure out who I was, but deep down I always knew my own desires and wants, and that is what helped me find my way,” said McCollum.

In DVC’s production of “Passage,” which McCollum was selected in July to direct, the story follows the lives of people from two opposing countries: X and Y. While Country Y citizens come from a land of privilege and opportunity, Country X citizens live in poverty and oppression at the hands of Country Y. “The show has the themes of colonization and the nuances and relationships between characters,” McCollum told The Inquirer. “The most important parts of the show are the characters and their relationships, because our relationships with each other as humans are ever-changing.”

er signed them up for at the age of 3.

They took many performing arts classWhen McCollum was 4 years old, es, as well as a variety of technical thetheir maternal grandmother fell ill. ater classes that taught them what goes Too young to attend school, and with on behind the scenes of productions. their father working too much to “We see acting, that’s all people ever take care of them, McCollum moved really look at, but there’s so much more with their mother to the Philippines. that’s happening behind the scenes that During McCollum’s time in that supports all of it,” said McCollum. country, their mother always tried to get “It was a great place to build them auditions for acting roles. Their the foundation of my craft.” first memory of performing was in McCollum originally planned to the first grade, when they did a mono- transfer to San Francisco State Unilogue at school and versity, since won first place. commuting to the While in the city would cost Philippines, their less than moving mother restarted a away to college. relationship with But after telling her past girlfriend, Ken Hein, their so McCollum at technical theage 7 moved back ater professor at to America to live DVC, as well as with their father.

Scott Heiden, a “My dad’s my technical director anchor. No matand production ter what I decidmanager for the ed to do, he was drama producgoing to support tions, both init,” said McCostructors strongly llum. So, they encouraged Mcfigured, “I might Collum to pursue Courtesy of Evelyn McCollum as well just go schools with more after what I love doing.” extensive performing arts programs.

McCollum decided to pursue their So, with the help of the Transpassions with their father’s sup- fer Acceptance Guaranteed (TAG) port. Although they sang in church program, McCollum transferred choirs after moving to Concord in to UC Irvine in 2018 and pur2006, they didn’t get serious about sued a bachelor’s degree in drama. the performing arts until their junior During their time at the universiyear at Mount Diablo High School. ty, they worked in a variety of areas McCollum said they participated in in the theater, from performing on all the drama classes Mount Diablo stage to being part of the stage crew.

High had to offer, but the school’s seMost notably, McCollum was co-caplection was minimal. So they decided tain of the Brick Theater Company, a to go into independent study their se- queer theater company they founded with nior year and take the “Basic Princi- fellow students and graduate students.

“It was another type of life-changCourtesy of DVC Drama via Instagram ples of Acting” class at DVC, taught While at DVC, McCollum performed in plays by drama professor Lisa Drummond. ing moment for me, where I came such as “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

“Coming to DVC was just fi- to terms with putting a label on my McCollum’s own story begins in nancially more responsible for queerness,” they said about their Yokosuka, Japan, where they were me personally, and also mentally time in the theater company. “It proborn in 1998 while their father was and emotionally,” said McCollum. pelled me into a community I had stationed there with the U.S. Navy.

After graduating from indepen- never been in before, and propelled Not long after, the family moved dent study, McCollum came to me to discover more about myself.” back to Antioch, where McCollum DVC determined to make the most McCollum identifies as queer, a grew up. Their first acting role was of their two years before trans- blanket statement they use for their in a commercial, which their moth- ferring to a four-year university. gender and sexuality. But specifically

DVC Voices

they are demisexual and non-binary.

“I don’t think there’s any defining line between femininity and masculinity that defines it for me,” McCollum said. “Some days I feel more masculine, some days I feel more feminine.”

During their last quarter at Irvine, the Covid-19 pandemic swept the nation. Although they graduated, McCollum never got to walk in the ceremony. With their plans to pursue music production and acting in Los Angeles halted due to the virus, they instead moved back home to Concord and worked as a barista at Starbucks.

All the while, McCollum was looking for a way to get back to their passion and make use of their degree.

Last year, after their best friend told them their former DVC drama professor, Lisa Drummond, was teaching a directing class, McCollum signed up and returned to campus once again.

“It’s actually very full circle for me,” McCollum said. “My mom left when I was 12, so I don’t really have a strong female presence in my life.

And Lisa Drummond is that for me.

She truly is my biggest inspiration.”

“It propelled me into a community I had never been in before, and propelled me to discover more about myself.”

– Evelyn McCollum During their time in the class, Drummond suggested they apply for the student director position to direct the second show of the season, “Passage.”

The show tackles the deeply-rooted xenophobia that Country Y citizens feel toward Country X citizens. It also explores the prejudice that Country X residents wield against Country Y citizens.

“I’m very grateful for everybody who’s been involved in the show,” McCollum said.

“I have wonderful actors, I have a wonderful designing team, technical crew. Kathleen Normingtom, my advisor, was a great support for me.”

“But it’s not just my show, it’s our show,” they added. “Just like in the show itself: it’s not their story, it’s our story.”

By BRANDON NELSON

What are the best spots to eat around campus?

“There’s a lot of good boba spots around “The Mexican food truck that comes campus, like Teapot and Happy Lemon. onto campus is really good.” ... Junenov [has] really good onigiri.”

Zhenaleigh Doldol, 20, Psychology Noah Ramirez, 21, Film

“I’ll go get two burritos from the DVC “The taco truck that comes on campus cafeteria because I lift a lot. I used to is good, and I usually just get a quesadilla and horchata.” eat at the Crow’s Nest.”

Charles Rosario, 19, Music Carson Devera, 21, Film

December 5, 2024 The Inquirer

7

Sprechen sie Deutsch? At DVC, ‘Anyone Can Speak German’ The German Department unites students through language while creating community from all walks of life

By OLIVIA DELUCCHI The German Department at Diablo Valley College is about more than learning the language. It’s about helping students find community and opportunities, according to its chair, Christina McDade. The department puts on many activities, events and even films throughout the year that allow students to connect and grow.

Many students have used their newfound skills in German to help navigate other aspects of their lives. For instance, DVC student Kenny Hilton, who took German last semester, has enjoyed access to opportunities like study abroad programs, honor societies and creative projects such as filmmaking.

“I learned a lot from my German class with Christina,” said Hilton. “Other than the language, I made some cool friends and was also able to be in one of the short films.”

ed in the films, along with some friends and family they recruited.

