M ERCED C OLLEGE The Blue Devil Report V OLUME 2, I SSUE 1 F EBRUARY 2012 EVERYBODY WANTS TO KNOW “WHY WE SING THE BLUES…” a black history for black history month by Victor Smith, Advisor BDR Ordinarily when Black History Month comes around we are reintroduced to black figures such as Fredrick Douglas, WEB Dubois, George Washington Carver, Phyllis Wheatly, Langston Hughes and an in exhaustive list of brilliant and famous black folks. Here, I have accumulated an unconventional mix of histological events intended stir the conscious, provoke a serious and deliberate look at the legacy of the peoples who, big and small, over the past couple of centuries have become African American. A portion of the opening line of B.B. King‟s classic Why I Sing the Blues begins to tell us what African American history is all about. “… I first got the blues, when I was brought over on a ship,” King explains. The ship spoken of by B.B. symbolizes the thousands of notorious vessels that crossed the section of the Atlantic known as the: middle passage to deliver over four million captured Africans into slavery over the continent of the Americas. Malcolm X, in his autobiography commented on slave ships that “… sharks learned that following those ships was a way to an easy meal.” Once on the shores of the Americas, slaves were warehoused in markets. One such venue was erected on the docks of New York City in 1709. The place was named Wall Street for the barrier that was built to obscure the slave auction which was an eyesore to those carrying on in the financial district. June 21, 1788 the new Constitution of the United States was ratified and goes into effect. The Preamble to the Constitution declares: “… that all mankind is created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights i.e. life, liberty and the pursuit to happiness.” In 1810 there are 1,377,808 black folks in the US, and not all were slaves. According to Sharon Hartley The Timetable of African American History, there were 310 slaves in Connecticut at the time and at the same period there were 210 free black in Mississippi... of all places! The point is: the history of blacks in the Americas runs back to and before the explorations of Hernando Cortes in 1526. But no event from the Sixteenth Century until this very day has had the social, political and economical impact of the United States Constitution‟s Preamble. In 1857 the US Supreme Court made one of the worst rulings against mankind in the history of our court system when it ruled in Dred Scott v Sanford that a slave cannot sue for his freedom because he or she is the property. The Emancipation Proclamation is en- acted January 1, 1863. All hell would break loose as the American democratic experiment pays an enormous price for the denying of its African American population life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness as the bloodiest conflict in this nation‟s history would breakout. The Civil War would pit father against son and brother against brother. 1866 the first of a series of Civil Rights Acts declares blacks to be US citizens. The 1957 version established a commission to look at the situation. The 1960 version dealt with the ongoing obstruction of the right of blacks to vote by those who were ill. In 1896 another US Supreme Court blunder rules in Plessy v Ferguson that “separate but equal “facilities are constiContinued Page 6 SEE BLACK HISTORY I NSIDE THIS ISSUE : P RESIDENT ’ S P AGE 2 C OMMUNITY S PIRIT 3 E XTENDED L IBRARY H OURS 4 H OLOCAUST E XHIBIT 7 A RT A ND M USIC 8 F REEDOM R IDERS 11 P AGE 2 T HE B LUE D EVIL R EPORT T HE P RESIDENT ‟ S P AGE Dear Students: I am pleased to post a draft of the Follow Up Report that will be submitted to the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges by March 15, 2012. Until February 23, the document will be circulated for review by the Academic Senate, Associated Students, and will receive a final review by the Board of Trustees on March 7. Last edits to the document must be made by the evening of February 23. The report can be found online by accessing the Accreditation link on the Merced College Homepage. http://www.mccd.edu/about_us/merced_college/accreditation/ I hope that you will take the time to read this important report. 1. This is a living, evolving document and corrections will be made as needed. Because of the short time line, we decided to post it now so that you will have as much time as possible to review the document. 2. The posting of evidence is a highly dynamic process. These will be incorporated over the following seven to ten days. 3. The College is addressing the recommendations made by the visiting team, which may be found in the team report and letter from the Commission on the Accreditation website. It is important to receive your comments. In particular, we need to be informed of any factual errors or major omissions. We will continue to correct typos and formatting. Please feel free to forward them to me and Robin Shepard, our editor. Finally, you already should have received an invitation to two upcoming Accreditation Forums, both to be held in Lesher 111. The first was February 16 at noon, and the second is on February 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. This will be an