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april 29, 2011
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Lions’ Roar
8+ 9
Local musician Stacy B rises above setbacks
normandale community college
Vol. 17 No. 11 free
www.lionsroar.info
Last paper
! R E EV
After this semester the Lions’ Roar newspaper will be no more. All media output will be online, opening the door for real-world training for students interested in journalism:
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Africa in photos Returning from a visit to his home country, Laurent D’Almeida shares his photos with us, and his newfound appreciation for how fortunate he is: 5
Normandale Theatre leaves it all on stage Normandale’s spring play delivers the goods with great acting, a great story and unusual casting. Evan Johnson reviews the play: 12
The student fees will be going down. But what’s the catch? Check out the story to see: 10
If you build it, they can park
NCC will be erecting a parking ramp where the greenhouse now stands. Will this end the parking nightmare?
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NEWS
Students can expect to pay less...for once...
SOL ...k VE inD D Of !
april 29, 2011
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Briefs Greenhouse flees construction Earlier this month, Vice President of Finance and Administration, Ed Wines, met on campus with Steve Vadnais, CLA, about the displacement of the greenhouse due to the construction of the new parking ramp. The vice president had confirmed that NCC will not be permanently removing the greenhouse; it will be relocated on the campus. Relocation will occur this summer as the weather will be better suited to move the plants. This is so that when the plants are moved, there will not be the concern of covering them to protect them from the elements.
Unlimited seating May 17
This year’s commencement honoring 2010-2011 graduates of Normandale Community College will be held on Tuesday evening, May 17, 2011 in the auditorium of Grace Church in Eden Prairie. The auditorium holds in excess of 5000 persons, so for the first time in Normandale’s history, unlimited seating will be provided for guests. All graduates from Summer and Fall 2010 and graduate candidates who submitted a Spring 2011 Application for Graduation by Mar 1 were mailed an Invitation to Participate packet in March. LOCATION: Grace Church, Eden Prairie TIME: 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. program with reception immediately following COST: The participation fee for graduation activities is $15.00 payable at the time of participation reservation due by April 25, 2011.
Bernard Akem was elected President of Phi Theta Kappa. This is his second year at NCC. He is doing a triple major in chemistry, math and biology.
Jonesin’ for jobs
The annual job fair was held in the NCC gymnasium April 20 as employers and potential employees came together for a few hours.
Gurinder Jit, Normandale student What brought you here today? Job fair. How did you know about this? Through posters in school. Do you currently work? Yes I work am not jobless am looking for a full time job, any job right now. What job was well or least represented on the job fair ? Us Bank and Wells Fargo was well represented. Aero lecture was not well represented. Are you lucky today? I put my applications in and hoping to be lucky.. Jean Paul, normandale student What brought you here today? I came to look for a job. How did you know about this?
Through the ad s and posters around school. Do you currently work? Yes I work but I need a job ASAP. What kind of job are you looking for? A good paying job most of these jobs are not really good paying I’m looking for a better paying job. Are you lucky today? I will wait for the applications reactions. Tiara, off campus What brings you here? Job fair that I learnt from advertisements. How do you feel about it? I think it’s a good idea that they brought it to one place that way they save gas mney and time. Do you currently work? No am looking for a job so bad. What job was well represented? The US Bank and Wells Fargo.
Fresh faces at the Lions’ Roar Two new people will lead the Lions’ Roar next semester. Rebecca Freeman has accepted the position of editor-in-chief and Tim Wellman Jr. will be the new web editor. Freeman is finishing up her first year at NCC and is working on a General Education major. She is looking forward to her new position and stated that working on the paper has been “a great experience for me. I’ve learned so much and I’m excited about putting everything I have into the paper.” Wellman is a journalism major with hopes of graduating in the next two years. W h e n asked how he felt about his new position, he answered, “I’m looking forward to it. My recent work on the Lions’ Roar website got me more interested in it. I feel I’ll be a great asset to the Lion’s Roar.”
Is that a poem in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Student art show happened April 11. Picture credited to Dale Brown (CLA College Lab Asst. for Art Dept.)
The Academy of American Poets is proud to present its fourth national celebration of poetry with the annual Poem In Your Pocket Day. This year’s celebration is being held on April 14th. The idea is simple. Select a poem, put it in your pocket, carry it with you and share it. Suggested ways to share the poem include keeping it in your pocket to read throughout the day or while you eat your lunch. Perhaps you want to invite a friend to share the poem with you. Select a special poem at www.poets.org and email it to a friend. For ideas as to the kind of poems there are for you to download and share, visit www.poets.org. Take a day out for poetry.