The first film, “Passkontrolle,” (“Passport Control”), was an award-winning, student-driven project that used humor and creativity to showcase the value of learning German. It is a comedic commercial that shows how German can be used in many different situations.

The original script was written in German by McDade, her son Garret McDade and other students. After premiering in DVC’s Forum Theater, it later won the 2022 American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) Film Contest in the Filmwettbewerb College Category.

The department’s second short film, “Die Postkarte,” based on an old German story, “Eine Postkarte für Herrn Photos courtesy of DVC German Department Altenkirch,” is currently being enIn 2023, three DVC German students had the opportunity to study abroad in Germany. tered into a film festival, according to “It gives them something to show find their passion and honestly just McDade. It will not be released to the for their work,” said Garret Mc- make learning a new language fun.” public until after the festival, she said. Dade. “It’s something that could look For McDade, teaching students the Although the film was not part of good on a resume, too, especially rich and complicated German lantheir grade, many German students with how much effort went into it.” guage is a challenge she embraces. spent hours volunteering on the project “I think the students were proud of it,” “Even though students have no diboth in front of and behind the camera. he added. “It was something they could rect connection to Germany, they just In exchange, many of them made last- look at and be like, ‘Wow, we made this.’” love it. Anyone can speak German, and ing connections with their colleagues.

For some students, the experi- it helps them connect with people and McDade said the second film, “Die ence represented their first time cultures all over the world,” she said.

Postkarte,” is even better quality than the ever acting or being in a film.

During the summer semester, three first movie, and explained how students Hilton, a second-year philosophy DVC German students have the chance made some of the film set themselves. major who helped work on “Pass- to study abroad in Bonn, Germany She said one student from the depart- kontrolle,” said he was anxious at for a month, though McDade hopes German professor Christina McDade (center) celebrates Oktober- ment even volunteered their bedroom first, but later happy that he had tried to increase the available seats to four. fest with her students every year. for the film set, and the student film crew something outside his comfort zone.

McDade, who has taught all lev- had to remove her furniture to transform “I was a bit nervous when they els of German for 11 semesters at it into a 1947 house in East Germany. asked me to act in it. I mainly wantDVC, previously taught at the UniMcDade’s son, Garret, who has ed to help with filming and beversity of Hawaii for 12 years. a bachelor’s degree in film studies hind-the-scenes, even though I She said around 50 students enroll from University of California, San- was new to that, too,” said Hilton. in the German Department per se- ta Cruz, and a Youtube channel, diHilton described his positive experimester, where McDade is essential- rected the film. Over the past couple ence working with the German Departly a one-woman show, transforming of semesters, he has been heavily in- ment and encouraged others to join if the program through the communi- volved in the DVC German Depart- they want to get involved in school acty she has helped create — and even ment, organizing and directing the two tivities or seek a new community of stuproducing her own films that will be films the department has produced. dents. He praised Professor McDade esused by students for years to come.

“I think it was the biggest creative pecially for opening up the unique space McDade said students in the lanOne student crafted a refrigerator guage department gain more than set piece for the filming of “Die Postkarte,” the second short film undertakjust a knowledge of German. They en by the DVC German Department. also find friendships and community, with some of them building lifelong The department also recognizes connections and deep relationships. the German National Honor Soci“I think that mutual support that ety, Epsilon Phi Delta, which Mcthe students are giving and getting Dade brought to DVC in Spring 2023. from each other makes these really “You have to have a 3.2 GPA in long-lasting friendships,” said McGerman and give five hours of volDade. “All of these activities that unteer time to the German Departwe have allow people to grow on ment to be inducted,” said McDade. a personal level, outside of class.”

In return, honor students reShe added that many of these conceive a certificate and an extra nections emerge due to the events the cord to wear for their graduation, department puts on, like its annual and many put it on their resume to Oktoberfest, which is a German fesshowcase their skills to employers. tival that celebrates Bavarian culture Lastly, McDade talked about the anwith beer, food, music and dancing. nual Oktoberfest which the German DeCourtesy of DVC German Department partment puts on with student volunteers.

McDade emphasizes to her students the real-world relevance of learning Ger- Students of the German Department starred in their short film “Die Postkarte,” which “It’s one of the many activities we was shot over a period of four days in Fall 2023 and has been entered in a film festival. man. According to the language resource do to bring students together, outsite Lingoda, over 130 million people outlet that I’ve ever been given as a for students to grow and learn together. side of class, to immerse themselves in the world currently speak German. student,” said Garret McDade, in a re“Christina is an extremely hard work- in German culture,” said McDade.

The German Department has also cent conversation with The Inquirer. er, she is very dedicated to her job “Whenever you’re learning a new recently directed and produced two He explained that as a result of the and always puts her students first,” he language, it’s like you’re a child in short films to encourage other DVC film, many students got to experience said. “I knew absolutely no German… that language again. That vulnerabilistudents to study German. Many in and learn new skills other than Ger- [I’m] not saying I am an expert now, ty and then the mutual support makes the department volunteered and act- man, such as acting or filmmaking. but she has helped so many students these really long-lasting friendships.”

8 The Inquirer December 5, 2024

OPINION

Anything But a Woman For President Why Trump’s election reveals Americans’ fears of a woman in the Oval Office

By ELLA POTTS For the second time in the last three elections, Donald Trump has been chosen president over a female candidate. At this point it’s hard for anyone to claim ignorance about who Trump is. Policies aside, Trump’s character is permeated with sexism, racism, immaturity and arrogance. We have all seen this through his rallies, social media posts and media interviews.

And yet, over 77 million Americans just voted to reelect him as president.

So at this point the question must be asked: Is America ready, or even able, to elect a female president…ever?

In the 2016 presidential election, Trump ran against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a white woman. He lost the popular vote by close to 3 million but won the election through the outdated and undemocratic Electoral College.

In 2020, Trump ran against former Vice President Joe Biden, a white man. That time, Trump lost the popular vote by 7 million and was beaten soundly in the Electoral College.

Now, after the results on Nov. 5, Donald Trump will become the 47th president of the United States after beating Kamala Harris, a multiracial woman, former California senator, and current Vice President, in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

People can point to many reasons why Harris didn’t win, but to me the standpoint is clear: Americans would rather have a convicted felon in office than a woman.And especially a woman of color.

