Blog 8: An Easy Way to Improve Your Health? Believe It.

What's warm and fuzzy and good for your health? Pets of course!

Since childhood my house has been crawling, slinking and prancing with pets. My animals have been a consistent source of happiness, comfort and stress relief for me and the other members of my household. Pets are an integral part of many people's lives, and the benefits of owning a pet extend beyond the "awww" factor. Below are a few ways that pets can improve your life and overall health.


1. Owning a pet can reduce stress and lessen feelings of loneliness and depression, which in turn alleviates stress-related health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, owning a pet can decrease your blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels and feelings of loneliness. Caring for an animal offers people the opportunity to give and receive unconditional love without the standard stress of human relationships, inevitably elevating the owner's mood. When I come home from a long day of work and school, the ecstatic, tail-wagging greetings from my dogs always lighten my spirits. Walking into my room and seeing my 16-year-old cat curled up on my bed, I can't help but smile.

Pets also seem to have an uncanny ability to sense when humans are down or depressed. Talking about her Labrador Retriever, pet owner and graduate student Victoria Arnold said, "Sawyer makes me more happy than anything else. When I feel down he seems to know it and will lay his head in my lap for some attention."



2. Pets can improve your fitness and cardiovascular health. Studies show that pet owners have statistically lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than people who do not have pets. It is believed that the reason for this is because, as stated above, pets help to alleviate stress. But pets (particularly dogs) can also serve as an impetus to get out and be active. Walking, running or even just rolling around on the ground with your dog can get your heart pumping and provide you with a great workout.

"As a running partner, Sawyer makes me want to run more, plus when we do go on runs he pushes me to go faster," said Arnold. "It's nice to have him challenge me. He most definitely makes the runs more enjoyable. It turns into a game with us. Sometimes I go trail running with him and let him run lead. It's a lot of fun to race each other in the woods."



3. Growing up with pets benefits children mentally and physically. Owning pets seems to have a positive impact on early childhood development. According to the study "The Health Benefits of Pets" by the National Institutes of Health, "A number of studies of children in diverse family circumstances suggest that, at least for some, the presence of a pet is greatly beneficial." It goes on to say that studies suggest that interacting with pets can help children create and maintain healthy relationships with peers.

But it seems children that are exposed to animals on a regular basis experience physical benefits as well. According to a WebMD article "5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health," children that live with furred animals have a lower propensity for allergies and overall stronger immune systems.

4. Pets can improve your social life. While animals cannot hold a conversation, they can still provide social stimulus for humans, particularly people who suffer from social anxiety. Connecting with another emotional being, regardless of species, opens the door for compassion and caring. The Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) in Walnut Creek has a "Teaching Loving Care" program that is based on this very idea. The program, which pairs ARF with the Contra Costa County Probation and Mental Health Departments, aims to "assist high-risk adolescent females in developing positive personal skills so that they can become contributing members of society." This is done through socialization with cats and dogs from the rescue center.

The WebMD article mentioned above even suggests that pets can help your dating life! Walking your dog or visiting a dog park opens new venues for socializing, potentially leading to romance, or at least friendship. Taking my dogs on a neighborhood walk usually results in 3-4 conversations with other dog-walkers. These are neighbors that I now know by name and am friendly with, neighbors that I would not have even spoken to if not for the flawless opener: "Oh your dog is so cute! What's her name?"



Pets can have an incredibly positive impact on your life. So go take your dog for a walk, or lounge around with your cat. Don't have a pet? Shelters and rescue centers exist in almost every county, including Contra Costa. Go search for a new, furry friend! It's a simple act that could change your life.

Contra Costa County Animal Shelter Adoptions

ARF Adoptions

Photos by Colleen McCullough

Blog 7: Now UC It, Now You Dont!

Just when you thought being a Californian couldn't get better (and I couldn't get any more sarcastic) the University of California offers up some disheartening figures.

According to an article printed in the Contra Costa Times Thursday, UC Berkeley has doubled its admission offers to out-of-state and international students this year. Pointing to the lack of state funding, the university’s in-state admissions offers are down 15 percent. This drop has opened up spaces for out-of-state students, who pay nearly $20,000 more a year in fees than those from California. According to data released last week by the University of California, 18.5 percent of next year’s freshman class will come from other states, up 8 percent from last year.

At a time when colleges and universities up and down the state are already impacted, favoring out-of-state applicants over in-state students only stands to strengthen the detrimental impact of the public education crisis in California. As both a taxpayer and a college student from California, this practice by UCB enrages me. UC Berkeley is a public school, meaning it is funded in part by California tax dollars. Why should my money help out-of-state students receive a world class education when my fellow students from the great state of California are eligible, wanting and highly capable of excelling in this institution?

The university’s position on the issue is that all students stand to benefit from the rise in out-of-state students.