opportunity for you to ask questions, offer your thoughts, and to learn more about the accreditation process. Sincerely, Anne D. Newins, Accreditation Liaison Officer, Vice President of Student Personnel M ERCED C OLLEGE A CCREDITATION : B ACKGROUND AND N EWS By Melissa Rocha, BDR Advisor Merced College will be receiving another visit from the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges this semester. This follow-up visit comes after their visit last Spring, which resulted in the college being placed on “warning.” Accreditation, as all students should know, is the certification of a college as an educational institution. Regional accreditation is necessary in order to assure that a college is meeting educational standards for the students and communities that it serves. It is also necessary to be eligible for federal funding, such as financial aid. Warning status is the first level of sanction on this college‟s accreditation. It does not mean that the school has lost accreditation; it means the college is being warned of problem areas that need fixing, in order to continue to keep accreditation. The accreditation commission, in its initial status report following last spring‟s visit, has given the college notice of areas which need to be examined and adjusted in order to be removed from warning status. The college, in response, has created its own committee to address the issues and write a follow-up report for the commission, so that when the commission returns this Spring, they can determine whether the college had made the proper improvements. After their examination of the follow-up report, and revisit of the college, the commission will decide whether or not to keep Merced College on warning, remove it from warning, or put it on some other level of sanction. This process is a long and involved one, but extremely necessary. The changes needed involve thorough examination of our college‟s programs, classes, and services, which will take much time to work into our existing structures; some changes will not be possible to put into play until Fall. Many of the necessary improvements require intensive assessment and reassessment to maintain and sustain academic integrity for this institution. The modifications that need to be made to our college will take time to implement, but we are well on our way. Accreditation demands that a college hold itself accountable for the quality of the education it provides, and this college is working its hardest to provide the proper accountability in order to get off warning and have a strong accreditation status. Many faculty and staff are devoting their time to assuring the accreditation committee that Merced College is committed to academic integrity. Students, are the most important part of this college, and need to be aware of what is happening V OLUME 2, I SSUE 1 P AGE 3 B UILDING S TRONG C OMMUNITY B RINGS P EOPLE T OGETHER there is the power to do it.” In our college, we lack that unity which our future universities and fellow colleges may have already mastered. Each of us is to blame for this self-centered view of our college, and of the world. The question we propose is surely not without answers, as many colleges have come to a solution in great satisfaction. by Nicholas Lozito As our 2012 school season takes off, many of our students are preparing their upcoming May graduations. We could assume that their farewell will be full of joy and excitement, as they are finally able to take that step towards their future and away from this college so many have attended for years. There will be many who may never look back, but there will surely be those who feel as though they are leaving behind a family and a small piece of themselves. For those of us who will return in Fall, we can only hope that our time will be well spent on our education, friends, and experiences. The journey towards University can be just as worthy and fun as our conquests thereafter. For those who look back at this school with contempt or feeling as though, “It‟s just a college,” as so many students have told me, what could we have done differently to bring everyone together to make this Community College a true community? American author Marianne Williamson so famously said, “In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, Read any blog, ask any alumni, or approach a fellow faculty member or student and you will find that all of these individuals have an opinion of our school and that opinion will differ based on whether or not they enjoyed themselves. Those who are happiest generally attribute their fondness of Merced College, and any other aspect of their lives, to one thing: their involvement! If we want to build a strong community we must bring people together. With a multitude of diversities here on campus, we could surely find a group to please nearly every person who attends, and if we cannot find such group, we must create one in order to please ourselves and be around like-minded individuals. From the CEO Club to the Psychology Club, Merced College is not short of opportunities to meet new people and explore and learn in a vast array of subjects. It is simple to start a new club or simply revive an old one and then start getting the word out through Facebook, Blogs, the