Throughout the last two decades, Trump has made a plethora of comments that showcase his bigoted, sexist, discriminative viewpoints.

Talking to radio and television host Billy Bush in 2005, Trump made famously vulgar statements about women that were caught on tape and revealed a month before the 2016 election, which nonetheless failed to derail his chances of winning.

“I moved on her like a b—,” Trump said. “But I couldn’t get there. And she was married…You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet.

Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the p—.”

But it’s not all just talk. Since the 1970s, at least 26 women have publicly accused Trump of sexual harassment and assault.

E. Jean Carroll, an author and journalist, sued Trump in 2019, accusing him of raping her in 1996 in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.

Carroll wrote about the incident in her 2019 memoir, What Do We Need Men For?, and in May 2023, she was

awarded $5 million after the jury held Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, though not rape.

In a 1990 divorce deposition, Ivana Trump, Trump’s first wife, accused him of raping her in a fit of rage in 1989, when they were married. She had later retracted her allegation, saying that she hadn’t meant it in a “literal or criminal sense.”

Amy Dorris, a former model, said Trump forcibly kissed and groped her in his private box at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship in 1997. Dorris told The Guardian in 2020 that Trump “shoved his tongue down my throat and I was pushing him off” and then his grip apparently became tighter, “his hands were very gropey and all over my butt, my breasts, my back, everything.”

Later, as president, Trump’s bigoted traits manifested in a series of tweets he sent in 2019 that targeted a group of House Democrats – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — all of whom are women of color.

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they

Photo by Edda Morazan

came,” he wrote, implying that they were somehow not real Americans.

Aside from being a racist and an alleged rapist, Trump is also a convicted felon. This summer, a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 felony charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by arranging a hush money payment to a porn actress who had claimed the two had sex.

Not to mention, the former president was impeached twice during his first term in office: once for withholding military funds for Ukraine in a quid pro quo, and the second time for inciting a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In each case, he was acquitted on all counts by the Senate.

The FBI has classified the 2021 assault as an act of domestic terrorism that injured approximately 140 police See President, page 11

OPINION

This Holiday Season, Buy Less and Celebrate More

By ELIZABETH FLINN “Maybe Christmas... doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!”

So proclaimed the Grinch in the classic Dr. Seuss picture book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Even after their presents vanished, all the Whos down in Whoville still celebrated Christmas with joy, shocking the Grinch who thought Christmas could only come in “packages, boxes or bags.”

Every December, I rewatch the 1966 Grinch cartoon and enjoy other Christmas movies, music, decorations, foods and traditions with family and friends – making it absolutely, as the Andy Williams song goes, “the most wonderful time of the year.”

But unfortunately, like the Grinch, many Americans forget what makes Christmas so special. While there’s nothing wrong with exchanging gifts as part of your holiday tradition, an excessive focus on buying consumer goods is harmful to the environment, our wallets and our holiday spirit alike.

Materialism around the holidays is an American ritual dating back to the 1940s, when postwar consumer spending was encouraged as a “patriotic” way to boost the economy.

Since then, holiday spending has steadily increased over the years, projected to reach a record $1,638 per shopper in 2024. And a survey

in early October found that near- day” is a reference to companies bely half of Americans are still paying ing “in the black” with increased off debt from the last holiday season. profits. The date was always meant All that shopping hurts the en- to benefit retail corporations, not regvironment as well as our bank ac- ular people who just want to celecounts. Americans produce 25 per- brate the holidays with loved ones. cent more waste in the weeks between The irony of the day after ThanksThanksgiving and New Year’s Day, giving becoming a pseudo-holiday in addition to other “hidden costs” dedicated to consumerism was not like increased carbon emissions lost on the anti-consumerist Canadian from manufacturing and shipping. nonprofit Adbusters, which declared As sad as it may sound, many the date “Buy Nothing Day” instead.

Christmas gifts “This Friday, keep themselves are the credit card holdestined for the stered. Keep your landfill, particucash in your jeans,” larly “junk gifts” reads the Adbusters that don’t consider campaign page. what the recipient “Don’t buy. Just wants or needs. breathe.” I agree: And ironicalresist the siren call Illustration by Edda Morazan ly, the gift-shopof corporate marping mania that starts every November keting and you’ll be better off for it. doesn’t actually benefit consumers as But resisting consumerism doesn’t much as advertisements claim. Ac- mean you can’t give gifts at all. The cording to industry experts, many sup- joy of giving is a natural human tenposed “Black Friday deals” are nothing dency that actually makes us happimore than corporate sleights of hand. er than “getting,” according to psyMerchants quietly inflate prices at the chologists’ research. So the question start of November – say, raising the cost is, how can we do it more ethically? of a television from $499.99 to $799.99 First, consider giving to those in need.

– so that a return to the original price Many charities will match donations on on Black Friday looks like a huge bar- the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – aptgain, even as you actually pay the same ly named “Giving Tuesday” – and loamount you would have two months ago. cal toy drives or “family giving trees” In fact, the very name “Black Fri- can deliver holiday gifts to people

who couldn’t afford them otherwise.

If you want wrapped presents under a tree for your loved ones, it’s smart to give fewer, yet higher-quality gifts, and to ask people what they want ahead of time to ensure they’ll like it.

Handmade gifts are also a great way to support local artisans over big corporations, and the Bay Area has many holiday craft fairs throughout November and December.

And of course, if you know a craft yourself, making something unique for someone – a drawing, a knitted scarf, a batch of home-baked cookies – can be much more meaningful than a store-bought object.

Lastly, consider gifting experiences instead of objects. My family likes to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Lesher Center for the Arts every December. But the possibilities for outings are endless: concert tickets, a trip to the museum, a meal at a nice restaurant. There are many opportunities to make memories together that don’t involve purchasing objects.

After all, consider how the Grinch story ends. The redeemed protagonist returns all the presents to the Whos, but more importantly, he also joins their celebration – discovering quality time with newfound friends.

Generosity and togetherness are what really matter, not the “stuff” we accumulate. This holiday season, let’s celebrate with that in mind.

December 5, 2024 The Inquirer

9

OPINION

The Message Behind the Loss Why Harris’s loss shows that voters had rejected the Biden administration’s status quo

By DIEGO RUIZ-SAGRERO

the swing states. While he captured the Republicans have been quick popular vote along with the Electoral to see Donald Trump’s victory in College, he still failed to secure more the presidential election as a man- than 50 percent of the popular vote.

