Harford Owl Magazine Fall 2012

Editors’ Notes Change. It’s inevitable. Whether it is one’s age, taste in music or food, or position in life—all are subject to undeniable, impending change.

You can either be the type of person who embraces it wholeheartedly, welcoming every situation as a chance to reflect and adapt as necessary, or the kind who adamantly resists it, heels digging into the ground.

Of course, things are not always black and white, and so there is a third option: Why not BE the change?

It was Mahatma Ghandi who once said that we should be the change we want to see in the world. Michael Jackson echoed the sentiment of self-improvement with his song “Man in the Mirror.”

But what does that look like? It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to start a foundation or discover the cure for some terrible disease; even several small steps will take you farther than if you were to just stand still.

In this issue, we consider the changes we can make in our social etiquette (specifically in the online world), our standards for the arts and media, as well as our food choices. As you’ll see, our choices can create either a negative or constructive impact in our lives and even in the lives of those around us. The power is within each of us to create positive change; if we were to acknowledge that and apply ourselves to see that end, we might be surprised at what we could accomplish.

Of course, there are many other ways one can make a difference that aren’t covered in this issue. Political and humanitarian initiatives, for example, can always use motivated and compassionate individuals to tackle issues that our elected leaders either can’t or won’t address.

(Read our Elizabeth Smart interview in our forthcoming issue to see how she did just that!)

As Edmund Burke, an 18th century British statesman and philosopher, once said: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

So go ahead; start making a difference today.

ART DIRECTORS

Brianna Breece and Danielle Frater

CHIEF OF PRODUCTION Stephanie Perkins

CO-EDITORS IN CHIEF

Matthew Dippel, Nadia Kaczkowski and John Morin

BUSINESS MANAGER Rachel Mitchell

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Joshua Eller

EDITORIAL STAFF

Shawn Gill and Basir Jamil

WRITING STAFF

Tim Dekowski, Nick Dement, McKenzie Edwards, Morgan Leepa, David Kelly, and Sharon Rice

PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF

Diamond Dixon, Jennifer Lewis, and Emily Snow

DESIGN STAFF Tobias Pilachowski

CHIEF ADVISER Claudia Brown

TECHNICAL ADVISER Philip Roszak

BUSINESS ADVISER Joseph Cunningham

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A New Lease on Life

Many people find themselves ruminating on their dissatisfaction with their track in life, but Mike Soleas, an HCC student, took the opportunity to switch to an upward trajectory.

PRINT PUBLISHER

Stockson Printing Company

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOGRAPHY

Baltimore Bohemians, HCC Yearbook, and HCC Marketing

Miss the chance to enter our writing and art contest? The deadline has been extended to November 30. Send your best writing, photography, and digital art to Harfowl@harford.edu along with any questions you may have.

Contents 4 Mecca for Music and Great Gaming

Ever heard of the Computer Marketplace in Bel Air? Neither has anyone else, so read the story and learn something new today.

5 Dropped Connection

Have you ever been gaming online, only to have a 12-year-old unleash a barrage of profanities and racial slurs the likes of which would make a seasoned sailor cringe? So has Tim Dekowski.

7 Rock the Arena

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Gobble Much?

Watch your waistline this holiday season with some healthier alternatives to the seasonal standbys.

Stephanie Perkins examines the connection (or lack thereof) that artists share with their fans; not just on an album, but on stage as well.

10 The Last Text

Everyone knows the statistical dangers of texting while driving, but reading about someone’s personal suffering may make you think twice the next time your phone vibrates on the passenger’s seat.

12 Blood, Guts, & Bare Breasts

Matthew Dippel and David Kelly take a look at the state of horror films in 2012, and discuss what truly elicits terror versus what misses the mark completely.

15 More Bling for Your Buck

McKenzie Edwards returns with Beauty on a Budget, this time demonstrating how to make stylish earrings for less than $5.00.

16 Under Friday Night Lights

Most students don’t know HCC once had a football team, a good one.

Sharon Rice sheds light on the College’s unknown athletic history and the possibility of a football team resurfacing.

