12 8 2015 cayuga collegian vol 62 issue 9 final

TERROR COUPLE KILLS 14

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Vol. 62 Issue 9

TERRORISTS STRIKE IN USA

CAYUGABRIEFS Wednesday, 12/9 College Chorus & World Rhythm Ensemble

By Caleb Slater, Editor-in-chief

Directed by Sally Bailey and Michael Cortese

11am, M157

Auburn Bookstore Winter/Holiday Hours

Unless otherwise noted below, normal operating hours are in effect.

M-Th – 9am-5pm Fri – 9am-3pm Sat & Sun - closed

WINTER/HOLIDAY HOURS

12/21-12/23 – 9am-4pm 12/24& 12/25 – Closed for Holidays 12/28-12/30 – Bookstore closed but staff will be working & answering phones 12/31 & 1/1/16 – Closed for Holidays

1/4/16 – 1/22/16 – Intersession hours –

9am-4pm M-Th 9am-3pm Fri 1/10/16 – 9:30-1pm Open for Sunday session 1/18/16 – Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Spring RUSH hours

1/25-1/28 – 9am-6pm 1/29 – 9am-3pm 2/1 – Resume normal operating hours

Fulton Bookstore Winter/Holiday Hours

Unless otherwise noted below, normal operating hours are in effect.

M-Th – 7:30am-4:30pm Fri – 7:30am-3pm Sat & Sun - closed

WINTER/HOLIDAY HOURS

12/21-12/23 – 9am-4pm 12/24& 12/25 – Closed for Holidays 12/28-12/30 – Bookstore closed but staff will be working & answering phones 12/31 & 1/1/16 – Closed for Holidays

1/4/16 – 1/22/16 – Intersession hours –

9am-4pm M-Th 9am-3pm Fri 1/10/16 – 9:30-1pm Open for Sunday session 1/18/16 – Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Spring RUSH hours

1/25-1/28 – 7:30am-6pm 1/29 – 7:30am-3pm 2/1 – Resume normal operating hours

December 8, 2015

Makeshift memorial at the scene of the shooting.

PICTURE FROM GETTY

President Durant: Students continue to be top priority going into Spring semester

By Steve Brewer, staff writer I had the pleasure of briefly meeting President Durant back during Orientation in the Summer but was never able to sit down and talk with him before today. This was largely due to my CCC President hours with tutoring and student Dr. Brian government keepDurant ing me occupied until after the President’s Office was closed each day. It was finally suggested that I make some time to sit down with President Durant which I did today when we sat down to discuss how he feels the semester has gone and what he looks to do in the future.

Working on campus with the SGO and the Student Trustee I have had many positive comments about President Durrant but the one that stuck out the most to me came from someone I work with in the Center for Academic Success who attended

the Student Forum that was held in October. She told me that, despite having worked on campus for a few years, President Durant was the first President we have had who put students at the top of their priority list and this is something that was echoed in our sit down meeting and discussed at length. It will be the continued priority of President Durant to not only put us students at the top of his priority list, but he wants to ensure that our voices are heard at every level of the college and taken into account during decision making process.

We discussed this further and he outlined his plans for the Spring semester. First he will be holding another Student Forum in the Spring for him to outline his objectives to the student body and will be able to answer questions from anyone who has any for him. The second plan is for him to meet with Student Government in the Spring for us to reaffirm the connection between the SGO and the administration which has weakened in recent years CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO

The area of San Bernardino, California is still shocked out of their minds from the terrorist attack that hit the Inland Regional Center at around 11:00 A.M. last Wednesday. Fourteen people were killed and as many as 21 additional people were wounded by the actions of the married couple, U.S. born Syed Rizwan Farook and Pakistan national Tashfeen Malik.

The 14 victims range from age 26 to age 60 and include people like 31-year-old Tin Nguyen, a recent graduate from Cal State Fullerton, whose Vietnam-born parents saved up money after the war to move to the United States for a better life.

There is also 45-year-old Shannon Johnson, the truck driver turned Public Health Servant, who had just gotten engaged. His wife-to-be, had intentions of telling the family about the wedding this week, but instead she must prepare for his funeral in the wake of this tragedy.

These are just two stories of the 14 victims and they don’t even begin to describe the reactions of the friends and families that knew

these innocent men and women that lost their lives to an attack the FBI is officially calling an act of terrorism.

Currently it has been determined that ISIS did not direct the attack, but the female shooter, Tashfeen Malik declared a pledge of allegiance to ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook--a post which appeared on social media during the actual shooting.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER OF CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

TO THE EDITOR:

OPINIONS Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

Caleb Slater Ahh, Christmas, the time of year that seems to start earlier every year. This year, I started seeing Christmas specials as early as October and K-Mart ran an ad as early as September. From a young age we are taught that, regardless of your beliefs this time of year is about getting into the Christmas spirit and the spreading of good will, well that’s just not the case anymore.