Harris underperformed in swing date from the American people to invoke an extreme right agenda. states like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada But the election is sending a dif- and Wisconsin — all states that will ferent message to the Democrat- nonetheless be sending newly elected ic Party — not just to regroup, but or reelected Democrats to the Senate, to assess its identity. This isn’t just showing voters’ willingness to vote a loss. It’s a party wake-up call. for Democrats, just not at the federal Internal polling for President Joe level. Arizona Democrat Ruben GalleBiden’s reelection campaign warned go beat Republican Kari Lake by 2.4 earlier this year of a potential landslide points, even as Trump won the state loss of more than 400 Electoral College by 5.5 points. Likewise, in Michigan, votes. Biden is the most unpopular U.S. Democrat Elissa Slotkin barely won by president in seven decades, averag- 0.3 points although Trump carried the ing an approval rating of 38.7 percent. state by 1.4 points — an even larger After he withdrew from the race in margin of victory than his 2016 win.

Nevada reelected incumbent SenJuly and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nom- ator Jacky Rosen by 1.7 points, yet ination, party enthusiasm soared. Trump was able to win the state for What should have been a landslide the first time in his three presidential for Trump turned into a tight race. runs. And Wisconsin reelected DemDemocrats managed to secure many ocratic Senator Tammy Baldwin by victories in important down-bal- 0.9 points, as Trump carried this closlot races, but Harris’s failure to est swing state by just 0.86 points. win the White House came down Simply put, if Harris had matched her to her inability to distance her- performance with Democrats in these self from President Biden’s record. state races, along with North CaroliHarris’s loss showed more than any- na, she would have won the election.

It’s also important to note that Arithing that voters had rejected the Biden administration’s status quo. Yet even as zona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, the entire country shifted right from the Montana, Nevada and New York all 2020 election results, Trump won by passed ballot measures to protect the mostly small margins, particularly in right to abortion in their states. Harris

campaigned as a champion for women’s reproductive rights, and red states like Missouri and Montana agreed with the policies and passed their protections for abortion while also voting for Trump by more than 20 points.

Harris’s focus on campaigning to defend women’s rights and protect democracy from the controversial “Project 2025” did little to address voters’ concerns about the economy.

The results sent a clear message: Voters approved of Harris’s platform but had a hard time seeing how she would act differently from her current, unpopular boss.

Harris largely campaigned on the same reforms Biden ran with four years ago, but when it came down to it, the vice president didn’t convince enough voters that she would be able to deliver.

Democrats have spent recent weeks pointing fingers and asking hypotheticals about who might have been a better VP pick, whether campaigning with Republican centrists like Liz Cheney was the right thing to do, and of course, heaping blame on Biden for not stepping out of the race earlier. But in reality, the country voted for Trump over Harris not because the majority wants to ban abortion or get rid of welfare programs—or because Harris is a woman.

They simply believed Trump was a better bet to deal with their top twin concerns: the economy and immigration.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Harris’s late entrance into the race put her at a disadvantage, but she still managed to raise over $1 billion, host massive rallies, outperform Trump in the debate, and most importantly, bring energy to the Democrats in a way they were missing under Biden.

As Democrats begin strategizing for the 2026 midterms, and eventually for the general election in 2028, Harris still polls as the frontrunner for the nominee. Regardless of whether she runs again, she will be remembered for her achievements as the first woman of African American and Asian descent to hold the office of vice president.

The Democratic Party needs to take this central lesson: a candidate more than qualified for the presidency lost.

Democrats need to embrace bold and innovative leadership that speaks to all Americans. The party needs to build a platform that addresses rising costs of living, immigration, and a fairer economy that resonates not just with the party’s base but also with independents and voters who feel left behind.

Only then will they have a chance of winning in future elections.

OPINION

Unfair Advantage: Major League Baseball Needs a Salary Cap

By COLIN DALVAND One of baseball’s fundamental problems is something that no other major sports league in America deals with: the absence of a salary cap.

Rich teams win, poor teams suffer.

The playing field needs to be leveled.

The Los Angeles Dodgers became 2024 World Series Champions after they beat the New York Yankees in five games in October, capturing their 7th championship ring since the team moved from Brooklyn to L.A. in 1958.

With most Major League teams now busy cutting salary costs and eager to capitalize on undervalued players, it begs the question: How did these two teams reach the pinnacle of the baseball world?

The answer is in many ways quite simple: $326 million (Dodgers) versus $303 million (Yankees).

In the case of the Yankees and Dodgers, it helps to begin with the two highest paid players in the game: Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

In the 2022 offseason, outfielder and home run slugger Aaron Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay with the Yankees. The average annual value (AAV) of his contract, at $40 million, made him the richest player in baseball and the third-richest athlete in American history at the time.

For his part, Shohei Ohtani, the two-

way Japanese phenom decided last year to stay in L.A., but swapped his Angels red for Dodgers blue when he signed the biggest contract in sports history: 10 years for $700 million.

At $70 million per year, the AAV on his contract totals more than the entire 2024 Oakland Athletics payroll.

Are these two players’ outlandish salary sums the main issue plaguing Major League Baseball? No, but they directly contribute to the problem currently facing the game.

Ball clubs can only spend as much money as their owners provide them.

For example, John Fisher is the reason the Athletics have an annual payroll

of less than $100 million, while Mark Walter and the Guggenheim Baseball Management group are the reason the Dodgers have free reign to sign whichever valuable player they choose.

It may come as little surprise that the teams’ respective records, year after year, reflect the impact of that spending.

Put simply, teams that spend big on players have thrived in recent years, which is why it’s time for a salary cap and floor: to shorten the gap between rich and poor teams. The benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, as other major American sports leagues have shown.

However, the success of an individual team is not indica-

tive of a league-wide trend.

Take the NBA, for example. The league saw its most competitive regular season in 2023/24, due in part to the league’s continuance of a strict salary cap and floor, that is, the lowest amount of money a team must spend within a season. Under the current rules, if an NBA team does not reach the floor, it must pay the league the amount of money it is not actively giving to the players on its roster. The NBA then redistributes that money to the players on the same team’s roster in the form of incentives and bonuses.

The result, in terms of league competition: over 60 percent of NBA teams finished at or above .500. Over the past 10 seasons, only two seasons have seen that margin reached.