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april 29, 2011
news
NCC to build $12M parking ramp by Amanda Brown and Emily Rasmussen NCC has begun construction on a new four-level parking ramp located on the west side of campus. Ed Wines, Vice President of Finance and Administration, says the estimated total cost of the project is projected at $12,025,000. There will be a student fee increase in fiscal year 2011, which means that the current fee of $4 per credit will rise to $6 per credit and thereafter will increase no more than $9 per credit in the next twenty years. Staff and faculty’s parking fees will also increase. The new structure will have a total of 724 new stalls; 546 provided, free of charge, for student parking. According to the NCC Parking Predesign Report, $1 million of funding for the ramp will come from internal sources and the rest will be from state bonding revenue. The bonds purchased for this project will also be made public and up for sale by investors. Wines said that $670,000 is from a surplus from parking fees. During construction of the ramp, Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines will be followed. Currently, the campus greenhouse is on the exact spot of where this new ramp will be. Wines met with Steve Vadnais, CLA, about the displacement of the greenhouse due to the new construction. He confirmed that NCC will not be permanently removing the greenhouse; it will be relocated on the campus. The greenhouse is a vital part of the campus and will definitely remain on grounds, he said. Relocation will occur this summer as the weather will be better suited to move the plants and concerns of covering them to protect them from the elements will not be an issue. With a 50 percent increase in student enrollment over the past ten years, parking has been an issue for years. With even the city trying to get involved and making complaints to the administration regarding the “make-shift” tennis court lot, the administration at Normandale has been more than aware of this issue, and has been figuring out the best way to fix it. With the construction of the new parking ramp, restructuring of the tennis court lot will also begin and will also follow within the green guidelines stated above.
Project schedule for the ramp: • Design Start: May 2011 • Early Construction Start: October 2011 • Design Complete: January 2012 • Construction Substantial Completion: July 2012 • Construction Complete: August 2012
Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines: • Energy efficient LED lightening • Light dimming during none use hours • Storm water treatment to local watershed district (Nine Mile Creek) and B3 standards • Recycling of existing materials and use of recycled materials in new construction • Preferred parking for fuel efficient and car pool vehicles • Potential Solar PV Array on ramp through Xcel Energy grant
& Commentary
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april 29, 2011
Opinion
The newspaper is dead, long live the newspaper by Matt Homan editor-in-chief
T
his is a very special issue of the Lions’ Roar. The paper you are holding will be the last print edition we publish. From now on the newspaper will be completely online. Now you may have an initial repulsion to the idea, but hear me out. First of all, our readership of the print edition is dwindling. People don’t seem to pick up our newspaper, in spite of
its convenient distribution around campus. Second, the field of journalism is being shaped by new media to such an extent that its very form has evolved. Online media, supported at least in part by user-generated content is where journalism will find its new home. Like it or not, this is what’s going on. Newspapers are dead. Also pertinent is today’s news cycle. In the old-world model, the news cycle would be 24 hours. Stories would be covered and then printed in the next day’s paper. With more and more news organizations going online, this 24-hour news cycle is incredibly slow. What used to take a day now takes less than an hour. Staff persons can now write their story and have it online immediately after an event has occurred. For students who are interested in working for the Lions’ Roar our move
to an online format will be much more helpful to actually learning the tools of the trade which translate to the real world. The singular, specialized skills possessed by a staff member of a media organization in the past are no longer as indemand as they used to be. Those interested in journalism will need to not only be able to communicate effectively through text but also through pictures, graphics and video. One of the main drawbacks of the Lions’ Roar having a print edition was our total lack of timeliness. By the time we completed our three-week news cycle, almost everything in the newspaper was old news. This obstacle has kept our organization from doing actual news—events coverage, speeches, breaking news, etc—so I am looking forward to students being able to write about timely
news, a first in the history of the Lions’ Roar. The infrastructure to support our move to a completely online format has been in place for well over a year. Unique visits to the Lions’ Roar website are rising and we expect them to continue to grow as we publish more and more timely content online. I pushed for this shift a year ago, but because of certain logistical issues we couldn’t go totally online until next semester. I’m very pleased that I will be able to witness this transition. Students on staff and students served by the Lions’ Roar will all benefit. Staff members will gain real-world journalistic experience with online clippings for resumes. The student body at large will have access to news 24 hours a day without even having to come to campus. The newspaper is dead. Long live the newspaper.
Lions’ Roar Staff Spring 2011 Editor-in-Chief Matthew Homan
Business Manager Yueping Zhu
Adviser Mark Plenke
Webmasters Dominique Williams Brittny Garrett
Writers and Reporters Omara Anjum Bryan Kissee Muse Ahmed Sharon Carroll Derek Burt Steve Dodds Tim Wellman Rebecca Freeman Josh Wickstrom Evan Johnson Caleb Sorernsen Jay Johnson Amanda Brown Miriam Mongare Laurent D’Almeida Ben Rasmussen Emily Rasmussen
Address comments and letters to:
Letters may be edited for style and length. Some stories in The Lions’ Roar come from MCT
The Lions’ Roar 2503 Activities Building 9700 France Ave. S Bloomington MN 55431 or lionsroar@normandale.edu
Campus, a news service paid for by the newspaper.
You can drop letters in the box outside our office located in A2503. 2503 Activities Building.
952-487-7032) or through the Minnesota Relay Service at
Funding for the newspaper comes from advertising and student activity fees. Normandale Community College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator. This document is available in alternative formats to individuals with disabilities by calling 952-487-7035 (TTY 1-800-627-3529.
