April

LIONS’ ROAR

STUDENT VOICE

Photo By Kevin Miller

APRIL, 2013

Photo taken from a memorial collage o n campus

In Memory Of Dr. Russell Smiley

Health and Wellness: Vitamins Vitamins can play a huge part in your health. I don’t say do because there are a lot of vitamins out there that aren’t effective. I’m a vegetarian so it’s crucial that I get enough nutrients daily since I don’t get them from meat. Here are the vitamins I’m currently taking and you should consider taking them as well.

The first is Ultra Mega Green Vegetarian. This box contains 30 small packets, which have six vitamins in each. The vitamins are made from green whole foods, which promote protein, carbohydrate and fat digestions with a premium digestive enzyme formula. The pills are pretty big so I take two after every meal.

Biotin is a vitamin more for external benefits than internal. I take one every morning after breakfast because it helps hair growth, nail strength and clear skin! I can definitely tell the days I forget to take it because my skin isn’t as vibrant and doesn’t look as healthy. I really think everyone should take this especially if you’re trying to grow out your hair or clear your skin up!

The last vitamin I take daily is ester-c which is a unique form of vitamin C. This vitamin helps boost your immune system which I love since I really hate getting sick. This vitamin remains active in your immune system for up to 24 hours so I’d definitely recommend this vitamin for anyone who has a weak immune system.

So there’s everything I take! Obviously your main nutrients should come from what you eat but these are just some vitamins you should consider to help your body function even better.

Georgie Anderson, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

Alice (left) and Dara (right), two of the new gorillas, get a little face-­‐time with the Zoo paparazzi.

A Partnership With Gorilla-Sized Potential

When one hears the word “Zoo” we often conjure up images of lions, tigers and bears (Oh my). For many of us, it is a place of childhood memories and one that exposed us to the many amazing animals from all over the world. Yet for others, their love of nature extends past childhood and into adulthood, and perhaps even into their careers.

Normandale Community College (NCC) has a unique and new partnership that explores Anthropology with the Como Park Zoo in St Paul, MN. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Susan Krook who is the Chair of the Sociology, Law, and the Anthropology Departments. She is a full-time Anthropology instructor at NCC with a PhD in Physical Anthropology and teaches all sections of the Physical Anthropology class which includes an introduction into Primatology and Human Origins. She is solely responsible for spearheading the partnership between NCC and the Como Park Zoo that is currently in its beginning stages.

She first had the idea last fall when she heard that the Zoo was bringing five new gorillas for exhibit starting this summer. She approached the Zoo and broached an idea that would allow her students the opportunity to learn more about the five three-year-old gorillas through a series of visits from a Zoo naturalist that would lecture about their physiology and design. Since the gorillas are currently still in quarantine, the Zoo has agreed to send one of their naturalist to NCC and serve as a guest lecturer in Ms Krook’s classes for the time being.

When asked what her vision is for the partnership in the future, Ms Krook said she hopes to see the students in the 2013 Fall Semester actually going to the exhibit and observing the gorillas as part of their Physical Anthropology course. Since most students take the class to fulfill a course requirement or elective, it is designed to give students an introduction into the world of primates. NCC does offer an Associate’s Degree with an emphasis in Physical Anthropology, which lends itself perfectly to this new partnership.

Ms Krook feels that there is much to be learned from the observation of these new gorillas, particularly from their shared similarities to humans.

The partnership between NCC and the Como Park Zoo is still in its early stages, but has the potential for continuous growth. The students that are currently attending classes in Ms Krook’s Physical Anthropology classes will get a sneak preview of the exhibit before the grand opening early this summer.

Whether you are an Anthropologist in the making, or just a fan of gorillas, you might want check out the grand opening of the new exhibit this June at the Como Park Zoo and maybe even enroll in one of Ms Krook’s classes next Fall to experience it for yourself.

Lydia Wiff, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

It’s SLOW Fun! Drinking and driving is legal in the United States – it’s true and it has been for years! You just have to do it in a large group, at five miles per hour.

“The bike with the barrel” rolled into the Twin Cities nearly decade ago, and has been very popular among the locals.

These outrageous bikes actually have a link with our Normandale campus! Professor Eric Olson, whom has his masters in business education from the University of Minnesota, is one of the few proprietors of this popular company known as Pedal Pub. Professor Olson owned an insurance agency for 12 years prior to teaching.

The idea for this business started back to 2006 when Professor Olson received a chain e-mail from a fellow home brewer which had a picture of one of the bikes attached. What a Pedal Pub’s bike actually is a vehicle that has seats for 16 people (17 if you include the driver) with a bar in the center, a barrel at the back and pedals for 10.

