The Inquirer

'Grusome' class, deathly interesting

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

A sweet, antiseptic smell fills the air. Students cluster over metal trays, laughing or speaking intently, while others refer back to text books with looks of confusion.

It could be any science lab class. Except the students aren't gathered around groups of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks or the remains of an unlucky frog.

End near for grade sale case

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The majority of defendants accused of buying grades in DVC's notorious cash-for-grades scandal will end up facing misdemeanor charges.

At a preliminary hearing in April, the judge dropped the felony charge for Joseph Chow, the first defendant to go this far in the court process for just buying grades, to a misdemeanor.

Senate report lacking faculty input

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Faculty Senate may need to meet at least once after the semester ends, if DVC's accreditation self-study report is to make its August mail-in deadline.

The Senate proposed Tuesday to meet May 27 to revise the report, although the English division representative Patrick Leong said that his collogues wanted to delay the final revision until the start of fall semester, when everyone is back at work, even though he told them it could not be done.

Anatomy class cut by budget

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

One section of DVC's popular human anatomy class is MIA in the 2008 fall schedule due to schoolwide budget cuts demanded by the district.

Despite high demand for the class, the biological science department was forced to drop one from six sections to five, said biology professor Catherine Machalinski.

'Code Blue phones' back

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

It took two months and over $100,000, but the signs hanging on DVC's Code Blue emergency phones reading, "Out of service. For emergencies, please call 911," have been taken down

"You always worry that when you don't have one of your tools available, that's when you'll need it," said Lieutenant Tom Sharp, relieved that the phones are back on-line.

DVC H20: a risk?

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The water at DVC passes all the government standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency,, but you might be surprised to know what is in that water.

The San Francisco Chronicle and the Contra Costa Times recently ran stories about pharmaceuticals that make their way through sewage treatment plants, into waterways and eventually back into drinking water.

Safety at night concerns students

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Alexis Chamness, 18, keeps her guard up when attending evening classes at DVC. Her friend, Kimmie Raw, 18, does the same. "I don't like walking around campus at night," she said.
Chamness and Raw are among some 6,000 students who attend classes as late as 10 p.

The dangers of Golf Club Road

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Crossing Golf Club Road can be a life-changing experience - even with the stop sign and traffic light.
Over a one-year period, beginning in April 1, 2007, 224 traffic citations were issued and 12 accidents reported on the road that fronts the campus, according to Pleasant Hill Police records.

Study and protect: student by day, police officer by night.

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Tamera Trujillo doesn't wear her uniform when she attends classes at Diablo Valley College.

Nor does she wear casual clothing while supervising 16 police aides who patrol the campus and issue parking citations in the parking lot.

Nine units shy of an A.

Road to retirement ends at DVC bookstore

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

It didn't take Andy Schachair more than one year to decide retirement wasn't for him.

His wife, who worked for DVC at the time, recruited her husband for a part-time job at the DVC bookstore.

"I said, 'Ah, I'll try it,' and I've been here ever since," said Schachair, now 81 and in his 20th year in the shipping department, where he sends overstocked books back to the publisher for refunds.

A vote for youth

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Rebecca Barrett is on her way to changing the world one youth vote at a time.

The DVC student is running for a seat on the Democratic County Central Committee and if elected she will be one of the youngest people ever to serve.

"I will be a representative for the youth vote," Barrett, 19 said.

Men's swim team takes state title

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The men's swim team won the state championships with a score of 488 last weekend at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, narrowly beating out Ventura College by 54 points.

The championship was the first men's title since 2003, and all 10 swimmers contributed to the point total.

Vikings to face Solano in first round

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

After a crushing home defeat to Cosumnes River in extra innings in the last game of the season, DVC finished third in the Big 8 Conference and slipped to the No. 10 seed in the Northern California playoffs.

The Vikings lost three of their last four games to fall from a three-way tie for first with Sierra and defending conference champion Sacramento City.

American identity explored in "Clash and Celebration of Cultures"

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Arena Theater at DVC heated up over the weekend with a series of seven plays, the "Clash and Celebration of American Cultures."

"The plays are funny, caustic, dark, and serious," said director Ed Trujillo. "[They] offer warnings and hope.

DVC Frat: the musical

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

DVC has "gone Greek." - at least in the music department.

What started off as a casual, half-joking conversation between Aaron Jensen and a friend is now reality.

DVC has a 15-member "colony" of the National Honorary Band Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, which was formed in 1919 at A&M College in Oklahoma.

Broadcast yourself at DVC gallery

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

From now until May 16, Neighborhood Public Radio will broadcast live from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the DVC Art Gallery.

Students, faculty, and staff are welcome to speak their mind, play music, sing, and perform in front of a live microphone, according to a NPR press release.

Editorial: Freedom of press in peril

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

If the college district's new communications director, Tim Leong, really wants to improve relations with the media, we have a suggestion: He should rip up his new plan.

Channeling all press inquiries through a public relations person may work in the private sector, or at PG&E, where Leong worked for many years.

Guns of our fathers

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Gun violence in America is a serious and complex issue, but for all the discussion that has gone on, there is one critical thing missing from the debate: the reason why we have the right to bear arms in the first place.

Protesting shouldn't be trendy

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Lately, many people are arguing and protesting over human rights abuses in China. But violence against the Tibetans has been an issue for years now.