On the Web: www.lionsroar.info On Twitter: NCClionsroar
april 29, 2011
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Africa reunite Photos and text by Laurent D’Almeida
I had an amazing time meeting family on my dad’s and mom’s side that I did not know or did not remember, and it was surreal seeing all my family members again. Eating African food, going to the markets with my brothers and cousins, to riding a motorcycle all were firsts for me. My cousin Ayele was so protective of me. When we went to the supermarkets, she held my hand the whole time and also made me give her my wallet for her to hold, because, being from America, people will try to jack your wallet without you even noticing. The whole experience made me so humble and opened my eyes to the hardships people in Africa are going through. I am lucky to be able to go to school and have a job, which many people do not have. I am looking forward to going back to my home really soon which I already miss.
april 29, 2011
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Letter to the editor
Senate president disputes story about senate misbehavior To the editor: I am writing to express disappointment from the Senate in regards to ‘Bad apples’ corrupt the bunch on the front page of the April 8, 2011 issue of the Lions Roar. The statement “The NCC Student Senate’s out-of-town conferences have been condemned as a waste of time and money” is inflammatory and false. As the actual article states, in the past there have been a small number of isolated incidences involving students who are no longer apart of Senate. I (Neal Olmstead, Senate President) created an agreement that holds liable any student for missing scheduled meetings or other misconduct, similar to agreements used by other campus organizations. Again, as the article states, we have had no such incidences this year. As for the article itself, I wish the editors would take the time to check facts. For example, the incorrect spelling of my name should not have happened. I would also like to clarify that for the Spring General Assembly we will have an advisor present; however, her role is not as a chaperone. In fact, while we students are in our sessions the advisors are slated to attend different training session’s specific to them. All in all, the article’s teaser on the front cover is misleading and full of false allegations and the article itself, while more to the point, contains unverified information. I believe journalism plays an important role in the system of checks and balances. What concerns me is the Lions’ Roar using information about past Senators to discredit the current Senators, especially when the current Senate has worked arduously on so many real issues that have had a significant impact on students. In the past year, the
Normandale Student Senate has worked on many issues on campus as well as at the state and federal capitols. Over the summer we, the Student Senate Executive Board, prepared for the Get Out The Vote campaign. Once fall classes began we shared our training with the new Senators and worked diligently to register new voters. Because of our hard work we registered 462 new voters at NCC. Later in the fall, we began to focus our training on preparing students to lobby directly with State and Federal Senators and House Representatives. State issues included funding of the MnSCU system, a Tuition Cap, continued funding for Veteran resources and State Grant Funding. Federal issues included continued funding of the Pell Grants and increasing the accessibility of the Minnesota SELF loan. In addition, Student Senators have represented students on a wide variety of campus committees; in fact, almost all major campus committees seek and value advice from their Student Senate committee members. Most Senate activity takes place outside of our regular weekly two hour meeting where we conduct regular business and vote on issues representing the voice of the entire Student body. We vote on issues that have a very large impact on nearly every student at Normandale. For example at our April 19 meeting College President, Joe Opatz, and Vice President of Finance, Ed Wines, will present plans to construct a parking ramp funded largely by increased student fees. And so I ask, do Normandale students really care more about a small number of former students’ past misbehavior over what current students are doing about rising tuition and fees?
YouTube aims to expand movie service by Dawn Chmielewski MCT Campus Google Inc.’s YouTube is ramping up its video-ondemand movie rental service with thousands of titles from several major Hollywood studios in a bid to compete head-on with established services offered by Apple Inc.’s iTunes and Amazon.com Inc. YouTube has reached agreements with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures to offer their movies on the same day the films are available on other ondemand services, according to several people with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. “Other studios, including Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Studios, have declined to join YouTube because of concerns that Google has not done enough to deter online piracy,” said people familiar with the matter, also citing the confidential nature of the discussions. A YouTube spokesman issued a statement saying, “We’ve steadily been add-
ing more and more titles since launching movies for rent on YouTube over a year ago and now have thousands of titles available. Outside of that, we don’t comment on rumor or speculation.” YouTube, which rose to prominence on the popularity of user-created videos, has been looking to bolster its bottom line with more professionally created content. The site began making movies from the Sundance Film Festival available for online rental early last year. It now offers a limited selection of pictures to rent via the service, including Weinstein Co.’s animated film “Hoodwinked” and MGM’s “Hannibal Rising.” Other films, such as director Ivan Reitman’s 1984 comedy “Ghostbusters” and Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 fastfood documentary “Super Size Me,” can be watched free with commercials. One analyst said the greatest hurdle in creating a viable rival to Apple’s iTunes or Amazon’s Instant Video service is persuading YouTube’s 143 million monthly users to think of the site as a place to watch something other than short,
quirky videos. YouTube’s expanded on-demand service would make the movies available to stream online for a limited rental period. Consumers won’t be able to purchase films and download them on a permanent basis under the current plans. The site has also allocated $100 million to underwrite the cost of original programming, which would be organized into televisionlike channels, according to people briefed on the matter who asked not to be identified because talks are continuing. Google’s dominant online video service has been in talks with Hollywood executives for more than a year. Studio executives hope YouTube’s vast online audience can be enticed to rent newly released films — especially since YouTube’s video can be watched on countless portable devices. The studios are eager to bolster digital revenue to help offset declines in DVD sales and perhaps one day to use YouTube as a platform to sell digital versions of movies.