As a previous business owner and a home brewer, this was definitely an opportunity for something big – at the time, the market was wide open. He then contacted friends he knew would be interested in the investment of these bazaar beer bikes.

At $40,000 per machine, it wasn’t going to be cheap. And would it even be successful? Professor Olson thought, “Maybe we will just end up with a really cool bike that may end up rusting. Sometimes you just have to take chances.” A few dotted i’s and slashed t’s later and the Pedal Pub was up and running for business. It was instantly popular. “We toured, and it started going crazy” said Professor Olson. There are other Pedal Pubs available for tours in two other locations: Chicago, Illinois and St. Petersburg, Florida.

Olson’s favorite part about doing the tours is, “The camaraderie in this big, silly bike.” Tours aren’t the only the only thing Pedal Pub’s got going on. 2010 brought on Pedal Pub races, which entail relay-style, pub-bike racing on University Avenue. It’s pretty intense.

The Minnesota base is especially popular and Eric Olson blames that on Minnesota boredom, saying, “We are stuck inside all the time… It’s miserable here; we tend to like getting out.” Tours press on through any weather, even snow!

Not even a decade in and Pedal Pub is growing strong. So far the Pedal Pub has managed to conduct more than 2,900 tours without any of the bikes becoming out of service. There haven’t been any claims filed against them either. All that’s in the near future is plans to expand the existing companies and possibly land an episode on Shipping Wars, which is a show similar to Storage Wars that will be based on Pedal Pub bringing one of their bikes back to Minnesota from Hawaii.

Kallie Williams, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

Student Senate Update

Photo By Georgie Anderson

As many of you may know, we have an active and involved student senate here at Normandale that hosts many events and activities throughout the semester. Already this semester they hosted the Minnesota State College Student Association January Leadership conference. There, they had students from two year colleges across the state meeting to develop their advocacy skills. They held elections for new senators in which half of the current student senate was elected.

They also attended Rally Day at the state capitol on February 13th to support investments in higher education.

Senate President Nick Schneider had this to say on it. “Students from both two year community and technical colleges, along with other schools from the MnSCU gathered at the capital February 13th to Rally for more support and funding for higher education, the theme was "lets invest like its 1999", back in 99' state funding for higher education was 12%, it has since dropped to 7.4% . Several hundred students gathered at the capitol, student, legislators, members of the higher education committees and Governor Mark Dayton spoke at the rally. Normandale toke a bus of 23 students, to the rally. The rally is the beginning of work that needs to be done to get state funding for higher education back to 99' levels.”

According to Senator Muhidin Sheekh, here are some of the upcoming events for students to look forward to this semester.

“We will be hosting State Senator Melissa Franzen, we will be having a discussing and informing her about MnSCU's budget proposal and the students will be sharing experiences and why funding Higher Ed is important.”

“We are In the process of taking a stance on Normandale's Tobacco Use Policy.”

“Working on holding an open air senate meeting to engage the student body in student senate and inform them of our activities.”

“We are Hosting tuition consultation meetings with Normandale Administration to discuss Normandale's budget for the FY 14 and its effects on students.”

“We will be sending 3 senators to the Washington DC Leadership summit, student leaders from across will be meeting with legislators to discuss the state of higher education and to advocate for their fellow students across the state and the country.”

If you are interested in any of the events listed here, head on down to the Student Senate offices located in the Kopp Student Center to find out more.

Mark Daniels, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

Is That Your Vinyl Answer?

A shopper shows off a rare find to his friend at Cheapo Records : Photo by Kevin Miller

In today’s digital age, the average music listener measures his or her collection in gigabytes. Their I-Phones are filled with whatever songs they can buy, beg, borrow, or torrent. The latest YouTube dance sensation will push millions of digital singles through I-Tunes, Amazon, and much to the artist’s dismay, some less than legal means. Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Datpiff, and other web sites aide artists in distributing their music without the help of a major record label. In short, there is no need for a Justin Bieber fan to leave their house when they want to purchase his music. The majority of young adults have never used a turntable, held a vinyl record, or stepped foot in a mom-and-pop record store. Despite all of this, in recent times, interest in vinyl records has increased to a level that has not been seen for a decade. “We were pretty much left for dead in the early 2000’s,” said Jon Wurm, manager at Cheapo Records. One might assume that the older generation that was raised on vinyl is doing most of the buying. However, this is not the case.

“Most of our customers are in their early 20s to early 40’s” said Wurm. It seems the older generations have embraced digital technology, while the generations raised in front of their I-Pods has started looking for something more tangible. “When Target has started selling turntables and Best Buy carries vinyl, you can tell it’s starting to become a big thing again.” said Wurm. He feels concerned that the interest may have already peaked with this generation.

