2004 Letter from the Editors

Delta Winds: A Magazine of Student Essays
A Publication of San Joaquin Delta College
2004

Letter from the Editors

In this year's volume of Delta Winds, students of San Joaquin Delta College share their concerns about the social injustice of capital punishment, about the difficulties involved in collecting child support, about the questionable role of media advertising for drug companies, and about language, perception, and the association of words with negative meanings to a group of people. These student-writers show their ability to synthesize articles in specific subject areas and to formulate original findings based on this research.

In other works in this magazine, students discuss the complexities of family roles and ties. For one author, her father is a genius; for another, her mother is a liar. Some parents described in these essays provide comfort and guidance while others appear trapped by the consequences of their lives. Nevertheless, the loss of parental figures looms large in the formulation of some of these writers' lives. Still other writers in Delta Winds express themselves through humorous anecdotes that reveal a sharp eye for the incongruities in our culture and society. The creativity evident in these autobiographical works shows the community that an artistic sense has not been lost. The blend of seriousness and sadness, of joy and nostalgia makes this volume both compelling and illuminating.