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april 29, 2011
Lions’ Roar crumples paper edition
by Becca Freenan and Evan Johnson
Newspapers all around the country have been making changes to keep up with the digital age in which the media is now in and the Lion’s Roar is affected as well. We interviewed Mark Plenke, administrative advisor to the paper, and Matt Homan, editor in chief, about the Lions’ Roar’s shift to only online. Homan said that it was where the general direction all media was going. Media is moving away from print and moving things online. Besides that, people nowadays are getting their news online as it is. Also, there are more opportunities for user participation with an online newspaper. As it stands now, the student life committee won’t have to allocate funds to let the Lions’ Roar print paper copies of the newspaper every three weeks. Homan was actually pushing for it to happen in August ’10 but there was a contract and so there was nothing he could do about it until this point in time. Also, the sooner the switch the sooner the newspaper can train incoming staff and students on the paper to learn how the paper works online.” What prompted this move to paperl e s s ? M a r k Plenke stated that the way this works is a Student Life committee Homan works with the Student Senate to set the budget for all student groups. The Lions’ Roar is one of these groups. The committee has noticed that a lot of papers are sitting unread on the stands, and they sent the paper a request to print fewer papers. This wouldn’t cut the paper’s costs very much, since the majority of the
Top: One of the first-ever editions of the NCC newspaper, print date: nov 1968 Middle: One of the first paper copies of the NCC newspaper, print date: may 2001 Bottom: One of the last issues of the NCC’s newspaper, print date: aug, 2010. expense is wrapped up in printing the first paper. The paper would also receive less money in funding because running the paper means they have advertisers paying them per issue printed. The paper told them this, and offered to return all of the budget for printing costs for the Lions’ Roar, and concentrate on the website, which is already set up and running. The printing costs amount to about $9000, which would then be reallocated to other groups. The Lions’ Roar did ask to keep a small amount of their budget, which will be used to buy some equipment they don’t have right now. There would, of course, be both pros and cons with the switch, and both the current editor-in-chief and the newspaper advisor commented on what they
thought those would be. “We’ve talked to the Student Senate President, and some of the other members of the Student Senate, and they almost all said that they Plenke thought it was a good move. They said that it was the way technology was moving, and the preferred way to get news nowadays,” stated Plenke. He also said he talked to the staff about the change and although some people mentioned that they enjoyed the feel of a physical paper, the grand majority said that they definitely
thought it was a good idea. Though after talking with Homan, there were some cons mentioned to switching to an all-online paper but the pros pretty much outnumbered the cons. One thing he mentioned was that with the all-online newspaper, the newspaper can include not just written stories with pictures, but also videos of events. The staff will also be able to stream speeches and interviews of ongoing campus events. Some other pros are that the news cycle would no longer be every three weeks; it would be every day. This way they can do actual current news and by the time the paper comes out not have it be old news. With everything online, people will be able to update much more frequentlythink daily, and they won’t
always be struggling with the issue of printing ‘old’ news. Then there are, of course, some cons to this switch, but really the only huge one is that students expect that when they come onto the paper, they’ll be writing for an actual paper. While this may turn off potential students wanting to become staff members on the newspaper, it will also be something that students interested in this line of work would expect to see and even maybe embrace in an all-online newspaper. Finally, we needed to know what students could look forward to with this switch. Content wise, Plenke says that the new format won’t be any less than the paper we have now online. We’ll still have slide shows and videos. People will still be able to comment on stories. They will probably be able to have some enhancements as well. Some of the equipment they are looking at buying would let them do podcasts of the daily news that they could post on the website. A final important change that they would enact with the online paper would be a weekly e-mail that they would send to every student enrolled at Normandale. This would be a weekly update on the news, also redirecting them to the website, where they could find more news. More than that, the staff have been throwing around some ideas as well, said Homan. Though as of right now, there is nothing specific that will come with the switch; however, it has been discussed at the staff meetings. Some ideas the staff has come up with are movie, concert and play reviews that will actually be current and not two to three weeks old. There is also talk of doing weekly or daily broadcasts, such as an overview of the news for the day. Also, online, we have unlimited space for stories and such, so there will be more freedom with that. Really, it all depends on what students are interested and
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STACY B.
april 29, 2011
An icon for persevering to reach your goals, Stacy B. talks about her experiences as an artist trying to get her music out there and how she got to be the person she is today.