As quoted in the article, Susan Wilbur, director of undergraduate admissions for the University of California said "These students do not take space from a California student. They are bringing more money to the university, which enables us to teach our California students at the same high-quality level that they are used to."

The university looks to out-of-state student fees and tuition as a means of funding the school in a tight economic time.

“The additional nonresident funds will help UC Berkeley maintain academic excellence for all students," said Walter Robinson, assistant vice chancellor and director of undergraduate admissions.

I do understand the plight of the university. With statewide budget cuts to public education, continuing to fund the world-renowned programs that all the UCs, particularly UCB, have to offer is going to be very difficult, and require thinking outside of the box. But outside of the state?

The percentage of out-of-state freshman at all UCs this year is 14 percent, up from last year’s 12 percent. According to the Times article, the trend is more pronounced at UCB because it receives more out-of-state applicants than the other UCs. Maybe. Or maybe it’s because Berkeley’s reputation is rooted so firmly in its (expensive) scientific research, and so the school most desperately needs the additional funds.

I would hope that all California college students are bothered by this preferential treatment of applicants. If anything, I believe schools (especially in California) should give priority to local applicants. For example, San Francisco State University gives local priority to transfer students from the surrounding six counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara. All public universities should participate in a similar program.

Instead of making things more difficult for Californians in an already taxing time, state universities should be helping California students any way they can. When are Californians going to finally get the long end of the stick?

Blog 6: Welcome to the Dark Side

What makes serial killers so darn loveable?

This may seem like a ridiculous question but with the success of Showtime network’s hit series "Dexter," its worth asking.

"Dexter," entering its fifth season, follows the life of Dexter Morgan: Blood splatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department by day, ruthless serial killer by night. Fueled by an unquenchable need to kill that began when he was a child, Dexter has learned to direct his cravings in as healthy a way as possible. Unlike the criminals that he helps put behind bars at his day job, Dexter follows a strict code when choosing his victims. He only kills people who are “bad”- cold-blooded killers that have escaped the legal system or managed to avoid it altogether. In short, people like him. Photo courtesy of Showtime.com

On the surface, however, he appears to live an ordinary life. He goes to work, he comes home to a wife and kids (yes, he has both). He makes small talk with his coworkers and drinks beer with his sister Debra. No one has the slightest inkling of the inner workings of his psyche. He is the quintessential antihero, and this quality plays a major role in the show’s success.

The season four finale of "Dexter" drew more than 2.5 million viewers when it premiered in December, breaking network records. That same season the show won two Golden Globes, including Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series for Michael C. Hall’s portrayal of the character that Showtime has coined “America’s Favorite Serial Killer.” The show has spawned an online animated series, iPhone apps, a plethora of fan art and countless fan sites.

As a man with such unsavory after-dusk habits, why are viewers so drawn to the character Dexter Morgan?

The answer is what Dexter refers to as his "Dark Passenger."

Dexter describes his overwhelming urges to kill as being driven by his Dark Passenger, a malevolent shadow of himself that inspires him to do terrible things. It is this shadow that makes the character and show so appealing to such a vast range of people.

"Dexter's Dark Passenger reminds the audience of their own, dark primal urges," says "Dexter" fan and former DVC student Myles McKinnon. "Though society looks down on murder, Dexter's killings often seem justified, which makes the viewer question their own moral beliefs and what the laws of the land deem right and wrong."

It is no great nugget of wisdom that we are all good and we are all evil. The Chinese understood this when drawing up the yin and the yang, showcasing the idea that we are all composed of both light and dark. Robert Bly comments on this concept in his book "A Little Book on the Human Shadow."

“We notice that when sunlight hits the body, the body turns bright, but it throws a shadow, which is dark…Each of us has some part of our personality that is hidden from us.”

Most of us are encouraged from an early age to sweep this part of ourselves under the rug. We are brought up to develop our light side- to be healthy and successful and good. But the dark still exists within us and often surfaces when we least expect it. In contrast, there are some who are fully engulfed by their darkness, like drug addicts or (standard) serial killers.

Dexter is the perfect balance of both. He has learned to embrace and channel his dark side while still functioning in a seemingly healthy and productive way. And while most of us hopefully are not regularly overcome with the desire to kill someone, this series offers valid psychological and philosophical insight. When was the last time you took a long, hard look at your shadow? Perhaps examining and embracing the darker side of our psyche can be a good thing.

However, this naturally raises the question: Can we do both? Can we indulge our Dark Passenger without losing control? I challenge you to consider this prospect. Don’t get me wrong. I am not encouraging anyone to do things that are harmful to themselves or others. But simply acknowledging our less-than-angelic urges can allow for a level of self-acceptance we rarely experience. Try giving it a shot. If all else fails, maybe you’ll get your own TV show out of it.

