Pandora's Box Spring Edition III 2018

PB

Pandora’s Box

Serving York College of the City University of New York and the Surrounding Jamaica, Queens Community Spring Edition III: Thursday, May 24, 2018

“Let the truth be told though the heavens may fall” yorkpbnews.net

York 2018 Valedictorian: A True Example of Young Academic Excellence

By Angel Adegbesan Becoming the Valedictorian.

A feature in an article. Getting into a prestigious medical school.

These are three of the goals on the super secret list that Clinton Ehidom, an upper senior at CUNY York College, made for himself.

Now, at the age of 20, he had accomplished all three of them.

Ehidom, a Biology major, was selected as the valedictorian for Class of 2018. He had accumulated a perfect 4.0 science major GPA and a 3.97 cumulative GPA. He has been accepted into seven medical schools some of which are Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell University and Stony Brook University School of Medicine. He plans to attend Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and perhaps specialize in cardiothoracic surgery dealing with surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax.

His passion for biology and the human body helped fuel his

motivation to achieve his goal.

“Biology chose me,” said Ehidom as he credits his passion to an Advanced Placement Biology class he took in high school.

“I don’t choose things. I just let stuff choose me. I came into a college and wanted to be a doctor. Biology seemed like a pretty reasonable thing to do. People kept telling me not to do it because it was very difficult. They told me to do Health Science and because I was stubborn, I did what they told me not to do.”

Ehidom also credits his passion for biology and the human body to his family. His grandfather has had many failed surgeries and his grandmother passed away due to diabetic complications.

His father and aunt suffer from Cervical Radiculopathy which occurs when a nerve near the cervical vertebrae is compressed causing pain or numbness. He says that he wants to provide care for patients going through similar situations as his family.

“I just want to be a blessing to them like someone would have been a blessing to me,” said Ehidom. “If I would have to choose any occupation in the world all over again, I would choose the

same thing because it is so promising and rewarding. Also, being able to break or transcend the imaginary barrier being created in my family because we don’t have any health professionals.”

Ehidom is a Nigerian immigrant who migrated to Bronx, NY with his father and two siblings at the age of 12. His mother and elder sister reside in Nigeria.

Ehidom says that his inspiration in high school does not correlate with his aspiration to become a doctor. He says he was not an enthusiastic student at Frederick Douglass Academy III in the Bronx and graduated with a C+ average. His attitude changed when he enrolled at York College.

“Clinton entered York as a shy 16 year-old boy and it has been truly amazing to watch him grow and blossom into the confident leader, mentor, and man he is today,” said Andrew Criss, York’s premedical adviser, who met Ehidom in his first year. “He has accomplished so much at such a young age and is an inspiration to his fellow students. His leadership of the club for the past two years has created an atmosphere of collaboration that was missing in recent years. He has given

Photo credit: Angel Adegbesan

hope and encouragement to our members that will last well beyond his tenure here at York.”

CONTINUED ON Pg. 4

York College To Lease Part of the South Parking Lot to Transit Authority

Photo credit: Adisa Sobers

By Greis Torres York College and the MTA/ Transit Authority are in the process of entering a short term agreement to lease site 9, an undeveloped property alongside the South parking lot between Liberty Avenue and Tuskegee Airman Way. If approved, the Jamaica depot on Merrick Boulevard will be demolished

INDEX NEWS: ..................... 1-5 York Arts Festival ... 6-7 A&E: ........................ 8-11 OPINION: ................ 12-13 ADVERTISEMENTS..14-15 SPORTS .................. 16-18

For More News:

yorkpbnews.net

and renovated while the site will be used to park its buses.

First, the site has to go through an environmental review which consists of test boring and soil evaluation and many other steps before a full agreement can be finalised. A statement sent early April stated that the school community will be notified 72 hours prior to any review work being done on the site because the south parking lot will need

NEWS

Dr. Ron Daniels

to be closed. However, only one such email has been sent throughout the whole semester.