M
usic videos, songs licensed to a cable television show, and hoards of talent isn’t quite what you would expect from a Normandale student, but class, meet Stacy B. While some people are interested in pursuing music for fame or fortune, Stacy has been interested in song and dance from the age of three when she lived above a recording studio. She was always encouraged by her mother and has been cultivating her skills ever since. “I always had a microphone in my hand” she recalled, melodies came to her in the middle of a day and quickly took shape into a song, often accompanied by a dance. “For me, music is very much about the whole process, writing a song, recording it, marketing it, it is all a reflection of who you are as a person,” Stacy said. She has served as her own manager, promoter, producer and songwriter and has been her own guiding force on her journey through the volatile music world. Her first big show was at the BET Comedy Awards and she was scared out of her wits, wondering whether or not she would be liked. “I got a standing ovation and sold over 30 CDs!” The response was uplifting and this led to her working with her first manager, an experience that eventually taught her about the dangers of the music industry and led to a restraining orWritten by Becca Freeman and Ben Rasmussen
photo by R. del Castillo
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april 29, 2011
photo by R. del Castillo
Stacy B. performing at the Mall of America Rotuna in December 2010 After the deal soured, her passion and drive stayed strong and she worked several jobs to be able to pay for studio time and professional audio help. “After that, I wrote down a list of what I needed to do. First, I needed to acquire music, then work on my image”. The drive continued and she financed her first two music videos, which can be seen on YouTube, if you just search Stacy B. One thing that will strike you about her music and her videos is the quality of them, these are not home recordings or home videos, these are professional quality works of art, which she financed herself. Stacy B. has known that determination that has led her to where she is today—but she wouldn’t have gotten there without some good, old-fashioned, hard work. Drawing her inspiration from musical artists Madonna, Adele, Jessie J, Christina, and Beyonce, her music shows a side of the pop genre that fresh and hip. Becca Freeman from the Lion’s Roar interviewed Stacy B, and asked her some questions about what she’s all about. Becca Freeman: When was the first time you knew for certain you wanted to pursue a career in the music industry? Stacy B: When I was in
first grade. I made my first demo tape and walked over to the local radio station, Radio Disney, to see if they could help me get a record deal. BF: What makes you different from the rest of the artists in your genre? SB: My knowledge in music is all encompassing. I
BF: What’s something important, or a motto of yours, you like to reflect on a daily basis? SB: I keep the thought that good things happen to good people and you have to roll with the punches. BF: What was your childhood like? SB: I grew up poor, mov-
financed myself paying for studio time, photos and my first music video. Luckily, I managed to secure the help of some friends to help me complete some goals and sponsorships including Red Bull, Multimedia Graphics and Executive Aviation also helped. Recently, I signed onto a well-known nation-
‘Never give up. When you think you’ve made it, you’re actually just beginning.’ -Stacy B. have an understanding for the business as whole and I play, write, sing and dance. I’m not afraid to grow, experiment or evolve with my music and career. BF: What are some of the best memories you have of things you’ve done, places you’ve performed, etc? SB: Being played on Clear Channel Radio KDWB, Performances at: MTV in Chicago, IL, House of Blues in Los Angeles, CA, Target Center Minneapolis, MN, Cinco De Mayo Festival Saint Paul, MN and MOA Rotunda in Bloomington, MN BF:What has been the one experience you’ve learned from the most throughout your music career? SB: Never give up. When you think you’ve “made it” you’re actually just beginning. BF: What are the inspirations for your songs? SB: I draw inspiration off of everyday life and everyday emotions.
ing from city to city. During some points, I was homeless. Music was always the light of my life during any point in time of my life. I role played as a famous singer a lot a child. I performed wherever I could, mostly in talent shows, and for my family, friends and neighbors. BF: Why did you decide to pursue a business degree at NCC? SB: I started out in a music business program with an emphasis in audio production so that I could be well versed in all angles of the music business. BF: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while trying to put your music out there? SB: Time, large financing, industry connections, reliable opportunities and a manager usually tend to be a hindrance with unsigned artists like myself, however this has changed in recent years for myself, I originally
al management company that will be able to put me in front of the right people to advance me to the next level. BF: What was one of the scariest moments in your music career so far? SB: In 2008, I was doing three things full time: music, work and school—all three totaling about 110 hours a week. I began to have constant fevers and a swollen throat that eventually led me to a tonsillectomy. After a couple of weeks I still did not heal from the procedure. I had to be rushed to the hospital to have a second emergency surgery. After a month had passed, I still had not healed and was unable to talk. The doctor said that I may not be able to sing again, given my lack of recovery. I was absolutely devastated, but I refused to believe that I would not recover fully and see the day that I would be back in the game of music as I normal-
ly was. My determination and hope helped me get through and eventually I did recover fully. BF: What are some of your recent accomplishments? SB: Well, there are a couple of things. One, I’ve landed my first licensing deal with the new R.L Stine television series, “The Haunting Hour”. Secondly, I will be releasing a single in the Netherlands with the help of a local record label in Benelux, and three, I have donated a song to the NBIA disorders compellation CD that will be available in Best Buy and local retailers. 100% of the proceeds go toward the developmental research for a cure for NBIA disorders. BF: What are some of your future music goals? SB: I have so many goals starting with securing a writing deal on major music projects along with a recording contract as well as branding my image with books, health and beauty, film and television. I aspire to become an influential artist of many generations. Stacy B. has her music available on iTunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody for purchase. She also has a Facebook page (www.facebook. com/stacybmusic) where you can get to know more about her, listen to some of her songs, and watch her music videos. Like her on Facebook and spread the word about her music!