school bulletins, or maybe even drop by the Journalism club to see about having us advertise your meetings. Your level of involvement with any area of your life will directly correlate with your level of fulfillment and happiness and these opportunities generally require strong leaders to take charge and inspire others to start in promoting this cohesiveness that we all desire. We must encourage our faculty to be the liaison between the administration and the students and we must create that environment where students feel comfortable to come forward with suggestions or complaints. In order to feel the true community we must all take a stand and allow this common space we share to become truly intimate and supportive of one another. We must lead by example and promote this change. Go cheer for our sports teams or organize a poetry reading or set up a faculty-student bowling night at the local lanes. Bring together the student body to volunteer at the Food Bank or an elderly home, or approach your art directors about doing a monthly Art Exhibit here on campus. Let‟s organize a movie night here on campus or create traditions that bring students and teachers together. At the very least, stop by our department or write us an email with any suggestions that we can pass on. All of these are simple and greatly rewarding, but they take leaders to step forward and make that change for the benefit of their fellow classmates and the many students to come. There must be a voice for the unrepresented and we have a great opportunity at this school to create and greatly improve our quality of life with just a little effort. In speaking with students, they are waiting for the initiative of their fellow classmates and teachers. Many instructors are curious and open to such initiative, as many of them have been on campuses where the spirit of the school is its‟ bloodline. Inspiring and enlightened talks of this topic can bring forth a tremendous amount of wisdom and suggestions. In speaking with Dr. Brent Saich, he explained how important leaders can be and how key it is to have a vibrant energy run throughout the participants. “When you refer to building community you are actually suggesting a need to energize an environment so that it evolves into community which is essentially the art of developing authentic relationships between people, specifically people who share Merced College in common.” We mustn‟t wait for all the pieces to line up in order to make that change. Dr. Saich said it perfectly, “It is an „art form‟ because in the absence of some disaster or tragedy, communities are relatively inert, lacking significant positive motion.” As we look in the newspapers and flip through the channels, we see millions of fellow Americans taking that initiative and standing in the “Occupy” movement. While the participants are brought together in this stand, America embraces one another in our vast differences yet common interests. Allow us that same vigor in the stand for ourselves and for our school community. Lets put the Community back into Community College and find a new reason to enjoy the school that many of us spend a great amount of our time. As the graduates move on, the school stays still and braces for another round of eager students hoping that Merced College will be a right fit for them. Let‟s all stand up and take the initiative to improve our time here at this wonderful campus and, ultimately, to improve our greater community. T HE B LUE D EVIL R EPORT P AGE 4 MC L IBRARY E XTENDS H OURS F RIDAYS & S ATURDAYS !!! Plus the research resources and the dedicated staff who are there to help students with their library needs. by Leo Farias ASMC Representative Senator Consider its orange- peach color, its large lightly tinted windows that line its two stories, its large size and the huge metallic letters running down its middle spelling out "Library." Merced College has a large and spacious library; its size corresponds to the vast resources students can access once inside. There are computers, instruction rooms, personal desks, group tables, conference rooms and study rooms. More importantly, though, the library provides a place where students can do their homework and put into practice the lessons learned in class. It's where students come to do their research and where they can always rely on finding a quiet place to read. If you spend time in the library it's probably because you need one of its many assets. As last semester came to a close, one of the most important decisions affecting student success for this semester took place. The Student Success Committee voted unanimously to use existing funds to provide money necessary for extending library hours, and so extending access to all that it already gives to students. Before this, the library closed at noon Fridays; now it will be open until 2 p.m., as well as being open most Sat- urdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Though it might sound as if it were a simple solution to a student need, the whole process took a lot of discussion, petitioning and perseverance. It all started with a murmur among the student body. Some students simply couldn't understand why the library closed at noon on Fridays when there were still classes going