By following this model, Major League Baseball can accelerate competition by forcing poorer teams to spend enough money to be competitive.

Another issue that contributes to Major League Baseball’s halt in fan growth, viewership, and profit as an industry is its use of the luxury tax.

Every year, MLB sets a threshold, known as the luxury tax, that teams must stay under. For reference, the 2024 tax threshold was $237 million and the 2025 tax threshold will be $241 million.

See MLB, page 12 Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

10 The Inquirer December 5, 2024 Food, from page 2 created new obstacles for applicants.

“Now, we often have to look for new eligibility routes for students who may have previously qualified,” Contreras added.

The Food Bank and DVC Food Pantry are committed to helping students find ways to access food even if students don’t qualify for CalFresh’s income requirements. California is enacting new policies that will allow college campuses to accept EBT, giving students still more convenient ways to access free food on campus.

At DVC’s San Ramon Campus, new refrigerated food lockers have been installed as another way to distribute resources at any time and reduce student hunger.

“These lockers enable students to order food directly from the food bank and pick it up at a time that works for them,” said Kelsey Mayeda, the senior program coordinator of student services and basic needs at DVC San Ramon Campus.

“It’s all about making it easier for students to access the help they need,” she said.

The food lockers represent an expansion of the partnership between the Food Bank and college campuses to deal with food insecurity in the county.

Food lockers will also be installed at Contra Costa College, Los Medanos College, and the DVC Pleasant Hill Campus is in talks to install lockers as well.

The growing partnerships between the food bank and the DVC Food Pantry have a central goal in mind: to relieve students from having to worry about their next meal.

Organizers see state programs like CalFresh not just as a safety net for those students most in need, but as a pivotal opportunity to reduce hunger among students.

As Contreras put it, “These resources are here to support students so they can focus on their education without the stress of wondering where their next meal will come from.”

Mayor, from front NW: The last few months, what do you think is the biggest thing you’ve learned about the entire process of campaigning, and also maybe about yourself?

AS: That’s a really good question.

One thing I was surprised with was campaigning, because I never had an interest in running for office, and I didn’t like the politics, you know, that “politicking.” I do love relational work and working with people, and that comes across [with] everything I’ve done in my career with Peace Corps and teaching, so I think I was expecting not to like the politicking.

But what I didn’t expect was how much I would love meeting new people and meeting people that are doing good work that I wasn’t aware of, getting to see things that I wouldn’t have gotten to see, meeting even just residents canvassing and talking to people, that was such a wonderful surprise just how much I enjoyed that aspect of campaigning.

And then I think the other piece that maybe surprised me, you know, Vallejo has a lot of problems and a lot of issues, and in many areas, [it] has not the best reputation. But, of course, people in Vallejo know how wonderful our city is, and that’s the source of a lot of frustration for folks: They see this [and ask], why is our city struggling so much? We have so many assets, we have so much to offer, we have such an amazing community, and it feels, I think, to a lot of folks that it’s insurmountable, that the problems have been let get so bad that it’s just going to be impossible to resolve.

And I think through the process of campaigning, I have gotten more confident in our ability to tackle the problems, which kind of took me off guard as well. I do think that change is possible, and I think we’re in a position to make it happen.

We have a wave of new leaders coming into Vallejo in Solano County. We have a new supervisor, we have a new state senator, we have three new council members in addition to myself — the entire Vallejo City Council is going to be new as of two years ago. Everybody’s new, so we’ve got basically a clean slate to work with. And you know, is it going to be easy and instantaneous?

No, but I do feel confident that we’ll be able to make some real progress.

NW: What is something important that the people should know about you specifically, and what will you bring to the table as the new mayor of Vallejo?

AS: I think what’s going to feel different is that I come from a public service background, I’m not a politician, and so I approach everything with a very pragmatic lens of, ‘How do we get things done, and how do we help make people’s lives better?’

I think we’re so used to seeing or assuming that politicians are going to be self-serving, or if we have politicians that have a service background, they’re stuck in a minority, they’re not able to do much. And I think the people of Vallejo are going to feel a difference just with the culture and values piece, of changing how government works.

And then I think, also, a lot of folks know me from the work that I was doing with the ACLU chapter, and the activism that I was doing around police reform and homelessness. So there are folks in Vallejo that associate me with the activist community, and I think those folks are going to be surprised to know what a pragmatist I am, and that I have a pretty deep policy background and I’m ready to get to work.

I actually love policy. The activist space would be my second choice; I’d rather be in the policy space, so now I get to be in the policy space. I think

MLB, from page 9 If a team passes that amount, they are dipping into the luxury tax. Passing the threshold results in a tax placed on every dollar a team spends over the threshold.

A great example to examine is the Dodgers, who spent $326 million in 2024, according to the intrinsic statistical website, Fangraphs. Being $89 million over the cap, they were projected to have spent $67.7 million on taxes, according to Sports Blog (SB) Nation.

This enables rich teams to spend more on players, as they can more easily afford the luxury tax. It gives poor teams another reason not to spend.

There are two solutions to fixing the luxury tax: 1) eliminate it and imple-

ment a hard cap, where teams cannot spend over a certain figure like in the NFL, or 2) continue with the luxury tax but with a salary floor and cap, as mentioned above, like the NBA. The hard cap, as well as a proposed floor and cap, appears to provide more pros than cons. A major benefit of a hard cap, for example, would be that it increases revenue sharing among teams. In other words, expanded broadcasting of smaller-market teams would lead to more revenue. With increased revenue, more money could be distributed to the teams with less money, allowing them to gain ground on big-market teams. This would shorten the gap and allow smaller-market

teams to pay more for players and become more competitive as a result.

What’s happening in baseball isn’t what we see looking around the rest of the American sports landscape. The MLB is stuck in the past, largely due to greedy team owners and commissioners over time allowing teams to spend without restriction. MLB needs to implement one of the two proposed options if it wants to see increased viewership, upward trends in revenue, and heightened competition like the NBA and NFL experienced after instituting salary caps.

Cleaning around the edges won’t cut it. The league can add in rules like the pitch clock to speed up games, which can increase the number of fans interested in

Courtesy of Kelsey Mayeda

“You didn’t take an activist and put them into policy. You had a policy person that was in the activist space, that’s now coming back in to be involved in policy.” – Andrea Sorce that would be the thing I want people to know: you didn’t take an activist and put them into policy, you had a policy person that was in the activist space, that’s now coming back in to be involved in policy.