The folks that organize Record Store Day want to avoid that very situation. With Jack White as this year’s sponsor, they hope to keep the interest in vinyl alive. Record Store Day, which falls on April 20th this year, is a national event where independent record stores have in store performances and carry special release vinyl. Different stores have varying participation in the event, with The Electric Fetus being one of the big local participants. “We don’t get quite as crazy as the [Electric] Fetus, but we carry all the special titles” said Wurm. While events like Record Store Day are trying to keep business alive, the completion from digital venues is still the largest share of the market. “Our sales are way down since I-Tunes became popular” said Wurm. However, record labels have started recognizing the trends, and using them to push both music mediums. Many new releases that are pressed on vinyl come with a free digital download for the customer, making the higher price easier to cope with.

One definite advantage to the record store is the ability to shuffle through large amounts of tangible music, and find releases that have not yet been converted to digital files. At a store like Cheapo, with some 50,000 CDs and another 20,000 records, the potential to find something that appeals to you is huge. Whether you want John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” the latest Skrillex album, or something you have never heard of before, chances are you can find it at a local record store. Whether you buy it on vinyl, CD, or digitaly, consider supporting a local shop and keeping these epicenters of music knowledge alive.

Kevin Miller, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

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Helping Them, Helping You

Whether it be a mental block, a challenging subject or material that just doesn’t seem to click, students often times will find themselves stuck with their studies and in need of help. At Normandale Community College (NCC) there is a place to fix that. Located on the second floor of the college Services building, the Tutoring Center is a place where NCC students can go to get the help they need.

The tutors in the center range from work-study and volunteer students, faculty volunteers and even people from outside the school who come in and donate their time to work with students. Students looking to get help in a particular subject can come to the tutoring center from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Thursday and from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Fridays and meet with an available tutor. Each of the schools tutors work in a few specific fields, which you can check out the schedule for in the center itself or online to see when the subject you need help in will be available.

I spoke with James Dupree, a student at NCC who has been using the tutoring center ever since his return to college two years ago. I asked him about his time working with and getting help from the tutoring center. “The tutoring center is a great place. You get to know the people and you can tell they want to make sure you do well. When working on a paper, sometimes you get going and can’t see the big picture and they will say a little something to help you get started. He (the tutor) will not rewrite your paper for you, it’s not like that, but he will give you a different way to think about it. It has been very helpful for me.”

One of the unique programs offered at the NCC Tutoring Center is Supplemental Instructors. These are students that will sit in with a class throughout the semester and provide specific help for students taking the class. While a standard tutor has about thirty minutes to work with each student, depending on how

many other students are waiting, supplemental instructors have four hours per week that they are able to dedicate specifically to students in the class they are attached too, giving them more time to work with the students they are involved with. This can be done as both one-on-one meetings with the instructor as well as setting up group sessions that multiple students can be involved with and work together on.

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Isaac Faleschini, one of the supplemental instructors working at NCC. Isaac explained his role in the class as “I come to act as a role model; coming to class on time, taking notes, having the readings prepared, understanding the material and being able to comment in class discussions. There are those moments when the teacher will ask a question that no one speaks up on and I will jump in with my thoughts to hopefully spark up a dialogue within the class room.”

James has a supplemental instructor currently in one of his classes. I asked him what he thought of having them there. “It’s good because he has read what we have read and I can throw ideas off him.”

I asked Isaac what one of the more memorable things about working with the tutoring center has been for him. “When you have worked with someone multiple times and you can actually see the improvement and see that what your have been doing has helped them, it’s pretty awesome.”

I asked both James and Isaac if they have any advice for people who may be nervous or self-conscious about getting help from the tutoring center. According to James, “Don’t be nervous, they are not going to demean you in any way. I have had every bonehead class you could think of and they have always been very supportive and when you finally figure it out and get something, they let you know you are improving and that they see a difference. I got to tell you, it makes me feel kind of good. Sometimes you can be kind of scared or embarrassed, not wanting someone to see how dumb you are cause you can’t do something and they have always been great and helped me grow. I would tell someone that the problem would be if you didn’t use it.”

Isaac added, “On occasion I will see tutors who have done well in other courses get done with their shift and go to another tutor who is free and whose subject they may need help in and ask for it. We see everyone from ESL (English as a Second Language) type students in the lower level English and math classes all the way up to what you would call your “A” students all coming in and getting help. Everybody needs help sometime. Don’t be scared and come on in.”