Blog 5: And It Was All Yellow...

Which is more important, fee hikes or girls in panties?

Girls in panties, obviously. Just ask The DVC Inquirer.

After grabbing the latest issue of the school newspaper on my way to class Thursday morning, my dorky, journalistic excitement was quelled as soon as I read the cover story. In it, writer Ariel Messman-Rucker reports on a fraudulent Facebook profile displaying provocative photos of ASDVC President Lindsay St. Hill. While the profile was not created by St. Hill, the pictures and videos on the profile were legitimate, some of which show St. Hill topless or scantily clad in lingerie.

You learn from the article that St. Hill took these photos and videos to beef up her modeling profile and is understandably weary to have them all but advertised on the front page of the DVC “news” paper.

But wait! Don’t put that paper down! Because once you’re finished reading the cover gossip column, you can look below the fold to read about a shooting that took place at DVC last week, not to mention the announcement that registration fees are likely to hike to $40 a unit next semester.

Seriously, Inquirer? My advance apologies to my fellow classmates who count themselves as staff of this paper, but this is appalling.

After reading the St. Hill story, I intuitively turned to the opinion page, expecting an editorial justifying this publishing decision. And what do you know! There it was.

In this editorial, the reader is told that the DVC Inquirer, after weighing its moral options, viewed this “legitimate news story” as pertinent enough to bypass St. Hill’s right to privacy.

“We chose to go ahead with the story because St. Hill is the public “face” of DVC students…The fact that St. Hill made a conscious choice to pose for sexually suggestive photos and videos raises questions about her judgment,” said the DVC Inquirer editorial.

I could make a decent argument as to why this story should not have been published at all, but that isn’t even what upsets me. What upsets me is that The Inquirer deemed this story more important than any other that was published this issue. What is the justification for that? Just as the staff of The Inquirer questioned the judgment of St. Hill, the student body should question the judgment of a newspaper that would rather showcase the personal transgressions of one young woman than alert students to fee hikes that could affect the entire institution.

In all fairness, the story did make an interesting read. I was intrigued enough to finish the entire story (which may have been the longest of the semester, by the way). Which only reinforces my fear that The Inquirer chose this story as front-page fodder specifically for its sensationalism. It’s an effective strategy, one implemented by most weekly tabloids. It also reeks of yellow journalism with its sensational approach.

Bravo, Inquirer.

Blog 4: Trees are your friends!

Stop reading this and go outside. Really. Americans are not spending enough time outdoors and I feel it contributes to our stress-laced culture more than most people realize.

According to National Public Radio, the percentage of Americans taking part in nature-based activities has declined at more than 1 percent each year since the late 1980s, meaning that participation is down 18 to 25 percent from historic peak levels.

In a technologically-centric culture, we continue to rely on gizmos and gadgets to entertain us. I can remember even just ten years ago how much more time my friends and I spent outside- playing sports, exploring the creek near my house or just walking around the Martinez waterfront. But slowly, that free time started to fill up with mall excursions, video game sessions or visits to the movie theater. Family camping trips turned into Disneyland visits and nature became something reserved for the hippies.

But four years ago I practically fell into a job as a counselor at a Girl Scout camp. I lived and worked in the Sierra Nevadas for a month and a half with no Internet, no cell phone and certainly no video games. Tiring at times, frustrating at others, by the end of the summer that experience stood as one of the best I’d ever had. From that point on I made a conscious effort to spend more time in nature and it’s a resolution that has greatly improved my personal life and emotional health.

Fight with the roommate? Just take a hike through the hills.
Boy trouble? Nothing works quite as well as a walk by the water.
Worn down by the daily grind? Camping trip, please!

Nature keeps me sane. When times are bad, a walk through the green-carpeted hills reminds me that daily struggles are trivial compared to the enormous beauty that surrounds us. In good times, a trip with some friends into Tilden Park offers the perfect setting for my sunny disposition.

Marissa Perez, a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz, a campus known for its natural beauty, said, “I like to go to the beach or the woods because it’s so quiet. I can just listen to nature and really clear my head. It also helps when I have to think, because I can tune out everything else except the problem at hand.”


Environmentalists preach that we need to save the world. I often think the more effective approach would be to get people out and experiencing the natural world so that they understand how IT can save THEM. Outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, camping or rock climbing can reduce stress, put you in touch with something greater than your own problems and help get you into shape.

As for the environmental movement, the best way to garner support for a cause is to make the cause relevant to as many people as possible. The more people spend time in and appreciate nature, the more they will favor legislation that seeks to protect it. Just a thought, Green Party.

My challenge to you all is to go do one thing this week that requires you to interact with nature. Be it a hike, a bike ride or even a little bit of gardening. Do it! You’ll be glad that you did.