NW: Has there been someone that you’ve looked to during this campaign to help you, or is there a story, or someone that you’ve met, or even someone in your campaign that’s been there for you along the way?

AS: There’s so many people. I have been so fortunate to work with former elected officials in Vallejo, so many mentors, I don’t even want to list any because I’ll forget somebody. There’s been a lot of folks that I’ve leaned on heavily.

From the very beginning, my sort of closest advisor and friend was my ACLU co-chair, Chris Kelly, who

I met in 2020 and we just connected. We ended up founding the [local] chapter, and I went to her last year and said, “This is what I’m thinking of doing, you know, I’m thinking of running for mayor. I wouldn’t be doing this if I hadn’t met you, and I really need you by my side, to keep me grounded, to bounce things off of, you know, just to be a sounding board.”

And because she’s been so engaged in Vallejo, in activism, as an impacted family member — she lost her brother in a police shooting — I’ve kept her close the entire campaign, and I made sure she was the first person I saw after we declared victory.

I wouldn’t have done it, I think, if I hadn’t met her, that’s what got me into this, into this space in the first place, so I have the political advisors, and then I sort of have the values advisors.

NW: One more question: how are you going to handle both your teaching duties at DVC and a new position leading local government?

AS: I think, you know, one of the reasons I was even able to do this is because of how flexible community college teaching is. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to be something that I’ll have to work out over time.

But one of the nice things about the job at DVC is I can teach a little bit less in the fall and spring, teach some in the summer, and adjust my schedule so that I don’t miss any commission meetings or [other] meetings. You know, I can kind of design a schedule accordingly, [and] frankly not a lot of jobs allow that level of flexibility.

I think that’s a reason why in local government you tend to get a lot of retirees and self-employed people, realtors or, you know, lawyers or business owners who don’t have a nine to five [job]. And especially if you think about people that are in their 30s or 40s or 50s, if they have a career, it’s really hard to serve as an elected official and have that career, and DVC allows me to do that.

We have a faculty at DVC in the Communications Department who is the mayor of Pleasant Hill, and I’ve also, you know, sought out his advice and will continue to seek out his advice on how best to balance the job.

And I’m really fortunate that I’ve got the support of administration, all the way up to the chancellor. I’m so grateful to have the support of doing this.

watching the sport. But is that sustainable without the economic component to go with it? Until MLB deals with the vast salary discrepancy that separates the winning teams from the losing ones, Major League Baseball cannot claim to be “America’s pastime” any longer.

December 5, 2024 The Inquirer

11

AI, from front a solution in my view, because more serious writing takes time and effort. And it’s not just what you can churn out in an hour of class time.”

Patrick Moe, professor and chair of the Communications Department, told The Inquirer, “Unfortunately, I’m routinely catching students using generative AI in place of their original work, and that is disheartening, but not unique.”

Moe, who has a slightly more positive view of the technology, added, “I think it can be a fabulous tool for helping students brainstorm ideas, or figure out different avenues of research if it is used in that way. I just worry too many students are using it as a workaround for doing their own work, rather than as a step in the process.”

In contrast with what Rasmussen said, he added that “it can be rather difficult with AI to be sure of plagiarism or academic dishonesty.”

“From my experience, some of the programs that are AI checkers are actually not that great,” Moe said, citing studies that he read which asserted plagiarism detection programs “are not that great at detecting AI, [and] they tend to be biased against non-native English speakers.”

It’s not just professors who are struggling with the issue. Administrators at DVC are still trying to

agree on how to frame and enforce the rules around the use of AI. Currently, it remains up to the individual professors to decide how to address the technology in their classroom.

According to Anne Kingsley, the dean of educational technology and learning resources, the administration is working on “giving agency and clarity for the faculty member to define their policy on AI use, [from] ‘you cannot use AI at all’ to ‘you can use it, but it must be attributed in the following ways.’”

“Regardless of what the faculty use policy would be, [we need] specific language that ties AI to our current student code of conduct on plagiarism and academic integrity,” Kingsley said.

She added, “The code of conduct does discuss both using or representing work that is not your own as your own, and/or using assistive devices to create work that is not your own. That said, we don’t have a direct policy addressing AI, and we are working on that.”

Yvonne Canada-Clark, dean of counseling and student success programs, is one of four DVC code of conduct officers who speaks with students who are reported as potentially violating the student code of conduct with academic dishonesty. Canada-Clark told The Inquirer that the Academic Senate, a statewide non-profit orga-

nization among community colleges, is working on policy surrounding generative AI use in classrooms.

“We want to make sure all instructors are addressing what is the appropriate use of AI in their particular course, and [the Academic Senate members] are also working on language that instructors can use in their syllabi,” she said.

Addressing the scope of the issue she told The Inquirer that they’re receiving around five reports per week for academic dishonesty of all types. She also said the numbers fluctuate and they tend to go up around midterm and finals weeks.

While it remains unclear how generative AI technology will ultimately reshape college classes, some believe it may lead to a massive restructuring of the education system, while others think the impacts may soften with time—somewhat like the disruption caused by Wikipedia when it was introduced in 2001.

“I’ve been teaching for over 20 years,” said Moe. “When I started teaching there was a big panic over Wikipedia, that students weren’t going to do their own research, that they were just going to go to Wikipedia and copy and paste. And while maybe it’s not quite the crisis we’re facing with AI, now no one panics about Wikipedia.

“That’s how I feel about AI too,” he added. “I’m hoping that

we will get past a point where people feel like this is the end.”

For now, as students, faculty, and administrators alike scramble to figure out how to coexist with the technology, some say now is the time to act.

“All of this is new, so all these policies are snapshots of things in progress,” said Rasmussen. So far, judging by the school’s policy, “DVC is very lenient, and in many ways, that’s good for students. But I’m not sure this is.”

“This is a very basic concept about academic dishonesty, and college is adult education.”

Rasmussen said he doubts that sticking with the status quo will have good long-term effects on students and their college careers.

“I don’t see myself as a champion for harshness,” he added, but, “sometimes when we let [students] off with just warnings, ‘Oh yeah, you can’t plagiarize,’ I worry that when they go to those four-year schools they’re going to feel like those same rules are in effect, like, ‘Oh, I can get away with it, I got a free one, right? Yeah, one plagiarized paper, and maybe I’ll get caught. And if I get caught, then it’s not that big of a deal.