20 The Final Flight

Joshua Eller recounts the space shuttle Discovery’s final flight to its permanent home with the Smithsonian outside Washington D.C.

21 Gold Rush in Space

Billionaires with way too much money and free time on their hands hatch an idea that may actually benefit the 99% down the road.

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Baltimore Bohemians Kick It in Harford

Read about the year-old team satisfying soccer fans and players in Harford County.

NIGHT OUT

MECCA FOR MUSIC AND GREAT GAMING

By Nick Dement | Photography by Jennifer Lewis | Owl Staff

H

idden behind Jiffy Lube and across the street from Sears at the Harford Mall is The Computer Marketplace. Most people haven’t seen it, as it is slightly obscured behind a Jiffy Lube and is a

relatively small business. The Marketplace sells computers, parts, and other electronic odds and ends and also repairs computer equipment.

However, there is more to this seemingly small building.

Like Batman, by day it is a simple shop, but at night it evolves into a dance floor/gaming shindig.

While the storefront takes up the front half of the building, the back end holds the other part of their business: Gamenet. Half of the room is cleared away for dancing and is sizeable enough to fit a lot of people while the rest of the space has a pool table, ping pong, and couches to hang out and play video games.

Even though my friends and I were the only ones on this particular Friday, Ben had fun dancing by himself and told me, “It’s a cool place and I’d definitely go back, [but] we gotta get more friends to come next time.”

On Fridays they have open nights where you pay $4.00 an hour and the place is yours and your friends to enjoy.

After setting up an account, the money is transferred to time on your account, and you can save your time when finished, making all of your money count and no hours wasted.

The music selection should appease even the most discerning fans. Most genres are on the computer they use to play it from: rock, hip-hop and rap, alternative, black metal; they have it all. For gamers, they have the most recent Call of Duty titles, Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, and many other multi-player games. My time there was just a small taste since my friends and I were the only ones who showed up due to the hidden nature of the place.

Blowing up your friends in Halo or surviving the zombie horde in Left 4 Dead with Slayer blasting in your ear is a lot of fun that is well worth $4.00 an hour. To those who enjoy gaming and music, Gamenet is a treasure that shouldn’t stay hidden forever.

“... BY DAY IT IS A SIMPLE SHOP, BUT AT NIGHT IT EVOLVES INTO A DANCE FLOOR/GAMING SHINDIG.”

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CRITIC’S CORNER

By Tim Dekowski | Photography by John Morin | Owl Staff

H

ave you ever had someone at work chew you out and all you wanted to do was to go home and play some video games to get your mind off of your job? Then the next thing you knew you had some kid yelling at you saying you have no talent and they want to kill your family?

To a gamer, this scene is all too familiar.

As a hardcore gamer who spends 20+ hours a week playing video games, I have noticed a trend while playing online which is making me less likely to turn on my console as time goes by. The absurd amount of horrible ethnic, racial, and sexually explicit slurs in online gaming has made me contemplate letting my Xbox Live subscription expire. Even the usernames are just as explicit to the point where I can’t print them in this article without offending numerous demographics (often all in one name, no less.)

While playing Modern Warfare 2, I witnessed a bunch of kids whose

voices and mannerisms placed them at around 12 years old, calling my friends and I: “Lazy, slow to comprehend African-Americans that sit on their bottoms and throw grenades across the map like little female dogs.” Note: I did slightly censor it from the original version.

While playing Split/Second, a racing game, I was accused of cheating. Of course, I asked how I could possibly be cheating. That opened the flood gates of angry insults about my ancestry and some comments here and there about my mother’s extremely high weight and her extensively promiscuous nature.

I will admit I have contributed to the rage-fest that is online gaming once or twice. I have gotten desensitized by what is said online until after the game is over. Then I sit back and think for a second: Am I actually going to meet this person and do what I just said to them or their family? Just imagining what your mother would think if she heard one of your Xbox Live tirades

is enough to shock most gamers into considering the weight of the words they throw around so casually.

