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pring flashback
BY ALISSA LOPEZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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here was never a dull week on campus during the Spring 2014 semester. From inspirational academic lectures and conferences to colorful cultural expos and hip poetry jams to gritty championship runs by our sports teams, the academic and social calendar was abuzz with excitement. Among the most notable was the Africana Institute’s annual memorial tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in February, which paid special tribute to civil rights giants, the late Amiri Baraka and Nelson Mandela. Newark’s Arts High choir inspired the audience with a special rendition of “We Shall Overcome” and keynote speaker Junius W. Williams, a noted attorney, educator, musician and community advocate, recalled his personal experiences during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and his encounters with King. The Africana Institute, also in February, hosted the Garvey Nkrumah Lecture Series that featured Dr. Leonard Kweku Jeffries, Professor Emeritus at City College of New York, as the keynote speaker. It was a Pan-African presentation showcasing the continuity of the philosophy of operational unity amongst African people both in the United States and throughout the SUMMER 2014 | GRADUATION SPECIAL 8
world. In April, the Humanities Division presented “Vortices: from Modernism to Mid-Century,” a two-day conference which covered a wide range of the Humanities including art, architecture, literature, music and history. “Humanities are central to our lives as humans,” said Humanities Instructor Jennifer Wager. In March, ECC’s Caribbean International Club (CariClub) presented a colorful and lively daylong cultural expo that showcased the rich cultural heritage of the Caribbean. The expo featured live music, visual and performing arts, fashion, sports and food. Internationally renowned songwriter and composer Irving Burgie, best known as the writer of classic calypso tunes such as “Day-O” and “Jamaica Farewell,” was the special guest. In track and field, ECC won the Region XIX Outdoor Track & Field Championships from May 2-3 in Newark and the women’s team finished eighth at the national championships held from May 15-17 in Mesa, Arizona. Coach Michael Smart, who is president of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCA) Track & Field Coaches Association, was named Region XIX Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year.
Off the tracks, ECC’s track and field greats Alleyne Francique (Class of 2000) and Melanie Walker (Class of 2004) were recognized as the first ECC student-athletes to be inducted into the NJCAA Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In Basketball, the men’s basketball team was the runner-up in the NJCAA Division II national title game, losing 71-67 to Phoenix College (AZ). In ECC history, this is the furthest the basketball team has ever advanced in the tournament. The Wolverines, under Head Coach Corey Lowery, finished the season at 28-6. Days earlier, the Lady Wolverines came up in short in the championship preliminaries in Overland Park, Kansas. ECC’s Dream Team made a big difference in the lives of a number of local immigrants. Through a successful rally outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices (ICE) in Newark and public conferences held in the courtyard of the main campus, the team was able to successfully stop the deportation of Jennifer Anadarajah’s family. She is a former ECC Honors Program student and ECC Dreamer. “The spring semester was a lot of fun,” said Lev Zilbermints.