FULTON

CAMPUS! The Collegian wants to know what is going on up there! Be a Fulton Correspondent or just email us your news at Cayugacollegian@ gmail.com

The excitement of gathering around a decorated tree with your friends and family has been replaced with the expectation of luxurious gifts and presents, purchased through the “amazing deals” offered in the materialistic society that we live in. No longer are we concerned with how much is within one’s heart, but instead how much is within one’s pockets.

In addition, the spreading of Christmas spirit is now frowned upon, as those who are within this Politically Correct culture our society is now actively engaged in are easily offended by a simple season’s greeting and more than willing to combat in a verbal battle against anyone who wishes them well throughout the season.

I can completely understand the fact that a lot of people don’t buy into the “birth of baby Jesus” notion that is surrounded by Christmas, not everyone believes in this and thus doesn’t want to state it as fact.

This is why there are plenty of decorations with the words X-Mas on it instead of Christmas, but to be offended by someone saying the phrase ‘Merry Christmas’ is the exact same as negatively responding to the phrase, “Have a nice day.”

It is the replacement of family with consumerism and the removal of Christmas spirit that has turned me into an Ebenezer Scrooge this year. In fact, the only things that I am excited about for the month of December is watching all of the Christmas movies and specials, as well as gazing at the often impressive decorations that people work very diligently to set up around their homes. For everything else “holiday” related, I say ‘BAH HUMBUG!’

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CALEB SLATER - EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KEVIN SHUTTER - STAFF WRITER STEVEN BREWER - STAFF WRITER ALEXANDRA CASSICK - STAFF WRITER MALCOM HUEY - DIVERGENT NATION MARY G. MERRITT - FACULTY ADVISOR WANT TO JOIN THE COLLEGIAN STAFF? EMAIL US TO SET UP AN INTERVIEW.

PAGE TWO

The evolution of technology and social media has turned our lives around. We are obsessed with instant gratification, internet access and no topic seems to be ‘taboo.’ When my parent was a teenager, a bootleg copy of “Girls Gone Wild” and a “Sony Walkman” was a hot item, now it’s having a Snapchat, Kick, Tumbler, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Social media can best be described as a blessing and a curse. It has revolutionized communication, bridging gaps, and expanded marketing; and at the same time lead to privacy issues, become a distraction, feeds cyber bullying, decreased face-to-face conversations, etc. Has this ease of access and quick release of information affected our ability to think before we respond?

“Thinking before speaking is a challenge for a lot of people. It might even be hard for you, especially if you are trying to prove to the world how smart you are.” (Marshall Goldsmith, Think Before You Speak, Huffington Post 7/14/2015) As I look at various social media accounts, they are flooded with some very entertaining pictures, videos and statuses; however, they are also flooded with police brutality, child abuse, murder stories, etc. With each entertaining or depressing depiction, there are comments exposing people’s personal views.

Yes, we do have freedom of speech

President Durant... so SGO can fulfill its duty of being the voice of the student body. The final plan, which he came up with at our meeting which we discussed in depth, was that of the SGO hosting a round table with him and the leaders of the student body for them to connect with him in person.

Looking back at this semester as it comes to an end President Durrant is proud and privileged to be able to serve as the President of Cayuga Community College and is thankful that he was welcomed so warmly by the college. He has had much success in connecting with the students and is looking forward to continuing to connect and get to know the college as a whole. He did make it clear that his goals that were outlined in October are not based on semester but rather the school year as a whole and does feel he has already succeeded in making sure students are put first above all else.

Another topic that we discussed was that of student housing which he did say that will be researched further going forward with the task force in charge of it being given the ability to continue to explore all of the options there are before a course is pursued.

but this constant explosion of too much information has resulted in too much talking/commenting. Once you press send/post it’s a done deal, you are never fast enough to delete it without anyone seeing it.

People are so eager to share their opinion, prove their smartness, or get the word out, they often don’t take the time to research if what they are commenting on is even valid. We have taken our rapid fire mouths and applied it to rapid fire typing much to our own downfall.

We have replaced social intercourse with texting/typing/posting, and with that opens the risk of misinterpretation. Relationships have been torn a part because we don’t think before we respond. We don’t even check who will receive our comments! A potential employer, a possible mentor, a person you need for a reference may see your comment, disagree or be offended and opportunity is lost.

We need to take time out when it comes to responding or whatever we post. Let’s be safe, don’t believe that posts are temporary or permanently deleted.