april 29, 2011
news
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NCC class size increase postponed
by Becca Freeman
President Joe Opatz has decided to postpone class size increases his administration proposed for next fall. He wrote in an e-mail April 19 that he’ll revisit the issue when he has a clearer budget picture. “I have decided to postpone the implementation of the proposed course maximum plan for at least a semester, except for thec hanges in math as requested by that department,” Opatz wrote. “If necessary we will try to find other areas to cut in order to ffset the projected savings we anticipated for next spring semester.” Opatz had decided to increase online class sizes from 30 students to 35. Other staple class such as the core classes (Eng-
lish, Mathematics, Reading) would also get bigger increases in class sizes even though they are already quite full as it is. The online class increase could be an advantage to students at NCC, especially those who register at the last minute because they have either forgotten, just decided to attend college, or needed to switch from another class at the last second and often times online classes have the greatest probability of having space available. Unfortunately, the increase in in-school classes may not be such a benefit. Some classes would remain unaffected by this change. These classes would be mostly the elective classes, and not the staple classes such as English, Reading, and Mathematics. For prospective students, there are many factors that
go into choosing a school to attend for a post-secondary education. Other than the cost and faculty, another aspect of community college that students often appreciate is the small class sizes. Small class sizes also help students form a bond with their professors, and it helps students learn better with that class size. The NCC faculty voted to oppose the increase because it violates the Minnesota State College Faculty contract already in place. The Minnesota State College Faculty is basically like a union on the behalf of public two-year colleges in Minnesota. They do this through negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, making sure faculty problems are processed and hopefully resolved, lobbying the Minnesota Legislature, and making sure that every concern is addressed and resolved.
Student activity fee reduced to $4 by Derek Burt The Student Senate has approved a 50-cent reduction in the student activity fee for 2011-2012, lowering the fee to $4 per credit. “This reduction approved by the Senate to help offset the increase in the students parking fee, which will be used to fund a parking ramp,” Student Life Budget Committee member Kay Okey wrote in an e-mail. Eighteen campus groups and activities are funded by the student life fee. The fee will raise $888,000 for the next school year. The budget now goes to President Opatz for final approval. Here are the groups and their budgets for 2011-2012: Culture Fest - $ 5,000 Diversity - $10,00 Fine Arts Festival - $4,418 Fine Arts Gallery - $11,400 LEAD Funds - $18,800 Literary magazine- $4,700 Leadership Development - $6,750 Lions’ Roar Student Newspaper - $39,046 Music Festival - $4,230 Math Activity - $2,090 Normandale Program Board - $23,623 Phi Theta Kappa - $16,815 Recognition - Student Life - $8,840 Recreational Sports & Outdoor Recreation - $22,370 Student Senate - $31,800 Theatre Festival - $7,464 Wellness & Awareness Programming - $7,000
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Chancellor honored by student government group by Bryan Kissee The 2011 Spring General Assembly at Breezy Point was a success with a timely election of the new MSCSA cabinet, the unveiling of the McCormick Leadership Scholarship to the chancellor and awards dinner that resulted in NCC receiving the Kitchen Sink Award. In attendance were over 275 students from across the state, 15 of which were NCC senators, and despite the mistakes made in previous years from their predecessors, NCC senators “acted in a professional manner and not only attended, but actively participated in the meetings and workshops”, according to NCC’s current student senate president Neal Olmstead. Another accomplishment for NCC is Ryan Newbloom, an NCC student senator, becoming the new Metro South Platform Representative. “I am very pleased with the outcome of this Newbloom election, after working with Ryan on Senate this year I can confidently say that he takes his role very seriously, has a true passion for policy and will be an excellent representative for NCC and the region” said Olmstead. In recent years, skeptics have “deemed these conferences a waste of time and money” but when asked how NCC benefits by sending students to these conferences, Olmstead had this to say: “The way I see it, these events (MSCSA Governing Council and General Assembly Meetings) have three main objectives. The first is simply to maintain the organization; the Governing Council is the acting board of directors. The second is to educate student leaders and give them the tools they need to effectively run senates on their individual campuse. The third is to provide training for students so they can effectively advocate at the Capitol. Current State House and Senate legislation includes language, for example, a cap on tuition that was brought to them by MSCSA students. Also on the federal level, the Pell Grant will not be cut as originally proposed.” For more information about the elections, McCormick Leadership Scholarship, and Kitchen Sink Award go to www.lionsroar.info. www.lionsroar.info
Watch a video of Chancellor McCormick’s farewell speech at www.lionsroar.info
Photo courtesy MSCSA Photographers
NCC delegation wins Kitchen Sink Award NCC’s Student Senate was the proud recipient of the Kitchen Sink Award at the 2011 MSCSA Awards Dinner. This award was created when one of the sinks at the MSCSA headquarters was removed and rather than disposing of it they decided to give it away as a type of gag gift. Each school to receive the award adds something to the sink that represents their college. What was meant to just be joke has turned into somewhat of a tradition at the annual MSCSA Award Dinner.
Photo courtesy MSCSA Photographers
Student senators elect new MSCSA board At the 2011 General Assembly, over 275 student senators from across the state had the responsibility of electing next years MSCSA cabinet. The candidates participated in meet-and-greets as well as gave speeches in attempt to inform the students what their goals and ambitions are for MSCSA in the upcoming year. The elections were successful and timely resulting in Geoff Dittberner, the current vice president of MSCSA, becoming next years president-elect. Darleen Tareeq was voted in as vice president elect. The new Public Relations Coordinator will be David Corgan and Alex Rodich will be MSCSA’s Treasurer for the coming year.
