thecollegian Issue 13 • Friday, April 25, 2014 • deltacollegian.net
INSIDE
Political Correctness: Life or Death? Professors debate on validity of Political Correctness in our society by heidi sharp
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Examining the dark side of children’s fiction Page 4
Popular internet expressions, timeless Page 2
Mustangs baseball pushing into the playoffs Page 7
Thursday, Apr. 17 Delta College Speech and Debate hosted a professor debate in the West Forum. The topic was phrased in the form of a statement, and there were two panelists defending the affirmative (agreeing with the statement) and two panelists on the negative (disagreeing with the statement). The statement was clear and simple: “Political correctness must die.” It was written on the dry-erase board behind them. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “politically correct” (PC) as “conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated.” On the affirmative side was professor William Ferraiolo and professor Jeff Toney. On the negative was professor and Forensics coach Kathleen Bruce and professor Harry Mersmann. Toney sat on the opposite side from his personal views. “I have been involved in speech and debate for a long time, playing devil’s advocate comes with
ASBG meeting on April 28, at Rauhuff Boardroom at 2:30 P.M. Big 8 Conference Championships Finals, Merv Smith Track at 9 A.M.
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According to the Center for Disease Control, there are around 14,000-19,000 injuries caused by accidental shootings per year in the U.S. Though only about 500 of those cases result in death, these numbers are substantial enough to cause concern. Detroit engineer Omer Kiyani has designed a new device to enhance gun safety. Referred to as Identilock, the device is connected to the trigger of a pistol, which can only be released by an authorized fingerprint. This biometric technology is similar to what is in the iPhone 5S where a user must touch their phone in order to unlock it. The Identilock is currently undergoing some fine-tuning on its prototype. While Kiyani and the manufacturers at Sentinl are seeking further investment, they still anticipate the U.S. release
PHOTO BY JIM VERGARA
PROFESSOR BATTLE: Top, from left to right Professor Will Ferraiolo, Jeff Toney, Harry Mersmann, and Kathleen Bruce took part in the debate as to whether political correctness should die. Left, students and staff all crowded the West Forum to catch the debate and see which side could defend their point the strongest.
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Technology for gun safety similar to iPhone by micheal johnson
UPCOMING
the territory,” said Toney. Each side received seven minutes for their opening statements. The affirmative spoke first, Ferraiolo introduced his “Top ten reasons PC is bad.” Some of which included: “PC is disingenuous,” “PC presumes that my thoughts are yours to control,” and “PC is an expression of weakness.” Mersmann provided the negative opening statement which included reasons such as: “PC is about making people feel welcome,” “It helps make people aware of social and political inequalities,” and “Words are powerful and people carry words that were said to them around for the rest of their lives.” After opening statements, there was a five-minute crossfire segment where the panelists were allowed to ask the other side questions. One of the questions brought up during the debate was from Ferraiolo: “Who gets to decide which labels are the PC ones to use?” Bruce answered: “Not the Patriarchy.” The crossfire section was fol-
sometime next year. As an accidental gunshot victim himself, Kiyani has worked on a plan to curb these types of situations. It has been over a year since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings occurred in Connecticut and gun control is still a hot-button issue. Not only could this technology prevent accidental discharge, but it also can prevent the gun from being used by someone with the wrong intentions. Whether you are for or against it, we can all agree that safety is a must when dealing with lethal weapons. One essential problem may be the systems reliability. These electronic devices have potential to malfunction which can prove to be fatal. The Identilock may seem like a futuristic concept or something out of a sci-fi movie, but manufac-
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ASBG finishes college hour with a Luau party and big celebration by diane rivera
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ASBG held the final college hour for the semester on Thursday April 17th. The chosen theme was luau. Activities during the event were dancing “the woddle” as well as doing the limbo. Some students volunteered to dance the hula. T-shirts, tank tops, and shorts all sold for a discounted price by ASBG. Delta College student and candidate for the ASBG Senator at Large Jeremiah Stanley said “ [the event] was good although I had some wardrobe malfunction with the grass skirt,” Several students dressed up to match the theme of the event, wearing flip flops and Hawaiian shirts. “It’s very interesting because different ethnic groups come together, and there should have more things like this more often,” stated James Briones Delta Psi Historian. Briones was also dressed for the occasion. There was also food that was catered by Ono Hawaiian BBQ. They provided BBQ Beef, BBQ Chicken, Chicken Katsu, rice, Macaroni salad and Hawaiian mix salad. ASBG President QuaNisha Smith summed up the real purpose of college hour when she said, “This year we wanted to show the students we really care about them, and we wanted to also promote student life on campus,” Students looking forward to the next College hour should keep their eyes out for the upcoming Fall semester. Students interested in serving on ASBG should look on the website for more information at www.deltacollege.edu/org/asbg