I can just write another one, right?’

“But I think in some ways, we do a disservice to students.”

President, from page 8 officers and left at least five people dead, while endangering the country’s peaceful transfer of presidential power.

The peaceful transition of power is a respected tradition in the United States that every former president had followed until Trump, who not only did not accept and concede the results of the free and fair 2020 election, but also did not attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration ceremony. Frankly, more than anything, he reflected the characteristics of a sore loser.

By contrast, on Wednesday, November 6, Harris took an approach of grace after she lost. Unlike Trump four years before, in Harris’s concession speech, she said, “we must accept the results of this election.”

In addition, Harris made a point to express that the Biden administration would engage in a peaceful transfer of power. (President Biden met with Trump in the Oval Office on Nov. 13 to welcome him back to the presidency.) Harris went on to con-

vey the importance of accepting an election after losing as a fundamental principle of American democracy.

“That principle distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it,” Harris said. “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign: the fight for freedom, for opportunity, and for fairness and the dignity of all people.”

Harris ended her concession speech with a message of empowerment: “Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands; this is a time to roll up our sleeves.”

Americans just voted, in the majority, and in all of the swing states, to put Donald Trump back in the White House despite all his infamously chauvinistic traits and the unconstitutional actions he has taken.

So I ask again, is America ready to elect a female president? The answer is no.

If America was ready, Harris would have won over a polarizing, immoral, twiced impeached, convicted felon.

Scholarships, from page 2 In an interview prior to the event, Mallicoat told The Inquirer about how his journalism journey began while working towards his Bachelor’s degree in communications at UC Berkeley in the late 70s.

After he graduated in 1981, he moved to Tahoe and managed a few bars in the area. A couple of years into this profession, Mallicoat recalled his dad telling him, “Son, you’re a really good bartender, but in 10 years, when you’re 36, there’s something I don’t want to say to you: you’re a really good bartender.”

So Mallicoat decided to pursue his passion and dedicate himself to journalism. In 1984, the Eureka news station KIEM gave him

his first broadcast job. Mallicoat has been working in the field ever since.

Over the next four decades, Mallicoat would travel coast to coast gaining sports director experience at different news stations.

This eventually led him to KTVU back in the Bay Area, where he has remained for nearly nine years.

“I think college is what you make out of it,” Mallicoat said. “You can still have fun, but if you have great teachers that motivate you, it’s great. And I think DVC has just been fabulous for people here in the East Bay for 75 years now.”

More information about the scholarships and their application requirements will be available at dvc.academicworks. com/opportunities in January 2025.

Condors, from page 3

by Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS).

“The oldest condors in the wild are approaching 30 years of age, and as the flock becomes more established and expands in size, we expect that they will inhabit new areas that are suitable for their needs,” said VWS Executive Director Kelly Sorenson.

“The Diablo Mountains are quite suitable and it is not surprising that condors are now starting to frequent this area.”

But even with intact habitat to return to, conservation experts say other hardships make the species’ recovery a challenge. The biggest threat to California condors by far is lead poisoning: when hunters use lead bullets, lead fragments contaminate the carcasses that condors feed on, causing life-threatening heavy metal toxicity.

Although the use of lead ammunition for hunting was outlawed in California in 2019, lead bullets are still often cheaper and more easily accessible than alternatives, so lead poisoning remains a crucial threat to condor recovery. According to the National Park Service, almost all of the adult condors in the Pinnacles National Park flock have needed emergency chelation treatment at least once – some being found with blood lead levels high enough to kill a human.

In addition to rehabilitating poisoned condors, efforts to prevent lead toxicity include providing a “clean food subsidy” (uncontaminated meat) to wild populations and promoting access to non-lead ammunition.

“Hunters and ranchers are key to the success of the condor in the wild,” said Sorenson, and should not be “villainized” for their traditions. Instead, VWS works to make non-lead ammunition more readily available, especially in areas where wild condors forage.

The program has made promising

progress. “Lead poisoning is still the number one cause of death, but for the first time since the reintroduced birds began getting lead poisoning, we have not recorded a single death from this cause this calendar year,” Sorenson said. “[But] we know that a lack of non-lead ammunition still hinders access and use.”

“In the long run, our goal is to establish a self-sustaining population where hatches exceed deaths,” and eliminating lead poisoning is key to that goal, Sorenson added.

Other conservation threats to the California condor include “micro-trash” pollution, collisions with power lines, climate change-fueled wildfires, and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). After HPAI killed at least 10 condors in the Arizona-Utah flock in 2023, a vaccine for the birds was given emergency approval, and as of October 16, 2024, over half of the central California flock has been immunized against the deadly virus.

Despite all the hardships, conservationists have hope that the California condor will continue to recover in population and range.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if these summer forays [to the Diablo Range] continue into the future,” said Welch, “so all you eagle-eyed condor enthusiasts should keep an eye to the sky!”

Chuck Szmurlo on Wikimedia Commons

12 The Inquirer December 5, 2024

Goodson and Colpo Shine as DVC Water Polo Battles in the Big 8 Conference Tournament

By NATE WENDLING

In the fourth quarter, Sanchez scored again for the Vikings before Modesto was able to swing back into it with two goals to tie the game and send it into overtime.

The next three periods of overtime, and sudden death, had everyone in the stands on edge. Every time a shot went up, the crowd fell silent, holding its breath until one of the goalies batted the ball down to the sound of cheers from their teammates and a reignited roar from the crowd.

Over the excruciating three extra periods of play, both teams fought hard

lost 22-2, sending them to play for third place later in the afternoon against the sixth seeded American River College.

Again, in that matchup, the Vikings faced a lengthy duel that saw them go into yet another overtime. Both teams were exhausted but played with grit as the momentum shifted back and forth, with neither team able to pull away.

DVC went into the fourth quarter down by one, but responded with goals from Lauren Caguyong and Chloe Pappas to give the Vikings the lead. Then, in the closing minutes of the game,

positive, trusting your teammates, making smart passes and being conCompetitive games, loud crowds fident in yourself and your shots,” and dramatic finishes were the main said Colpo after his star performance. staple of the Big 8 Conference tour“In my head I’m the best in the nament held earlier last month, where pool and no one can guard me. In my Diablo Valley College’s water polo head I am working the hardest in the program saw a successful weekpool.” He added, “If you have that end as the men’s team finished third confidence, it’s hard to get stopped.” and the women’s team took fourth.