on past noon. Other students complained that they needed the library on weekends because that was the only time they could use it. Inquiries stemming from the request for more hours were brought up to administrators and also at some of the committees. Everyone agreed that having more hours was important, but in a time of cutbacks, how could funds be found without hurting other areas? That's when the Student Success Committee came in and said that it would use money from its basic skills fund to provide the money to have the library hours ex- tended. That money, a total of $23,700, would cover the costs of extending the hours for one semester. Though only enough to pay for one semester, it was still nonetheless one semester with more library time. Furthermore, because only one semester was able to be funded, it also would serve as a measure to see if students would actually use the extra hours. If they do, then perhaps in the future funding for these hours could come from the general fund, making the longer hours permanent. Only after this semester ends will we be able to tell if the extra hours were used and whether this is actually a student need that should be addressed long term. But for now students -- along with faculty, staff and administrators -- should be happy that through good communication and a common goal for student success, the road was found to meet students needs. AT TENTION STUDENTS!!! P RIORITY R EGISTRATION C HANGES M AY A FFECT Y OU !!! Students who have attempted more than 110 units of course work (including W, P, NP, & letter grades) prior to Spring 2012 will no longer have a Group A or Group B registration assignment and will move to the Group G registration assignment. Near the end of March 2012 you will receive an email in your student email account to inform you of your assigned registration group and time to register for Summer and Fall 2012 classes. This increase is effective for SUMMER 2012 REGISTRATION N EWSLETTER T ITLE P AGE 5 L.E.D.—L EADERSHIP , E DUCATION & D ISCUSSION by Hannah Glenn ASMC Representative Senator for Los Banos Leaders are rarely born, but are made through hard work, mentorship, education and possibilities to grow. That is why leadership conferences such as those attended annually by ASMC student government members are such an important opportunity offered through Merced College. After attending one such CCCSAA conference in San Jose last semester, Advisor Raul Alcala questioned whether student government officials could bring some of the material they learned back B LUE D EVIL R EPORT ‟ S “M AN O N T HE S TREET ” „T HUNDER V OICE ‟ D ISCOVERS P ASSIONATE G UITARIST O N C AMPUS Jovani Ramirez, a guitarist, was born in Redwood City San Mateo County and moved to Merced at the age of 3. He found his love for music by way of the guitar through his older brothers. He always tells himself to keep an open mind as he perfects his musical talents. He aspires to play all around the world starting with Merced and building momentum gradually. Jovani continues to further his musical education here at Merced College because he wants to be a great musician and one day would like to sell out arenas. For Jovani, playing the guitar relaxes him mentally, even though as a child he was told to stop making noise. This motivated him to perfect his instrument and play the kind of music that touches people with every chord strummed. For those that would like to know more about what Jovani is currently doing you can find him jamming at the forte, from time to time with his band SKNK, at local open mics and venues. He has aspirations of traveling the world in the future. He is also sharing his passion for playing the guitar as an instructor at the Mitchell Senior Middle School in Atwater. So look out Blue Devils!!! This is an artist that is on campus who is ready to play just for you, before and after class!!!! to the Merced College campus, and whether other students might be interested in presenting. As a result, the idea of hosting student-led workshops with a conferencelike atmosphere of leadership learning to the Merced College campus emerged. education and discussion), and will be hosted by a variety of students and possibly several professors. If all goes as planned, several of the workshops will be featured not only at the main campus of Merced College, but at the Los Banos campus as well. It is hoped that students will The event will hopefully take take advantage of this unique place next month in midopportunity to gain some of March, and exact dates and the skills and encouragement times will be released as the that can help make them betevent draws closer. The ter leaders and more effective workshops have been dubbed in their clubs, college, and the Student L.E.D. (leadership, community. AGE 6 T HE B LUE D EVIL RPEPORT P AGE 6 continued a steady and meAmadou Diallo who in1991 thodical marched towards the was shot multiple times by tutional. In 1954 the US Su- prize. New York police. A wallet preme Court gets one right In 1964 Reverend Martin Lu- held out in the hand of Diallo when it rules in Brown v Board ther King Jr. was awarded the was thought to be a gun by the of Education of Topeka that seg- Nobel Prize for Peace in Oslo police officers involved. regated schools