a g u y a C THE
Collegian
collegian@cayuga-cc.edu
www.cayugacollegian.com
Vol. 57 Issue 9
November 17, 2008
Benefit for CCC Teacher By Kevin Cool, Staff Writer
CCC OK with OBAMA? By Mike Ouimette, Staff Writer
What are the student and faculty’s opinions on the President-elect Barack Obama? “I don’t think he’s going to change much. Our economy is still going to go down; I think it will take more than two terms for the economy to recover. I didn’t really like either candidate, however, I do agree with Obama’s idea to raise taxes for the rich. There is some serious imbalance with the wealth in this country,” said CCC Sophomore Chano Sanchez. “I haven’t heard a lot about it. I heard he might start a little slow. I think it’ll be good for the country overall. I’m looking forward to that happening,” CCC student Casey Sears said. The staff in CCC’s business office had this to say: “I’m hopeful that it will be a good situation, but you don’t know what will happen.” Nancy Decker said. “It is a historic event that happened. He’s got a lot on his plate. I think the country needed a change, and we got it,” Penny Herrling said. “It’s a breath of fresh air,” Jackie Caputa said. “I think he’s a very clever diplomat, and that will serve him well in international affairs,” said SGO’s Alaric Robin. “In part, what I see is that he offers a departure from business as usual. It will take that kind of attitude and conviction to deal with the chaos Bush left us with. It will take creative methods to fix the economy
and wars. Because he is a rookie in Congress, he might be able to reach both sides of Congress because he hasn’t had time to make many enemies. At the same time, it feels very surreal being a history teacher and speaking on racism. It’s a truly historic period of time and it could usher in a stronger belief in equality,” CCC Professor Grube said. “I think he has the potential to be a really good President, but I don’t expect any sweeping changes,” said Doug Brill, chief engineer of the Telcom department. Not everyone had nice things to say of the President-elect. Some mocked him, others called him a terrorist. Some students and workers declined to comment because they didn’t have anything nice to say. So why did students vote the way they did? Was it because their parents wanted them to vote that way? “I voted for Nader because I didn’t trust the two main candidates. I voted the way I wanted to; I knew it didn’t matter, but it mattered to me,” said CCC student Corey Huband. “I didn’t vote like my parents did. My Dad voted for McCain because he thought Palin was hot. I voted for Obama because we needed a change,” said CCC student Allyssa Lalonde. CCC student Tim Harris said he “just felt McCain seemed more adapted to this, he was in Congress for years and he was in the military. He was a P.O.W. in Vietnam for five years.”
Telcom Television: Inside Government host Guy Consentino with Congressman Acuri
A benefit was held over the weekend for CCC Physical Education instructor Richard Hamberger at the Auburn Correctional Recreation Center on Franklin Street Road. The benefit was planned to help offset medical costs for a liver transplant; Hamberger is on a waiting list for a new organ and is home on sick leave from his duties at the college. Hamberger was diagnosed with liver disease last August. He spent a month at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester so doctors could monitor and treat his symptoms. Doctors have not been able to pinpoint the cause of Hamberger’s disease; although they say he is at a crucial point where the only option is a liver transplant. Hamberger graduated from Auburn High School in 1983. He studied for three years at CCC until 1986 before transferring to Cortland State. He graduated with a dual certificate in Physical Education and Special Education. In addition to his career at CCC, Hamberger also
at taught at BOCES for 20 years. A former member of the Auburn High School swim team, Hamberger went back to the pool to coach the team for 12 years. Hamberger’s wife works at the college in the Registrar’s office. They have two children, a son, David, age 19 and a daughter, Kaylee, age 16. Friends say it was a shock for Hamberger to be diagnosed with liver disease and it was an even greater shock when he learned he would have to have a transplant. IN recent years, the success rate for organ transplants has increased significantly. Friends describe Hamberger as a “Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Teacher, Coach, Mentor and Friend.” “Teaching is his profession, and what we as students can give to this person is our love and prayers and support at the benefit which will be a good turnout for our dear friend in need at this time,” said a CCC student.
Telcom Television By Mike Ouimette, Staff Writer
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Telecommunications Department of Cayuga Community College videotapes live shows, such as Sound Waves, Inside Government, and Beyond the Front Page. On Tuesday the 4th, the show that was produced was Inside Government. The crew who operated the studio equipment are all Telcom students. The team that worked on the show were: Katelyn Petrocci, as technical director; Adam Walborn, as floor manager and camera operator; Ryan Warner, as a camera operator; Diane Ruhl, as sound board operator; and Kelsey Brown, as graphics operator. The show’s host, Guy Cosentino, interviewed Chairman Roger Mills, who is currently in his first year as Chairman of the Cayuga County Legislature. The first topic brought up was the new budget proposal for Cayuga County. “We made some decreases in spending. Met department heads. Sadly, we decreased funding for libraries by ten percent,” Mills told Consentino. Mills says committees will meet on the November 15th to decide on the new budget legislation. On November 18th, there will be a public hearing at which people can voice their opinions on the proposed budget. Mills says he hopes the legislature will adopt the new budget by December 20th. The second topic was about county facilities. “Is the county investing as much money as it should into its facilities to keep it
up to grade?” Consentino asked Mills. Mills says there are several items in the new budget planned to increase funding for several of the facilities. He says Roughly $7 million would be used to renovate the county’s mental health facilities. $5 million would go to the 911 Communication Center to upgrade its system and allow for better and easier communication. An additional $2 million would be spent to renovate the main office building at 160 Genesee Street. The third topic, though briefly mentioned, was about a new factory that may be opening in Cayuga County. Saratoga Cheese is attempting to open a factory here in Cayuga County and could provide up to 75 full-time jobs. Cayuga County was selected because it is abundant in its milk supply. Mills say its is not a definite, but an optimistic chance. The final topic was about Owasco Lake. Earlier last week, Mills and many other prominent figures, attended a symposium about the lake. “It’s in need of some more work, but it’s definitely getting better. We finally have a watershed inspector,” Chairman Mills said. He says there is talk about taking all of the manure from farms near the lake before it gets a chance to wind up in the water.He says currently, there are no watershed inspectors looking at some of the other sources of water within Cayuga County.