In game two, the Vikings took The DVC men’s team entered the on the number one seeded Amerchampionship seeded fourth while the ican River College and lost 18-4. women’s team came into the week In their third and final game of seeded fifth. Both teams qualified the weekend, the Vikings competfor the NorCal regional championed for a third place finish against ships with wins in their first matches. third seeded Modesto Junior College.

The men’s team played its opening The Vikings had lost both previmatches Thursday, Nov. 7, while the ous matchups this season against women’s team began its tournament play Modesto by an average of six goals, the next day. On Saturday, Nov. 9, both and looked to come out firing early. men’s and women’s water polo competBoth teams were very physical early ed in their championship and placement on, jockeying for position and pushing games to conclude the tournament. to maintain momentum throughout the Apart from hosting a club wagame. DVC captain Shawn Canada had ter polo Junior Olympic tournament to leave the game early with an eye injury. last summer, this was DVC’s first big “There was definitely some aggresaquatics event since its pool’s remodsion,” said DVC captain Jackson Bareling in 2023, and organizers said nacal. “Modesto is a physical team and the tournament ran smoothly overall. it was shown in this game, too. Shawn “We wanted to make sure that it looked got hit in the face. That was not ideal.” professional and it ran well and that it Modesto focused on limiting touches was something special for the athletes,” for Colpo inside by throwing extra bodsaid Trisha Quan, head coach of womies at him. Although Colpo still managed en’s water polo and head aquatics coach.

Photo by Lee Ward “We wanted to make it a fun, spe- Women’s Water Polo captain Sofia Goodson takes aim during a Big 8 Confer- to score five goals, his teammates took cial, championship event,” she added. ence game against Modesto Junior College. Goodson helped establish a lead advantage of the pressure he brought, “It was fun to see that the bleachers over Modesto going into halftime and took the final winning shot in overtime. and responded with offense of their own.

Ashton Culpepper finished were pretty full for most of the games.” with their defenses stepping up. Vi- Mackenzie Hotaling of American RivThroughout the weekend competi- kings attacker Chloe Pappas navigated er scored a goal to tie the game at 8-8. with five goals while Barnacal In the end, American River was able put up four goals of his own. tion, winning teams ran up excitedly her way up to 11 steals, two more than Both of them came alive in the third to add their schools’ names onto the the entire Modesto team combined, to put away two goals in the overwhile the Modesto goalie, Sofia Heutime period to secure a hard fought quarter, scoring two goals a piece to next leg of the tournament bracket.

Teams also brought their own fans tmaker, saved an incredible 21 shots. 10-8 win over the Vikings, who fin- help the Vikings capture a five goal In the third period of extra time, ished fourth in the tournament. lead heading into the fourth quarter. to cheer for their schools, which led DVC’s Goodson, who had played the “It definitely was tough going to an intense and packed crowd that kept the energy going all weekend. entire game up to this point, was fouled, into another overtime, you know, Sierra College took the confer- leading to a five-meter penalty shot. it’s so hard especially because the The crowd went silent as Goodson days are back to back so you don’t ence championship on the women’s side, while American River lined up to take the shot and, with get any breaks,” said Goodson.

“At the end of the day we want College captured the men’s title. the season on the line, calmly drilled it to capture victory for the Vikings. to win and unfortunately that didn’t With the crowd cheering, the team happen, but we still stick together.”

DVC Women Take Fourth with two dove into the water to mob Goodson Overtime Thrillers The DVC women’s team took on and celebrate the game-winning goal. Men’s Water Polo Captures Third “I was just telling myself to with Big Wins fourth seeded Modesto Junior college Thomas Colpo shined in the DVC in one of the most exciting games of stay calm and I tried to be confident within myself and win the men’s first game of the Big 8 Conthe weekend, which saw three overtime periods and steller play from both sides. game,” Goodson told The Inquirer. ference tournament, as the Vikings Photo by Lee Ward Goodson, the Vikings’ lead- took on the fifth seeded San JoaThe Vikings had previously lost to Thomas Colpo scored eight goals in Modesto by four goals earlier this sea- ing scorer this season, also had quin Delta College. Colpo scored the tournament game against San son and looked to take control early. the confidence of her head coach eight goals with four of them com- Joaquin Delta College, helping bring Captain Sofia Goodson quickly that she could make the final shot. ing in the third quarter against Delta. DVC Men’s Water Polo to victory.

“She has been the rock of our team, In the second quarter, Delta made DVC held strong during the last pewent to work, contributing two early goals to help get the Vikings rolling she has been the leader,” said Quan. “I a push tying the game at four goals riod of play and won the match 18-13, and grab a 4-2 lead going into half. knew she was the right person to take it.” a piece with two minutes left in capturing third place in the tournament.

“She did a great job and she put the half. Colpo followed this up by “I like how well we came togethThe second half started with Olivia the ball in the back of the net.” scoring two straight goals, changer,” said Barnacal. “We just reSanchez rattling off two goals while The team’s other captain, Ju- ing the momentum of the game. ally wanted to win this. We just Madelynn Lasquete added in her own Cazarez, concurred.

Keegan D’Arcy snuck a goal by the played our game and it worked out.” goal to give the Vikings a 7-5 lead lieta “We came for something and we are Delta goalie with two seconds left in the Corey Dolley, head coach of midway through the third quarter.

Modesto stayed within arms reach, going to push for it and we are not go- half to cap off the three to zero run from men’s water polo, praised the team countering every DVC goal with one ing to lose for it,” said Cazarez. “We’re the Vikings. From there, they never for their weekend performance.

“If we all played and worked toof their own. The quarter was capped going to put in all the hard work for looked back, winning the game 14-10.

For Colpo, there were a few key gether as a team, it didn’t matter who off by Modesto’s Francesca Bru- what we worked for this whole season.

The next morning, the women’s water components that helped him and his scored. We were working towards no scoring a goal with eight seconds left in the quarter to bring them back polo faced off against Sierra College, teammates come away with the victory. that common goal,” Dolley said.

“Keeping the momentum, staying “Those guys are awesome.” to within one goal of the Vikings. the eventual conference champions, and