When we become professionals, we don’t want our rapid fire posts as college students to get us rapidly fired.

Brandon Perkins CCC Freshman

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

Student housing, I feel, would be a good way for the college to attract more students from greater distances which would allow CCC to expand and grow in the future so I was very happy we were able to discuss it in our meeting.

It was truly a pleasure to meet and sit down with President Durant, he had recognized me from my work with Student Government and from around campus (on any given day I do a few laps around campus going from tutoring, to meetings, to clubs, to classes, and often have to pass him in the halls several times). We also talked about my club activities, academics and extracurricular activities, such as a racquetball tournament that I am participating in this weekend, and he took a genuine interest in what I said and some topics that I had to talk to him about for the SGO. I look forward to working with him to ensure that the voice of the student body is heard and I encourage anyone who may have a question for him to set up an appointment with his secretary or to keep an eye out for the Student Forum that he will be hosting in the Spring semester.

Write for The Collegian and earn credits at the same time! Register for Telcom 204, (Journalism Practicum),

with Collegian faculty advisor Mary Merritt.

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Does paying attention in class There is help for finals affect your GPA?

By Alexandra Cassick, staff writer

I conducted a semester long experiment to find out and here are the results:

My name is Steve Brewer and I am a tutor for Accounting and Writing, a study group leader for the Accounting Study Groups STAFF WRITER and occasionally a note-taker when my schedule allows it.

I also have been on the Dean’s List for the past two semesters and am poised to make it onto the list for this semester. Being recognized is an honor, but it also causes people to approach me asking how they can improve their grades and overall GPA to which I usually dish out the spiel of “study, pay attention in class, make time for your coursework, etc.” and some people do follow my advice and report back with success while others don’t and stay the course.

Back in the spring, I became a study group leader and tutor which caused people to seek out my advice more frequently than before which expanded to include “get tutoring when needed, attend the study groups, etc.” I was truly taken back when I saw how few students actually took this advice when I knew how many more needed the help, but weren’t using the resources they were being offered.

This became the basis of my article, ‘​ You can lead a horse to water…’ ​ “Why do so many people refuse to get the help that they need?” which was featured in The Collegian back in November.

This semester, I took on a new role in order to further help the students in Accounting when I became an inclass tutor and again found myself shocked at student behavior, but this time in class. There would be students who weren’t paying attention, fall asleep, play on their cell phones or even peruse the Internet on their laptops! I was truly taken aback by this because I know that Accounting has one of the highest drop rates of all of the courses offered here at CCC and is a required course for not only all Accounting students but Business students, as well.

A few weeks into the semester, I decided to conduct an experiment to show the importance of paying attention in class. For the first half of the semester, I paid attention to the professor as she lectured while keeping an eye out for a student who wanted me to answer a question for them. During this time I felt that I developed a very strong knowledge of the materials covered in the class, having already been through the Accounting sequence helped me have a good foundation for which the lectures to build off of and I felt very confident when I had to answer a question in individual tutoring or study group.

After midterm came the turn, I started doing things that would occupy my attention in class. To be clear, I did still watch for students who needed me to answer a question and still chimed in with advice when I could offer it, but I was not paying full attention to the professor lecture.

Steve Brewer

I would check my cell phone, do homework from other classes, write out things that I would have to do after the class, let myself become distracted, etc. As class after class passed with me no longer paying close attention, I found that while I still had the foundation from when I went through the sequence, I was not as confident in my answers and struggled to answer all of the questions that were poised to me.

My experiment proved that not fully paying attention in class can and will negatively impact your GPA. Teachers and professors have been stressing this to us since the very first years of our education and I do fully agree with this statement. The more I allowed myself to be distracted, the less confident I became in my knowledge of the materials and keep in mind that I had already gone through the Accounting sequence so I already knew the materials. Had I just been entering the sequence, I would have performed well at first, but then would have had a sharp turn in my grades after midterm and failed the last of the tests.

My experiment also proved, albeit unintentionally, the importance of doing the readings that are assigned to you by your professors. The readings will expose you to the materials before class and lay down the foundation that the professor would then build off in their lecturing. The stronger the foundation, the more likely the materials will successfully be built up to allow you to reach success in the course. Not doing the reading would be the equivalent to attempting to build a structure directly on unbroken ground with no foundation, it will not be long before it collapses.

With us now at the end of the semester and nearing the week of finals, at this point we students know where we are at in terms of our standing in our classes. If you are not in good standing, I encourage you to utilize the resources at the Center for Academic Success, talk to your professor to see where you could use improving, and reviewing the materials that were covered in the class.