“Among the anticipated benefits of an agreement are site improvements which will include increases in the value of the property,” said Ronald Thomas, vice president of administrative affairs.

“Those improvements include soil remediation, the installation of sidewalks along Tuskegee Air-

2 A&E

Cardi B Album

man Way, grading and paving of the property, new fencing, the installation of catchment well for water runoff, perimeter lighting.”

As of press time, it is still unclear if the MTA/NYC Transit wants the whole area or only the unpaved area. Further discussions regarding expenses and conditions will take place after the site assessment is finished.

If the college and the Transport Authority do finalise a leasing agreement, a total of 300 buses will be parked in site 9 overnight. A special bus entrance will also be opened in the Tuskegee Airman way.

In terms of parking capacity, York’s Buildings and Grounds said that the East parking lot has the capacity to accomodate the number of cars that park in the South parking lot on a typical day.

However, other parking options will be considered when events are taking place on campus.

Guests attending special events during school hours,” said Thomas. “If discussions with the MTA/ NYC Transit progress toward a lease agreement, the college will seek agreements with local park-

9 OP-ED

ing facilities with the intent of securing parking for guests who are attending a special event.”

York College stopped receiving state funding about six years ago. According to Joseph Goffredo, chief administrative superintendent for Buildings and Grounds, the college went through a five year period where many maintenance workers left the school. Ground leases, space leasing, licensing agreements and energy conservation are the main ways York generates revenue to keep the school working and maintained.

“Another good thing is that the revenue they are getting from Port Authority it’s going to help out,” said Goffredo. “God forbids, since we stopped getting state money six years ago, we’ve been in dire straits. It’s hard to keep this facility going.”

The MTA/NYC Transit Authority didn’t reply for a comment.

Greis Torres is the News Editor.

She can be reached at greis. torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

12 SPORTS

Natural Hair Beauty

18

NY Yankees Hunt 28

News PB

2

Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

Professor Ron Daniels Delivers His Final Lecture at York College CUNY

By Anthony Medina & Anslem Joseph Dr. Ron Daniels, a distinguished professor and active host of the radio talk show Vantage Point on WBAI, 99.5, delivered his final lecture at the York College Performing Arts Center on Thursday, May 17.

“I would like to express my profound appreciation to President Marcia Keizs and my colleagues in the Department of Behavioral Sciences for the honor and privilege of serving as York College’s first Distinguished Lecturer,” said Daniels in a prepared statement. “I am not retiring from the ‘movement,’ but will focus on building the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) as my legacy project in the winter of my life’s work.”

Daniels’ last lecture Toward A More Perfect Union: Finishing the Unfinished Black Freedom Struggle, coincided with the 64th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Decision in which the Supreme Court banned school segregation.

York’s Vice President for Student Development Dr. Vincent Banrey, President Marcia Keizs, and Pastor at St. Mark, Reverend Kimberly L. Detherage, were present and spoke late Thursday night. During the lecture, Daniels’ previous students Akshar Patel, Betsy Millord and Ashley Torres gave heartwarming speeches praising Daniels for helping them gain internships and opportunities outside the classroom.

Daniels taught at York for over a decade in the Behavioral Science Department under the Political Science Program. Throughout his tenure, Daniels shared his knowledge in the fields of civil rights, electoral politics and Haitian politics with students from York and multiple universities.

Throughout his career, Daniels helped place students with elected officials in government, and community agencies through the Political

Science Internship Program. He also helped organize a pilgrimage of 40 students, faculty and staff to march in the 50th anniversary of the Selma Montgomery March in 2015.

“The pilgrimage to Selma

was my crowning achievement,” said Daniels.

The last course taught by Daniels, Political Science 367, for Spring semester 2018 broached the historical context behind black freedom struggles from the enslavement era to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Daniels again addressed the inequalities still faced by the Black community and the discrepancies seen between recent U.S. Presidents in his final lecture.

“America was made for a white man with power, privilege, and property,” said Daniels.