I know online gaming can be very intense, but can’t we stop and think before we turn our mics on to yell at the other player like a bunch of five year olds with the vocabulary of a racist sailor? You need to remember it’s another human being with feelings on the other side.

For all you know they could be a great person with a lot of things in common with you. I met my friend TJ on Xbox playing Modern Warfare 2. Our playing styles clashed and we would not stop bickering like an old married couple. We eventually got forced on the same team, and from there TJ and I became very good friends, and still are to this day.

I think it’s time everyone hits reset and thinks before they speak, because I’m sick of having to get ready for a UFC fight every time I turn on my console.

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VOICES

The Last Text

By Nick Dement | Photography by Emily Snow | Owl Staff Multitasking is something that our society has turned into an art. From singing while playing instruments, to indulgences such as eating, texting, and browsing Reddit all while watching TV, people really have made it an acquired skill. Recently, one sort of multitasking has been getting a lot

Jackie Furfaro, wife of Jim Furfaro, shares in a video interview found on the Internet, “I saw Jim’s license in the hand of the police officer, and I realized he was dead.”

These cases are tragedies that could easily have been avoided. The video interview of Furfaro is moving, and I

Our better halves will probably not die if we wait to answer them, and personally, my friends never really have anything that important to say.

A human life is surely not worth an electronic message. Zooming around at 40 or 50 miles an hour in a big metal box is risky enough without distractions.

“When I left that morning it was definitely not my intention to hurt anyone...I took two lives.” of attention, and it’s not one to try yourself.

Everyone knows the dangers of texting and driving, but many ignore the facts. According to Car Insurance Comparison, 67 percent of people do it, and these are only the ones who admitted to the act. Nationwide says eight out of ten drivers support laws against texting and driving. This is sort of a mind bender; about 67 percent of people text and drive, yet eight out of ten want laws prohibiting it, so most of these folks who want justice are hypocrites themselves and likely to fall victim to their own laws in a form of sweet irony.

There are many instances of injuries and deaths caused by cell phone use behind the wheel.

HCC student Heather Hurd was killed by a driver who was texting. Harford Community College has created a 5K run in her name.

Reggie Shaw was heading to work when he killed Keith Patrick O’Dell and Jim Furfaro, a result of texting and driving. He says of the incident, “When I left that morning it was definitely not my intention to hurt or harm anyone. I took two lives.”

would recommend it to anyone who has an interest or pull towards this subject.

Texting is a distraction that should be saved for stationary moments that don’t require massive amounts of attention, like when one is not commandeering a ton and a half piece of heavy machinery capable of ending a life in a split second.

On November 10, the 4th Annual Heather L. Hurd 5K Run will take place at HCC. Proceeds from this event support the Remembrance Book Scholarships for the college. The goal of the run is to raise awareness of traffic accidents, their consequences and costs, and the measures that can be taken to avoid them.

Is someone’s life worth checking a text?

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

A New Lease on Life Choosing Kids Over Commission

By Tim Dekowski | Photography by Joshua Eller | Owl Staff

Imagine you’ve lost your job and gained all the worry and uncertainty for the future that comes with it. Student Mike Soleas lost his job as a car salesman, and while most people faced with this would be upset, Mike welcomed the opportunity. “I was making too much money and not helping enough people, so I decided to become a nurse.”

Mike was inspired to be a nurse by his six year old son Logan, who was born with myelomeningocele, a form of spina bifida, and has had multiple surgeries at John Hopkins.

Through the time he spent at the hospital, Soleas realized he wanted to make a difference in his son’s life, help other kids make it through their procedures, and let parents know that there is always someone who genuinely cares.

After his son’s most recent surgery, Soleas and his son returned to John Hopkins to see all his nurses and doctors. Even a few weeks after he was discharged, everyone knew Logan by his first name and greeted him. “That moment, I wanted to work at Hopkins.”

Mike was inspired to be a nurse by his son, who has had multiple surgeries at John Hopkins.

Mike Soleas, shown here with his son Logan, was “making too much money and not helping enough people,” so he decided to switch career paths and become a nurse.