are “… inher- Norway and, controversy As in the Rodney King verdict ently unequal.” returns to the US Supreme four police officers were acBLACK HISTORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Guess what happens to Plessy v Court in 1978. In decision Ferguson? that the dismantled affirmative The most recent Civil Rights action programs in education and in the work place the Act was enacted in 1964 where the Attorney General High Court ruled that the University of California Davis was given power to protect “citizens” against discrimina- engaged in reverse discrimination in public places, establish tion when Allan Bakke was denied admission to the UC the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, elimi- Davis Medical School. Bakke nated discrimination in feder- was disturbed that a black women was admitted through ally assisted programs and a program aimed at giving authorized the US Office of people of color a chance. Education to aid in desegregating US schools. The adverse affects of the aboNow there is a lot of volatile lition of affirmative action in and difficult stuff here to look education and the work place at; feeling and emotions come are still being felt today. up, but the purpose is not to The inflated numbers of unfan flame of anger vindictive- employment in our nation is ness. at crisis level as evidenced by This history is about building protests and numerous occupy bridges and getting over them. movements. We do well to comb this history in search of common ground. April 4, 1991 riots broke out across California after four police officers who while on video tape brutally beating On one hand we see intelligent, well educated and spiri- motorist Rodney King and were later acquitted by an all tual people enslaving, oppressing and exploiting vari- white jury in a Simi Valley. ous ethnic and racial groups. Fifty-eight persons died in the On the other hand we see the aftermath. emergence of people with a It‟s the practice of racial promoral conscious exuding the filing and its core prejudicial gifts of forgiveness, reconcilia- attitudes that inherently motition and restoration. vate the kind of police brutality that was acted out by the The thing to keep in mind is perpetrators in the Rodney that despite the Jim Crow Laws and ordinances and the King beating. unjust court decisions black people in the Americas have The same psyche was demonstrated in the murder of that the CIA was linked Nicaraguan who had smuggled cocaine into the U.S. which was then distributed as crack cocaine into Los Angeles and funneled profits to the Contras. The large shipments of drugs into U.S. cities where large black communities exquitted of all charges against isted enabled The War on them. Drugs on peoples whom had Twenty three year old Oscar drugs poured into their comGrant during the early hours munities and the implementof New Year‟s Day 2009 was ing of mandatory sentencing shot and killed by police in laws as Three Strikes which Oakland while he lay face are systematically destroying down with hands cuffed benear whole black communihind him. ties. According to Racial Divide: An Examination of the Even as this piece is being Impact of California's Three written a controversy rages New York City over the kill- Strikes Law on African ing of unarmed Ramarley Gra- Americans and Latinos, “African Americans and Latiham. The eighteen-year-old killed by police in the home of nos are penalized at every his parents February 6, 2012. stage of the criminal justice system at rates disproportionRamarley was shot at close ate to their share of the genrange in the apartment‟s bath- eral population.” room after he had been chased “The makeup of Three into the house by narcotics Strikes defendants, African detectives. Americans are given life senNews accounts indicated that tences under Three Strikes at over five hundred protestors nearly 13 times the rate of have gathered and are criticiz- Whites; and, the Latinos are ing police not only for the incarcerated under Three killing but as mentioned Strikes a staggering 82 percent above; a stop-and-frisk prac- more than Whites” the report tice and policy of which critics concludes. claim disproportionately tarSo what is the meaning of all gets people of color. of this? The meaning is an At the rally, protesters conoffering of a history and the demned the police actions of a black experience that might systematic pattern of practice serve as a model, blueprint or and treatment of black youth. paradigm for peoples of all “It is not about capturing colors, race, social rating and criminals this is the hunting ethnicity. The meaning is to down and killing of black aid those suffering and sufferyouths,” said one protestor. ing unnecessarily. In a series of 1996 articles in San Jose Mercury News Garry Webb published allegations V OLUME 2, I SSUE 1 P AGE 7 “C OURAGE T O R EMEMBER ” E XHIBIT C OMMERATES H OLOCAUST The Holocaust from the African American Perspective by Victor Smith, Advisor BDR Of the joys in celebrating Black History Month is the discovery of lost treasures, stories that aren‟t widely known or ordinarily told. There are a few programs throughout the year The History Channel, Discovery, and PBS, February and Black History Month affords the opportunity