Mark Daniels, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

Your Chance to Shine: Featured Work and Interview with Photographer, Pauly Pholwises

“I chose this photo because this was the first image that I took that I thought it was a good image. This was when I started photography and this image was the turning point where I decided that I want to pursue photography as a career.” – Pauly Pholwises

LW: When did you first develop an interest in photography?

PP: I developed an interest in photography during my senior year. I took photography in my senior year and I fell in love with it. I had great photography teachers and they were very inspiring. I love photography because I love capturing a moment.

LW: How did you get involved in the Photography & Cinema Photography Club at NCC? PP: I was introduced to Photography & Cinema Photography Club by SJ and I thought this would be a great way to meet new people and try something new and meeting new people that also share the same passion in photography as me.

LW: Where do you see your passion for photography taking you in your life?

PP: I can see photography being a very huge part of my life. Not only because I love to take pictures. I want those photographs to represent great memories. And I think photography will stick with me for a very long time.

LW: What photographer is your inspiration what features of their style drew you to that person?

PP: I have several photographers that I really look up to. One of them is Ansel Adams. His work black and white landscape was really amazing. Some other photographers that I look up to are Peter Lik, and Michal Karcz.

LW: What is your favorite type of lens to use and your favorite technique?

PP: My favorite types of lens that I like to use are really depends on what I’m photographing. If I’m photographing portraits, I love to use lens that has a very shallow depth of field or a very small number aperture. If I’m shooting landscape, I would use a wide angel lens.

LW: What is your style and what is your favorite subject to capture?

PP: I think my style aim toward more to portraiture. I love taking pictures of people. I love capturing the emotions and the expression on their face. And I just like communicating with people as well. I think it’s a great way to meet new people.

LW: What new techniques are you working on at the moment?

PP: A new technique that I’m trying to work on right now is how to pose people. I’m not that great on how to tell people what to do.

LW: And lastly, tell us what you hope people see in your work as an artist.

PP: When people see my photograph I want them to be able to say that an amazing photograph. Not good or great but amazing.

Lydia Wiff, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

To Smoke or Not to Smoke ! !

In Minnesota a momentum of having a smoke free campus is starting to take place. The MNSCU is encouraging campus’ to go tobacco free and currently 39 colleges throughout the state have taken up the smoke free campus policy. Normandale Community College however is one of the few college’s that hasn’t taken up this policy.

To help push Normandale to be a tobacco free campus the tobacco free campus work group was formed.

The group is made up of students, staff, faculty and administrators. Douglas Claycomb, a faculty member at Normandale who’s part of the tobacco free campus work group states that their goals are to “Present a compelling case to the college administration on behalf of a tobacco free healthy campus and to gain support of the entire campus to go tobacco-free.”

The city of Bloomington health department has approached the tobacco free campus work group to go tobacco free to improve the health of the community. The idea of having a tobacco free campus is not only viewed as an important plan to the tobacco-free campus work group and the city of Bloomington, but also to the students here at Normandale. A survey taken in 2012 by a group of students at Normandale reported that only 30% of students would be opposed to a tobacco free campus.

There are a number of ways Normandale would be negatively impacted if we didn’t go tobacco free. Just to state a few, Doug says that “Thousands of students, faculty, and staff would continue to be involuntarily exposed to second-hand smoke in outdoor areas of campus, adversely affecting their health. Normandale would continue to provide a venue for Big Tobacco to recruit young “replacement” smokers and the evergrowing number of minor children (PSEO) would be vulnerable to tobacco-use initiation.” The tobacco free campus work group is passionate about changing the tobacco policy at Normandale. If changed, Doug says that Normandale’s way of establishing a tobacco free campus would be to “Follow best practices established by the many hundreds of other campuses which have preceded us by relying on “soft” enforcement. Through education, signage, announcements, gentle reminders, and social pressure, a tobacco-free normative environment would result and be highly effective.”

A tobacco free campus may sound harsh to some at first, but it’s easy to see the positives in this policy.

Georgie Anderson, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

Normandale Community College Library Many new students at Normandale Community College do not know that it has a library, or where it is located because it is hidden in a corner of the library building at L2701. The library at Normandale is big and has many resources. It is located on the second floor of the library building. Some of the many resources the library has are two computer labs, group study rooms, reference librarians, and many book collections.

The library has two additional computer labs than the computer center. The main computer lab is located right at the entrance of the library. Here you are able to talk quietly while working on the computer. There is always a faculty member sitting by this lab to help you with anything from research papers to how to print. The second computer lab is located on the second floor of the library in a classroom. Here you need to work silently, but there is another faculty member to help you.