Despite the social stigma that “only women are nurses,” his extreme dislike of needles, and not being in college since 1991, he still pursued his dream and went into Harford’s Nursing program in 2011. Mike decided to go to HCC first since it was “cheap and close to home… ‘cause I’m a family man.”

Soleas is trying to get his degree in two years, but he realizes that it won’t be easy.

As a happy father of three kids with two dogs and a cat, you’d think that he wouldn’t have any time for

hobbies. However, Mike is an avid gardener who loves his peppers. His most recent batch, the Scorpion Butch, a deceptively pretty purple, are the hottest he has ever grown. When he spends time with Logan, they play video games, football, and go to the gym for some bonding time.

So even in these rough economic times, someone can pull through. After losing his job, Mike kept his head up and found a new goal, changed his whole lifestyle, and came to Harford to make a difference in the world.

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By Sharon Rice | Owl Staff Additional Reporting by Basir Jamil

Before Harford’s Football team folded in 1985, they made it to the NJCAA National Championship game twice, in 1983 and 1984.

SPORTS

I

f you have ever been to a Baltimore Ravens footb al l game, yo u have seen and felt the excitement from the tens of thousands of fans all around you. The swarm of purple and black everywhere and the sounds of people cheering at the top of their lungs gets the adrenaline pumping when the Ravens are about to score the winning touchdown.

Well, imagine if you could experience a moment like that at Harford Community College once again. It may be surprising to know that from the 1960’s to the 1980’s, HCC actually had a football team. At one point, the team was coached by Richard Fordyce, who is currently the Associate Professor of Health and Physical Education at HCC. Harford’s football program lasted 21 years, and was revoked in 1985.

“The program started in 1965, the second year the college was on this campus,” explains Coach Fordyce, who served as Head Coach from 1973 to 1985. “President Al O’Connell started the program in an effort to try to recruit students” to the school. The team started with only about 15 players who were first coached by Jack Carl. The most notable player from Harford’s football program was Randy McMillan, from North Harford High School who led the team to backto-back undefeated seasons in 1977 and 1978. After his time at Harford, McMillan was heavily recruited, and went on to play at University of Pittsburg before being drafted by the

Baltimore Colts with the 12th overall selection in the 1981 Draft. After McMillan left, the team had the opportunity to play in the NJCAA National Championship in 1983 and 1984, before folding in 1985.

After learning this information some of you may wonder why the football team folded. Football is an All-American sport that most cannot help but admire. Why not aim to bring it back, not only for the fans who love the sport, but also for students coming to Harford who were passionate about football in high school?

After playing football in high school, students who plan to attend HCC would have the opportunity to showcase their talent on the field, while preparing for a football career after HCC. Aaron Noble, an Aberdeen High School football player who plans to attend HCC says, “A football team at Harford would help me to improve my skill and prepare me for my football career.”

Adds Coach Fordyce, “By and large, a lot of kids benefited from that program and had a good experience here and moved on and played college football.”

Bringing a football team to Harford would build team spirit, while bringing the community together. Students, parents, and alumni would have the opportunity to support a local team. Alumni Rachel Ezell attended HCC when they had a football team. She shares, “I would support bringing a football team back to the college. It would attract more students and it could provide scholarship opportunities for deserving students. Overall, it would be good for the community.”

Former Fallston high school football player and current General Studies student Corey Baylor says, “A football team would benefit the student body; it’s a popular sport with potential to boost student enrollment.”

HCC Athletic Director Ken Krsolovic explains that due to funding, there are not any junior colleges in our area who have a football program. He adds, “Chances are slim” that there will ever be a team here at Harford; however, “never say never, the ground may turn over time.”

We may not have a football team currently, but it is possible that one day the Harford Fighting Owls will be back on that plush green turf giving Harford County something to gather and cheer about, and maybe we can inspire other community colleges in our area to do the same.

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BEYOND CAMPUS

THE FINAL FLIGHT

Discovery Comes Home Article & Photography by Joshua Eller | Owl Staff

It took 24 hours to connect and disconnect the Space Shuttle Discovery from NASA’s modified 747.