to enter into a deeper and more profound realm. I recently attended the Courage to Remember Exhibit commemorating the Holocaust at Modesto‟s Vintage Mall. I felt this being the middle of Black History Month it was the perfect opportunity to connect the two tragic and catastrophic event suffered by two peoples and cultures often disconnected and misunderstood by each other. I wanted to explore the idea of the holocaust from an African American perspective. The event was appropriately named, “Courage to Remember” because on the invitation it was mentioned that along with the Jews throughout Europe aged people, disabled, children, Russians, and Roma Sinta were all persecuted. I believe the Modesto Mayor was there. I know Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill O‟Brien was there; he exhorted the audience: “… we must re- main eternally vigilant against the evil of prejudice, racism and indifference.” It was those kids that touched my emotions; seeing those kids sitting, legs crossed, taking it all in brought tears to my eyes. It would be their burden to purvey the value and “There very well may have been some African Americans there,” I replied. “One thing we know for sure is that there were peoples there of African descent, and it‟s there story that is rarely included in contemporary accounts. Africans were and always have been spread throughout Europe,” I answered. The point is: the relationship between African Americans and Jews tradition: “… Never Again.” needs more cultivation; it is The crowd was too big, and often assessed by negative so much going on I nearly images projected by powerful gave up on my motive; it ap- extremist media figures and peared I wouldn‟t get into politicians. We don‟t see the any dialog or conversation on two ethnicities working tothe Holocaust from an African gether and in search for the American perspective. That is common ground between the until one of my former stutwo peoples with such close dents at Merced College and historical and social parallels her husband showed up. And when we examine the three I want to give a shout out to Abrahamic Religions of the the other Merced College Book, Judaism, Christianity, students and professors in the and Islam we find three faiths crowd too. “What are you that await one who would doing here?” I was asked. “… come to a chaotic earth and I am here to support the restore humanity and our memory and cause today cosmos to a state of paradise. from an African American In America millions and milperspective,” I replied. An lions of African Americans African American fellow share with Jews a common named Tyrone who was faith and conviction in the standing close expanded the same God: the god of Abraconversation. ham Isaac and Jacob. “You mean to tell me there Being of the Abrahamic faith were African Americans in African Americans believe the Holocaust?” He asked. that it was the same force that delivered them from the clutches of the vicious AnteBellum Slave System, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Struggles that delivered the suffering Jews from total destruction out of hands of Adolf Hitler. African Americans have long recognized the concentration camp model implemented by Josef Mengle and Hermann Goring that had been handed down to the younger goring by his Father who had designed first known concentration camps at the turn of the twentieth century during the colonization of South Africa where diamonds had been discovered. Despite the Manichean mellow dramatic hype we read about and see on the screen that dramatizes anti-Semitism attitudes towards Jews and hatred by Jews towards African Americans on the ground that is just not the case. Jews were on the front rows of the civil rights battles between blacks and the likes of Bull Conner the racist Alabama Governor that turned water hoses on and set dogs on the peaceful protestors. A check of predominately black colleges like: Alcorn, Southern, Grambling, and Hampton, Fisk , Howard and many others you‟ll find that many of the Jewish intellectual exiles found sanctuary among the black institutions of higher learning. So my hope here is that we began a conversation on the Holocaust from an African American Perspective that we might continue during Black History Months in the future. T HE B LUE D EVIL R EPORT P AGE 8 A RT G ALLERY P RESENTS S TUDENT E XHIBIT “O SCAR T ORRES ” by Montserrat Reyes Oscar Torres displays his art in his first solo exhibition to date in the Merced College art gallery. The coowner of popular restaurant J&R Tacos says he started creating art at a very young age, recalling visiting museums in Mexico and admiring the works of legendary artists like Salvador Dali and El Greco. Torres says his work is autobiographical; employing a wide range of mediums (like charcoal, pencil, acrylic and oil paints) to tell stories from his past. Torres plans to complete his AA degree in fine arts this year and transfer to a four-year university to obtain his Bachelors degree. C OMING S OON : E NTERTAINMENT S CHEDULE M ARCH 2012 Merced College Theater Tartuffe by Moliere Translation by Richard Wilbur Directed by Carin Heidelbach March 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 @ 7:30 pm March 18 @ 2:00 pm $10 regular admission, $8 students & faculty *special $5 student price on Thursday, March 15 only Merced College Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition Merced College Art Gallery March 7 - March 29 Reception: March 7, 6:00-7:30 pm Merced College Concert Band Merced College Theater Guest Conductor: Sandra Stocking March 23 @ 7:30 pm $8 regular admission, $5 students & seniors Tickets can be purchased at the Merced College Bookstore and the Theater Box Office For more information on Merced College Arts Events, including ticket purchase information, please contact the Art Office 209.386.6644 or the Theater Box Office 209.384.6284. www.mccd.edu/theArts V OLUME 2, I SSUE 1 P AGE 9 B LUE D EVIL B ASEBALL I S B ACK !!! Feb 23 Taft Taft 2:00 pm Feb 25 Taft MERCED 1:00 pm Feb 28 Sequoias MERCED 2:00 pm Mar 1 Sequoias Visalia 2:00 pm Mar 3 Sequoias MERCED 1:00 pm Mar 8 Feather River TBA 2:00 pm Mar 13 Porterville Porterville 2:00 pm Mar 15 Porterville MERCED 2:00 pm Mar 17 Porterville Porterville 1:00 pm Mar 20 West Hills Coalinga 2:00 pm Mar 22 West Hills MERCED 2:00 pm Mar 24 *West Hills Coalinga 1:00 pm Mar 27 Fresno Fresno 7:00 pm Mar 29 Fresno MERCED 7:00 pm Mar 31 Fresno Fresno 1:00 pm Photo by Pat Kelly Home Games Listed in Bold S PORTS R OUNDUP Feb 23 Delta 4:00 pm Feb 26 Lassen TBA Mar 1 Taft 2:00pm Mar 3-4 Fresno Bash @ Fresno TBA Mar 6 Reedley @ Reedley 1:00pm/3:00 pm Mar 8 Porterville 2:00pm/4:00 am Mar 08 Reedley @ MERCED 1:00/3:00pm Mar 10-11 Ohlone Tourney @ Fremont TBA Mar 13 Fresno 2:00pm/4:00pm Mar 15 West Hills @ Coalinga 2:00pm Mar 20 Sequoias @ Visalia 2:00pm Mar 24 Feather River 12:00pm/2:00pm Mar 27 Taft @ Taft 2:00pm/4:00pm Mar 29 *Reedley 2:00pm By Monserrat Reyes The Lady Devil Basketball team‟s season is still going strong as they enter Regional‟s on February 22nd with a 10-15 overall record and a 4-5 conference record. The Blue Devil softball team opened their season with two solid wins against Butte College in early February, leaving them with a 2-1 overall record. Our Men‟s Basketball team is wrapping up a season of tough losses with a 1-21 overall record. Nor-Cal play-offs begin February 22nd. On a brighter note, our baseball team started their season off with four consecutive wins, giving them a 5-2 overall record. Be sure also look out for Track & Field as well as Men and Women‟s Swimming and Diving this semester! Go Blue Devils! P 10 P AGE AGE 10 EWSLETTER T ITLE T HE BNLUE D EVIL R EPORT P HI T HETA K APPA I NVITES G RADUATES F OR M EMBERSHIP Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society that serves Merced College. Our main purpose is to recognize and encourage academic excellence among community college students as well as promoting our dedication to the four hallmarks that drive our organization: scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship. We have the distinction of being a “by invitation only” honor society, but we encourage eligible students to contact us as there are many privileges to becoming a member. To be accepted into Phi Theta Kappa, a student must: Have completed at least 12 units of course work at Merced College; Have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher; Complete and submit a membership profile form; Pay a onetime membership fee at the time of application. PTK holds weekly meetings in Student Union 137 at 4:00pm so please feel free to join us. This semester we have a full load ahead of us as we will be launching our PTK4Kids program in conjunction with Ada Givens Elementary School. We will also be hosting a Biological Sciences seminar in cooperation with the Pre-Med Club, funding our trip to the Winchester Mys- tery House in April by selling World‟s Finest Chocolates and holding a flapjack fundraiser, participating in Blue Devil Day, and promoting Professor of the Year during Diversity Week on top of holding various fellowship events throughout the semester. It is very important to note that our annual Induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2012 and any new member being inducted must contact Phi Theta Kappa and pay their dues by Friday, March 16th in order to be recognized as an official Phi Theta Kappa member. If you have any questions or for further information please contact: President Claudia Gonzalez at: [email protected] or VP of Membership Eri Nagase at: [email protected] If you are graduating this semester, please contact your Phi Theta Kappa President. Remember that to graduate with honors and receive your stole, you must be a member for at least 45 days prior to graduation. T AHER D INING S ERVES H AWAIIAN F ARE A T L UAU L UNCH Photos by Thunder Voice Congratulations to Leo Farias, Guiyermina Patino, Bob Davies, Melissa Middleton, Don Hoornaert, Rayce Henri, Jennifer Edrington, Laurie Goodwin, Toni McCall and Ed Bush all winners of the $5.00 Taher gift card at the Hawaiian Luau Drawing! C RIMINAL J USTICE C LUB W ANTS Y OU ! Are you a Criminal Justice or Corrections Major? Or do you have an interest in the Criminal Justice field? If so, then join the Criminal Justice Club! Our organization has the honor of being the Club of the Year for 2010-2011 school year due to the dedication we have to our members and our hard work. We are committed to giving back to our community and engage in various diverse