Photos by Colleen McCullough

Blog 3: You cant hurry school, no you just have to wait...

Everybody has a love/hate relationship somewhere in their life. Maybe yours is with your mother, your boss, your girlfriend or your professor. Mine has always been with school.

In high school, there were two points to note on each of my report cards: An average of 35 absences in each class, each semester, (no exaggeration) and a GPA of 3.5 or above. I was always good at school -- I just hated being there.

My senior year, I received acceptance letters to two UCs and three CSUs. Most I threw in the trash, unopened. I had spent 12 years of my life being told what to do, and I wasn’t quite ready for another round of instructions. So I took some time off.

After working and traveling for a year, I started at UC Santa Cruz but quickly decided that college wasn’t for me.

Or wait. Was it?

To be sure, I enrolled at CSU Northridge the following fall, completing a year's worth of credits before deciding I REALLY didn’t want to be in college, and instead began a short-lived career in marketing. For a year, I was content. I was working 40 hour weeks in an office, occasionally jetting off for a business convention here or a trade show there.

Until this past June when I watched a friend graduate from UC Santa Cruz, and I was struck with an overwhelming sense of longing. I felt like a barren woman looking at a baby. For the first time in my life, I wanted to be in school. Not because everyone said I should, or because I wanted to make more money but because I simply wanted to be there. To sit in a lecture hall, to take notes, to make coffee runs to the bookstore. I missed the student life.

And now, nine months later, here I am, concocting blogs for my news writing class.

I know many students who have taken paths similar to mine- an on-and-off relationship with school that has led them from school to work, to work to school. Sometimes, like me, they return to complete their program of study. Many others do not.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.4 million students enrolled in colleges nationwide in 2009. But don’t be fooled by the numbers or the guidance counselors because nearly half of those students will not obtain a degree. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 58 percent of first-time freshman enrolled in a four-year university program in 2000-01 completed their degree within six years.

What is going on? Why do so many students attend college only to drop out? Some percentage may be attributed to economic hardship or unforeseen life changes, like having a child or losing a parent. But I think the larger problem is that many students go to college before they even belong there.

How enthusiastic are you about having to do something you don’t actually want to? Probably not so much. Yet so many high school seniors head off to college because they are told, by society, or teachers, or their parents, that it’s just “what you do.”

It’s rash. It’s reckless. College is a major life decision. Would you comply that easily if you were choosing a mate, or deciding to have kids? My point is, there is no set time a person will be ready for college. The time isn’t right just because you’re 18, or because you’re graduating from high school. Sometimes, it's never right. And that’s perfectly fine.

Taking two years off of school made an impact in the life as well as the academic career of DVC student Hayley Willer who said, “The time away from school was the right choice for me. It allowed me to grow from the high school scene and develop a personality, and I appreciate education more now.”

I encourage students to take time off to decide who they are and what they want before they go to college. I reckon we’d see that drop-out rate lower dramatically if they did. I personally needed the time to mature and reflect before returning to school. Now I am here by choice. Happily might I add.

Blog 2: An "Alarming" Budget Crisis...I'm So Punny!

If you had class at DVC this past Thursday at 1p.m., chances are you didn’t learn very much.

An unidentified individual pulled at least one of the fire alarms on campus, forcing students to empty out of classrooms just in time to see the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) march around campus with their picket signs.

Five minutes after the switch was pulled, my political science classmates and I stood outside the lecture hall while the alarm wailed incessantly with no signs of giving up. My professor dismissed us, as continuing class under such conditions was impossible.

As I write this, no perpetrator has been identified and SDS’s official stance on the matter is that the club was not involved. Whoever pulled that switch, it seems obvious to me that his or her intent was to gather support for the rally. And it was a sound strategy. According to The Inquirer Online, the number of rally participants jumped from 50 to 200 after the alarms had been set off.

I am conflicted over this event. My initial reaction was one of amusement and appreciation. A disruptive way to gain support for their cause, but sometimes disruption is the best way to get attention. I was personally in support of this rally- I feel like every student at DVC should be concerned about and angered by the fee hikes and budget cuts to public education.

In explaining why students should attend the rally, Nicolas Holmes of ASDVC and SDS said “We are all suffering [and] paying more. These are historic opportunities to awaken the sleeping giant-the 2.9 million students in [California] Community College. But the awakening should not stop there.”

I feel much the same.

At the same time, I DID pay those fees, despite the “hiking” and I paid them so I could sit in class and learn. If only for one day, the alarms denied me of that. While one interrupted lecture may not be the greatest loss, I’m sure other classes were taking tests, or working on labs, or doing any number of things that were relevant to their education and impeded by the fire alarm.

I suppose the question is: Did they go too far? My answer: Probably.

But then again, hasn’t the public education crisis gone too far?

I'll leave that answer up to every student.