Review
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april 29, 2011
‘Comedy’ funny, powerful by Evan Johnson
Errors were never such a good thing—nor as laughable—as in The Comedy of Errors, directed by Kurt Schweickhardt, and performed by Normandale Theatre. Schweickhardt manages to stay true to Shakespeare’s original, while still injecting his own devilish take on the play. The whole text of the play is exactly as Shakespeare penned it. The main roles, however, have been arranged to cross genders—Shakespeare’s male characters are here played by women, and the female characters are done by men. This is a move “which I hope will add to the humor,� wrote Schweickhardt. The play itself tells the story of two sets of identical twins, two masters, both named Antipholus, and two servants, both named Dromio. The twins were separated at birth, but later in life, one master-servant pair sets out to find their counterparts. This pair, originally from Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, where their brothers live. Once there, they are set upon by many people, who mistake them for Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus. This quickly leads to the “Comedy of Errors.� Antipholus of Ephesus’s wife believes Antipholus of Syracuse to be her husband, but this Antipholus wants nothing to do with her. Dromio likewise suffers from unwanted romantic pursuits. Antipholus of Ephesus is shut out of his
house for the night, and accused of demonic possession by townspeople, who cannot reconcile the seemingly self-contradictory behavior of the man. Antipholus of Syracuse meanwhile, is the unexpected beneficiary of an expensive golden chain. The mistakes multiply, finally culminating in a hilarious “sword fight� that ends with Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse taking refuge in an abbey. Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus escape from the townspeople and meet with a crowd in front of the abbey. The crowd, confronted with the impossibility of Antipholus and Dromio being both inside and outside the Abbey, demand answers. The tangle is unraveled outside of the abbey, and the play concludes with the company adjourning to a party in celebration of the reuniting of the twins. The play was very well acted, the roles convincingly played, and the dialogue delivered snappily. With a good laugh to accompany nearly every scene, the actors rolled the puns and jokes off their tongues with a spontaneous ease. Shakespeare’s lines were not the only fun enjoyed by the audience though. The dramatic posturing of some characters and the bizarre personality quirks of others added a very human touch to the drama. Though certainly a comedy, The Comedy of Errors is far from a farce. The laughs are accompanied by a powerful story about the importance and meaning of family.
MCT Campus
A convention-goer shows his G.I. Joe that parachuted from the roof of Disney’s Dolphin hotel in Orlando, Florida, to celebrate the opening of G.I. Joecon, a convention dedicated to the military action figures, on April one. The convention kicked off its weekend of festivities by dropping the action figures, with working parachutes, off of the roof of the hotel.
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St. Paul Campus
april 29, 2011
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Alicia Ross (pictured in her German class) says try to learn something from the choices you make and remember that the faculty here want to help you succeed.
Eileen McNamara-Bezat, recently got into the nursing program and plans to qualify as an RN. She says she is enjoying life at NCC because she is succeeding in the classroom despite her preregistration apprehension.
Cheryl Zachman describes her biggest accomplishment as a non-traditional student this way “ I am a first-generation in my family to go to college.My selfesteem has grown tremendously with knowing I can earn a degree, not for employment, but because I want to.”
Willette Ross says one of her long term goals is to keep on coming to college for a refresher after graduating. All photos by Steve Dodds
Money, health and time concern older NCC students by Steve Dodds
teachers and lab assistants in the Science Department have been especially helpful and she added “Getting my family to help by their picking up more responsibilities at home is very beneficial.” Miller says her main concern is time management. “It is really hard to have kids and have to provide for them financially while working 40 hours a week, take care of our home and also go to school full time.” As a non-traditional student embarking on further studies after almost thirty years out of the classroom I was at times uncertain of the amount of paperwork necessary. Everything from pre-requisite classes to financial aid and scholarship applications at times confused me but I found academic advisors were a great help. Evenson is one of those advisors and has been at Normandale for many years and she says she sees all kinds of issues that students are coping with. One thing that always seems to keep on coming up is finance. “Money is often an issue, and I see students who are struggling to keep their electricity on, or in need of food support services,” she said. Another common complaint from students is that they are having a hard time finding the right balance between work and school. It is hard to manage a full class load, and work full time, as Sheila said earlier but even more so when you have children in your house who have their own needs. Evenson says she often deals with students who are getting up in the middle of the night to care for babies, but for non-traditional students perhaps there are more pressures as they may have children who are needing help with their own homework assignments.
It is not all bad news though as Evenson points out. She sometimes sees students who are doing just fine. As she puts it “ There are some adult students who are doing just fine and they seem to have figured out the school / work balance and are joy-filled to be back in school. The reasons they are back in school are varied. Some are victims of the great recession and corporate ‘down-sizing,’ while others are self directed because they wish to gain extra qualifications. As a student there are often some health related concerns. Many students have medical insurance through their employment, but what of those who don’t have a job offering health insurance? Sometimes health care is actually cheaper. Eileen says that her health plan has not changed, but adds that she is covered by her husband’s insurance, Cheryl says that because she is a State employee her health care plan has not changed at all, while Willete says that hers has actually become cheaper. In the last semester, I used Normandale’s dental clinic on a number of occasions and was very surprised at how affordable being a student’s patient really is. X-rays, fillings and cleanings are all part of the services offered by student dental practitioners, all under direct supervision of registered dentists. Being a student at NCC also means a 50percent discount on the fees charged, so if you have no dental insurance I can heartily recommend the services of Normandale’s Advanced Dental Therapy clinic.