projects on campus and throughout the county. This semester the Criminology club will be holding a toy drive to benefit the Children‟s Hospital, Central California, we will be cleaning up graffiti with the California Highway Patrol, fundraising for our annual trip to Great America, and holding our 2nd annual Jail & Bail Fundraiser during Diversity Week in May. So don‟t hesitate to join us! Come make new friends, network, and gain valuable experience! Our meetings our held every other Tuesday at 5pm in VOC-11 beginning January 31st. For more information contact: President Claudia Gonzalez at: [email protected] V OLUME 2, I SSUE 1 P AGE 11 A RTISTS AND P OETS T URN O UT A T M ERCED C OLLEGE T HEATER T O C OMMEMORATE B LACK H ISTORY M ONTH The Black History Month Celebration Honoring "The Freedom Riders" was hosted by SOUL Student Organization Unified Leadership on February 19,2012 was held in the Merced College Theater where an audience of nearly a hundred people including community leaders, religious congregations, and students from as low as grade- school, middle, high school, and colleges including Modesto Jr. College, Stanislaus and Merced College were entertained by various poets, gospel, hip hop, dance R&B, and jazz. Rounding Out Black History Month: The writer Cecil Brown will be on the UC Merced campus 7 pm Feb. 23. He will give a lecture titled, "My Midnight in Paris with James Baldwin," as part of our African American Literature and Culture series. The lecture will be held in Classroom Office Building (COB) 120 as part of the UCM African American Literature and Culture Series. His talk is titled, “Midnight in Paris with James Baldwin.” Open and free to the public. The event is sponsored by the UCM Center for Research in the Humanities & Arts, and the UCM Merritt Writing Program. For more information contact Nigel Hatton, [email protected]. Cecil Brown holds a PhD in African-American Literature, Folklore, and Theory of Narrative from the University of California, Berkeley, a master‟s degree from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor‟s degree from Columbia University. He has published a number of novels, short stories, screenplays, and journal articles relating to African-American literature and life, and has taught classes in literature and popular culture at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, UC Santa Barbara, the University of San Francisco, and other universities throughout California. The Blue Devil Report STUDENT NEWS MERCED COLLEGE Students for Social Justice will be holding a Planned Parenthood HIV Awareness presentation on February 23rd in Lesher-111. S4SJ wants to raise awareness, educate students, and help eradicate the myths regarding the HIV virus and the stigma and stereotypes attached to it. Please join us for this educational event and assist us in spreading this valuable information. Also, on March 1st, S4SJ will be hosting a presentation in association with LINK (Liberty in North Korea) to discuss the current state of North Korea. This event will be held at Merced College in Lesher-111 and we invite all students to attend and support this cause. JOURNALISM CLUB 3600 M STREET, RM. ART 3 MERCED, CA 95354 PHONE: 209-386-6655 EMAIL: [email protected] Club Members: Cynthia Blackmore, Editor Hannah Glenn, Journalist Leo Farias, Journalist Nicholas Ozito, Journalist Thunder Voice, Photo-Journalist Montserrat Reyes, Journalist Marina Holmes, Journalist Claudia Gonzalez, Journalist Jasmine Draz, Journalist Itatis Campos, Journalist Dominque Navarette, Journalist Rodney Mathews, Journalist Miki Akiyama, International Journalist Yee Xiong, International Journalist Steven Sanchez, Photo-Journalist Co-Advisors: Victor Smith & Melissa Rocha English Adjunct Faculty The Native American Student Club is a mentor/ support group for tutoring Native American Students as they further their education. Many people believe that all Native Americans get money from there tribes but in many cases that is not true. This group is to help Native Students pursue their dreams of becoming whatever they want to be. This group‟s main focus is to support the Native American community. Besides helping Native American Students with school this group also plans to inform people about the Native American culture. We plan to work with the Indian Education program in the Mariposa Community and various other events. The Native American culture is much more than what you learn in a history class, where you only learn about the destruction of the tribes but being Native American is a way of life. This is the furthest this campus has gotten with a Native American Students Club and we hope we can make the best of it. Whether you are Native or not you can join this club. For more information contact Emily Dayhoff at [email protected] or Isabel Cambridge at [email protected]. MERCED COLLEGE CLASS OF 2012 Student Commencement Speaker and Graduation Idol Wanted! Want to motivate, empower and inspire our 2012 Graduates? Application deadline is Friday, March 9, 2012 Auditions will be scheduled with the Graduation Committee in April. For more information contact: Diane Spork [email protected] CEO CLUB & SAFE CLUB SELL SWEET GIFTS IN THE QUAD!
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