I also suggest that you think back to what your conduct was in class. Were you paying close attention to your professor while they were lecturing?

Did you do the readings that were assigned? Did you do the homework that was assigned? Did you do the classwork when the class was working on it? If you said no to any of these questions, this should be something that you address when it comes to the spring semester. All of these will help you retain the knowledge so you can pass the course and ultimately graduate from CCC, which is the goal of everyone attending the college and not fully committing to what will help you achieve this goal is only counterintuitive on your part.

With that said I, along with the rest of the staff at The Collegian, wish everyone good luck on their finals and we will be back with new issues in the spring!

Having a hard time facing finals?

There is a place on campus ready to help.

“The Center for Academic Success (CAS) offers a safe haven for students, a safe place to be helped and not judged or graded,” said Teresa Hoercher, coordinator of the tutor program.

The CAS is open Monday through Friday and is located at the end of the hall past the library on the Auburn campus. The CAS tends to be busy with students dropping in for specialist or peer tutoring, test taking, study groups, textbook loans, or use of their computers and printers. Despite how busy the place is, there is always someone available to help.

There are multiple student tutors who work with students at the dropin tables. “Students should come to the CAS because it’s a great place to get homework done!” said math learning specialist Lorraine Mahoney. “We have 12 computers available for students to use, and no appointment is necessary to get help from the math table and writing table.”

The peer tutors are an important part of the CAS atmosphere. Not only do many students tutor at the drop in tables, they also run study groups, help in class, and have the option of working alongside a

professor during an internship. Peer tutors are recommended by faculty and also recruited through the honors program, Phi Theta Kappa, and among previous academic scholarship recipients. “Peer tutors have a chance to invest in the school and make a difference in the lives of fellow students,” said Hoercher.

Since CCC is a two-year school, the peer tutor “staff” changes frequently. Mahoney says that she enjoys working with the new tutors every year and they get up to speed rather quickly. “I enjoy the friendly atmosphere here in the CAS. It’s great to work with motivated students who are here because they want to be here,” she said.

Hoercher is always encouraging students to pop in the CAS. “What I love about the CAS is the fact that we accept all students where they are currently and try to work with them to help move them ahead with a sense of confidence and independence,” she said.

Students say they come to the CAS because even if they do not need help, it’s a great place to sit and get assignments done.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TUTORING SERVICES WILL END ON FRIDAY 12/11. THE TUTORS WILL NEED EXAM WEEK TO PREPARE FOR FINALS. THURSDAY 12/10 IS THE LAST DAY FOR KAREN JETTY, WRITING SPECIALIST. FRIDAY 12/11 IS THE LAST DAY FOR LARAINE MAHONEY, MATHEMATICS SPECIALIST.

Gender neutral on its way

CCC students react to recent action by the SUNY Student Assembly for gender inclusive facilities

By Alexandra Cassick, staff writer The SUNY Student Assembly recently passed a resolution that requested SUNY schools to adopt a policy to provide gender inclusive facilities, along with transitioning policies to use students’ primary names and preferred gender. The members of the student assembly say the purpose of this resolution is simply to eliminate the current policies and practices that are not supporting gender inclusivity. The students also outlined a need for SUNY colleges to offer educational training to students, staff, and faculty on the importance of gender inclusivity.

Cayuga students on the Auburn campus has a mixed reaction to news of the Student Assembly’s action.

Those who supported the resolution believed that it’s a good idea to make people feel comfortable. CCC student Kim Greco says she feels the measure would make marginalized

SERVING THE STUDENTS OF CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS!

orientations, gender identities, and the intersex community comfortable. “Hopefully it would cut down on any hate orientated or ignorance hate crime,” she said.

“People need to stop trying to be politically correct. We have more important issues in the world to take care of first,” said CCC sophomore Brooke Laukaitis of Auburn. Laukaitis thinks terrorism, national debt, education for the next generation, world hunger, and many other under-addressed problems in the United States should get more attention than gender inclusivity.

“We should definitely be respectful of others and always be loving and kind,” said CCC sophomore Andrew Moore. “But to approve and even help a sinful lifestyle would be wrong. Obviously this will not go over well with many people, but it is the truth.”

From the staff of the

Cayuga Collegian!

PAGE THREE

HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR AUBURN CAMPUS

Cayuga Collegian editor-in-chief Caleb Slater’s blood pressure was running a little high after a CCC nursing student checked it at the CCC Holiday Craft Fair last weekend.

CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

NOVEMBER OPEN HOUSE

Cayuga Collegian editor-in-chief Caleb Slater poses with Auburn’s famous Captain Jack at the CCC Holiday Craft Fair last weekend.

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WDWN TOP 20 FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 1, 2015

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