“It tugged on my heart strings and soul to see it.”

L

ike any other day, thousands of people could be seen around the National Mall in Washington D.C., but today was different; these people did not stare at the monuments around them. They kept looking skyward, searching. Then out of the northwest, it appeared on the horizon, a 747 carrying the Space Shuttle Discovery on its back.

In a symbolic final flight, many came out to watch as the Discovery was flown one last time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to its new home in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Along the way, Discovery would fly four times over Washington. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend watching as it passed over monuments including the Lincoln Memorial, U.S. Capitol, and the White House to mark the end of the 30 year program.

In its time, Discovery recorded a record 39 launches. It provided a platform for countless science experiments and helped to ferry crews to the International Space Station.

Discovery was the shuttle that returned America to space following the tragic losses of both Challenger and Colombia. It even carried the Hubble Space Telescope into the heavens.

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When asked about seeing Discovery go, Colonel Mike Mullane says, “It tugged on my heartstrings and soul to see it.”

Mullane served on the crew onboard Discovery’s first flight in 1984. Since then all three shuttles, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour have become more than just vehicles; they are symbols of America.

Danny Wallace, a Virginia citizen put it best when he explains, “It’s both a great and a sad day. I am happy, I finally was able to see the shuttle fly, but at the same time it’s sad because I know I will never see one fly again.” NASA estimates it will be at least another five years before an American spacecraft is ready to again carry astronauts into space. For now American astronauts travel into space aboard Russian ships.

The Space Shuttle Discovery is now on display in its new permanent home at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. While the future of the space program may look dark right now as the Shuttle Program retires to a place of honor, one can’t lose hope that a brighter future waits just on the horizon to propel us to space once again.

BEYOND CAMPUS

The GOLD RUSH in Space

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By John Parks | Digital Art by Joshua Eller | Owl Staff

W

hat would you do if you were so rich that you could literally buy or do anything you desired? If you’re James Cameron, Ross Perot, Jr., or Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, then the answer is simple: start an asteroid mining company.

In April, Wired magazine reported that Planetary Resources, Inc., funded by said individuals, hopes to extract valuable minerals from asteroids. Tom Jones, a former NASA astronaut and adviser to the company, noted that the project would overlay two critical sectors: space exploration and natural resources– to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP. This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of natural resources.

Why start an asteroid mining company though? Well, the investments made into asteroid mining could easily pay out well over ten thousand times their initial costs, which could lead to a second ‘gold rush’ in outer space. The idea isn’t as farfetched as you might think; there are other countries that are seriously looking into asteroid mining. The real question is if four men can beat the world’s leading countries to the punch.

Currently, China has 97% of all useful rare earth minerals on the planet. This makes for a very unhealthy and uncompetitive mineral market. If private American industries can penetrate the rare earth market by bringing in resources from space, it would make China’s domination of the market irrelevant. This venture would bring thousands of engineering, production, and marketing jobs back to the US where they are needed. Why should we continue to fight China over the cost of rare minerals when we can simply cut them out?

In 1969, NASA getting a man to the moon and back was a monumental achievement, but with today’s technologies

With still advancing technologies, this company could reach its goal of mining an asteroid within the next couple of years.

we could easily see this company reach its goal of mining an asteroid within the near future. We would not only benefit from the actual minerals we mine, but also from the technologies invented during the process. From NASA, we gained GPS technology, scratch-resistant lenses, memory foam, cordless tools, and even water filters. With the coming of the next space race, the sky is the limit, quite literally this time.

“The investments made into asteroid mining could potentially pay out well over ten thousand times their initial costs...”

Maybe less government and more private investors in space is what the U.S. really needs. If our government is no longer willing or able to invest in the sciences or technological advancements in space, then it’s up to the few people who can afford it. Companies like Google will pave the way for the future of human exploration in space.

While it pains me to see NASA age like some washed up celebrity, I have hope that private industries in the United States will prevail in advancing mankind into the final frontier.

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