Feature
A non-traditional student is a student who does not fit the typical college age profile. In this instance let us say that a non-traditional student is an adult student age 25 or older, or perhaps a re-entry student. A re-entry student is one who has left school and come back after a period of time. Non-traditional in this sense, is rapidly becoming extinct as more and more adults and re-entry students are entering the classrooms each semester. Many of the students at Normandale Community College are described as Non-Traditional students. According to NCC’s Monica Haynes, Research Analyst in the Office of Institutional Research, there are in excess of 35% of Normandale’s registered students who fall into this bracket. Records indicate that in the Spring 2011 semester student profile (maintained by the records dept) there are 3419 non-traditional students, compared to 3529 for the preceding semester. Many students have a great variety of concerns, some of which are related to returning to the study environment. Some returning students have been in a work place environment for many years and came back to school for a variety of reasons, varying from the fact that their employers are downsizing to their own desires to change careers or the fact that they need further training to be able to continue to do their current job. The reasons students are at school are as varied as the students themselves. What then are the concerns of non-traditional students? One of the hardest things for some is getting used to the discipline to study and
produce the course assignments and homework after a long time out of the academic setting. Some have been in a workplace environment for many years and being in school now makes time management more of an issue. Sheila Miller, a criminal justice major, is on campus six days a week and says that for her there aren’t enough hours in a day. Alicia Ross, a transfer student, majoring in Journalism says actually paying for school is her biggest concern as well as finding that work-school balance. Eileen McNamara-Bezat, has recently learned of her acceptance into the nursing program here and says that the hardest thing for her is juggling the responsibilities of school and family life while still trying to maintain some kind of social life and keeping up with her commitments to the organizations that she volunteers for. Cheryl Zachman, majoring in business and marketing, and recently retired NCC employee, said “getting people to listen to what I am saying instead of having a preconceived opinion of what I will be saying because I am an older individual.” Many resources are available to both traditional, and non-traditional students alike Willette Ross, for example, is majoring in Chemical Dependence and she makes use of several tutorial aids, such as the Academic Support Center and study buddies. Ross says her biggest concern is keeping her grades up, while classmate Sheila Miller says she has used help from her classmates, professors and the computer lab. Eileen McNamaraBezat says that she too has utilized the Academic support center, especially for the Physiology classes she is taking. She also says that the
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CALENDAR
april 29, 2011
MAY 2 - MAY 19, 2011
monday
2
tuesday
3
wednesday
4
Student Recital II, Fine Arts Auditorium, 2:30 p.m.
Summer Term payments are due !
Jazz Combo, Fine Arts Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Faculty & Staff Recognition Event, Fine Arts Center, 2-3 p.m.
9
10
11
F i n a l
thursday
5
Final Exams
17 Commencement, Grace Church in Eden Prairie, 6:30-8 p.m.
LOOKING AHEAD... First day of summer classes, May 31 Last day to add classes, June 2 Last day to drop classes, June 6
6
Cinco de Mayo
saturday
7 Choir Concert, Century College, 3 p.m. Lewis Black: In God We Rust, State Theatre, 7 p.m.
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13
14
E x a m s Syleena Johnson feat: Kindred the Family Soul, Pantages Theatre, 8 p.m.
Documentary and film discussion of Patsy Mink’s ‘Ahead of the Majority’ at NCC Gymnasium from 5:308:30 p.m.
16
friday
18
19
20 Soundsation Conference, Fine Arts Auditorium, through May 21
21
CAMPUS CLUBS MONDAY Campus Crusade for Christ – 11 a.m., A2562 Archaeology club – noon, S2338 Gay-Straight Student Alliance – 3 p.m., C2032 TUESDAY Break-dance club – 3:30-6 p.m., S2338 or A1570 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship – 9 a.m. in F2231 and 11:30 a.m. in F2235 Juggling club – noon, Gymnasium Hats for the Homeless, 11 a.m., A2552 Student Senate – 2 p.m., A2570 Black Student Alliance – 1 p.m., L1747 Table Tennis Club – 3-5 p.m., A2562 WEDNESDAY Break-dance club – 3:30-6 p.m., S2338 or A1570 IVCF – 11 a.m. in L1747, noon in S2322 IVCF – Bible Discovery, noon, L3701 Peer Mentors – 2-4 p.m., TBD Tae Kwon Do – 3 p.m., A1560 Table Tennis Club – 3-5 p.m., A1550 NCC STEM Club – 4 p.m., S2320 THURSDAY IVCF Women’s Group - 4 p.m. at Rachel’s CSL – Intercultural Service Circles, 1p.m., A2570 Anthropolgy Club – 3:30 p.m., S2320 FRIDAY Break-dance club – 3:30-6 p.m., S2338 or A1570 Outdoor Club – 2 p.m., front of the building Tae Kwon Do – 2-4 p.m., A1560