The library has group study rooms on the main level and second floor in the library. This are designed for people who want to study in groups and need to talk. You need to reserve a time in the study rooms at the Circulation Desk in the library. These rooms can be reserved for up to two hours at a time. There are 32 inch monitors in each room where you can connect your computer to make it easier for everyone in the room to study.

There are faculty members in the library that are there to help students with their research papers. “A reference librarian is skilled at finding information in various places – in print sources (books, journals, etc.), in online sources (article databases, general web, etc.), and other areas. We also sometimes help other faculty members in finding resources they need to teach classes or to conduct academic research” Kimberly Sy, a librarian at Normandale told me.

The library has a very large book collection. There are books to read for fun or to help you find more information for class papers and projects. The library even won an award for the biggest Muslim book collection (for more information go to page). “A large part of our mission is to support the teaching and learning of Normandale classes, so we have books on all subjects that Normandale currently teaches!”, exclaimed Sy. At the library there is what they call a “General Collection”, books you can check out, and a “Reference Collection”, factual-based books only available to use in the library. “I should also mention that Normandale Library collects a large amount of material by Minnesota Authors; these items are not housed specially, but they are dispersed among the General Collection”, Sy said.

The library at Normandale has many useful resources. You can go there to use a computer and print, study with friends, get help with papers, find books of almost any kind, and get help with your writing.

Vera Hills, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

Artist Nathan Motzko

Original Artwork By Artist Nathan Motzko (Above, Left, Below)

Interview with the Artist

Artist: Nathan Motzko

Nathan Motzko is a new and emerging artist at Normandale Community College. His art, inspired by the graffiti movement and television shows from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, has always kept him on the move. “I can’t just sit and draw in one spot, it tends to get super boring and I can’t keep a thought.” Said Motzko.

Motzko is also inspired by Barry Mcgee, a painter and graffiti artist from San Francisco, who tags as “Twist.” “I love to draw faces and he’s the reason why. His character can show so much emotion with just a simple thing, and it doesn’t even have to be a detailed face it could just be a cartoon with a few lines of expression.”

Motzko executes his art by drawing faces and combining patterns infused from life, photos and imagination. He works in the few basic mediums of pencil, Copic markers, India ink and micron pens. He sees his art going in the direction he wants it to and couldn’t be any happier. Down the road he hopes his style will prosper and maybe be interested in picking up album and illustration work. “Make art for yourself and not for someone else.

When your trying impress someone else you loose sight of what you want to create. And when you create for yourself you see your own creation in front of you. Art is fun, it shouldn’t be competitive and its something you should make for yourself. Have fun.

Believe in yourself. If you feel like you’re on a roll and have a good idea go for it.”

Elisabeth Spry, Lions’ Roar Student Voice

A Piano’s Gentle Sound

By Keighley Null

A sealed, top glazed wooden piano All eighty-eight keys silently sitting Untouched, the bench pushed up far Underneath by the pedals Dust has gathered and coated the unopened Top that was the door to the inner workings Sheet music strewn all over the floor A small girl comes and wipes the dust off And picks up the music, placing it above The keyboard to where they belong.

Pulled out the bench and sat down First time in years, the piano made sweet music Each note playing through the air, filling the house The keys and pedals finally pressed down Each song played was a bird gently using the summer Breeze to glide along, and then land for a bit before Starting up all over again, the songs were the river running Calmly in the back yard Each note, prettier than the chirping bird, or that of the Flute or any other instrument, the sounds and notes carried To the outside like a sailboat in the open sea Music, each note, so gracefully played like a ballerina on stage Each end nicely played out, after the songs were done being played, The girl left the piano alone again, but this time, the music was not on The floor and the body was not dusty because she would be back

Interview with the Author KM: What inspired the poem? Is there a story behind it?

KN: I am a musician and my instrument is the piano. For a long time I didn't play because I was busy with school and other things and my piano was neglected. When an instrument isn't played and is just sitting around, to me thats depressing. The collection of dust and strewn papers, though thats not what happened to me or my piano, it signified being neglected and left alone.

The poem was the story of a instrument being alone, and the musician coming back and being played again, it is my story of coming back to something I love and never leaving it again.

KM: Have you had many poems published, or is this your first?

KN: I have had a few poems published before, but this is the first time that one was reprinted.

KM: Are you perusing a career in writing, or is it just a hobby?

KN: For years it was just a hobby, but for the past few years I started to want to have a career in writing.

KM: How long have you been writing?

KN: I have been writing for many years, from poems, short stories to novels. I am working on a project right now that I am hoping will get published in the near future when I finish it. And I don't plan to stop writing anytime soon, I love it too much.

Kevin Miller, Lions’ Roar Student Voice (Poem Reprinted from with permission from ‘The Paper Lantern’)