He emphasized that the divide between President Obama’s treatment from public officials to that of President Donald Trump’s was disproportionate. In Daniels perspective, when a black man runs for office, he is seen in a negative light but when an “orange man” runs for office, the things he does are neglected.

Other major topics for the night were the growing unemployment rate for Blacks Americans, cases of police brutality and the need to grow stronger Black communities.

“The average income for whites is $63,000 and $35,000 for blacks. For unemployment rate, 3.9% of whites are unemployed and 7.5% of blacks are unemployed,” said Daniels. “The number of unemployed blacks goes up to 15% when you add those who aren’t looking for jobs.”

Although Daniels said more work

Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Ron Daniels during his last lecture Toward a More Perfect Union: Finishing the Unfinished Black Freedom struggle. Photo credit: Wanda Estil

needs to be done in the Black Community, he acknowledged that more Black people are in office today than anytime in the world.

In his early years, Daniels was the African American Executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights from 1993-2005. He also served as the executive director of the National Rainbow Coalition and deputy campaign manager of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 Presidential Campaign.

“Dr. Ron Daniels is a steadfast defender and proud champion of the liberation of people of African

descent and other people of color in the United States, Haiti, the Caribbean, Africa, and around the world,” said Dr. Michael Sharpe, an associate professor in the Behavioral Sciences department. “I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from him as a faculty colleague.

Dr. Daniels continues to teach us important lessons about engaging the public square and tieing the academy and the ‘life of the mind’ to community organizing and coalition building towards meaningful change.”

Dr. Sharpe also said he would miss his hard work in encouraging stu-

dents throughout their careers.

“He joined the department as Distinguished Lecturer even before any of the other current full-time faculty.

During that time, he implored us all to think about the Black experience in American and world history in everything that we teach and do,” said Dr. Robin Harper, an associate professor in the Behavioral Sciences department under the Political Science program. “Year in and year out he invited York students to events where they could experience making a difference, from conferences and policy summits to the trip to Selma, AL to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday.’ Dr. Daniels encouraged all students to get involved, and stay involved.”

Harper, on behalf of the Political Science department, wished Daniels a farewell goodbye and thanked him for the good work he’s done for the York community.

“It's not just the talking and the writing - which are important - but in the doing. Dr. Daniels showed students that what we do as political scientists matters,” said Harper.

Daniels received many awards at the ceremony including the Council’s Citation Proclamation for his extraordinary contribution to York College, the community and the country.

Host Mark Thompson announced that May 17 will be recognized as the annual Ron Daniel’s Day for the York College Community.

Anthony Medina is the Editor-in-Chief. He can be reached at anthony.medina@yorkmail. cuny.edu

Anslem Joseph is a contributing writer. He can be reached at anslem.joseph@yorkmail.cuny.edu

African Dancing Group Performs for Disability Awareness Event at York

By Adedayo Epemolu You are as able as your mindset…

The Helping Hands Club of York College invited the Sidiki Conde and Tokounou, a West African performing group, for the celebration of DIsability Awareness month in April. The group is led by polio-inflicted Sidiki Conde who is unable to walk as a result.

Conde was born in Guinea where he was diagnosed with polio at an early age. By the age of 13, he was disabled and at some point lost control of his neck and head. Conde was stigmatized by his community because of his disability. He dropped out of school to hide from the public and moved to his grandfather’s village deep in the forest.

However, his disability doesn’t diminish the value of Conde’s artistic prowess.

Conde said a dream of himself dancing motivated him to be bolder and to quit feeling sorry for his condition. He took up the art

of music performance. His dance skills kicked off in a coming of age ceremony back in Guinea where participants had to dance to prove their readiness into adulthood.

He matches dance steps with his hands instead of legs without downplaying the sequence.

“They saw it as a thing of shame in my community,” Conde said. “My dance opened the doors of this country to me.”

Now 65, Sidiki has been performing overall for 45 years with 21 years performing in the United States. He performs at various functions at hospitals, festivals and schools.

Keila Ottero, the president of the Helping Hands club said Sidiki was invited to motivate handicapped people. He was also invited to show them the heights they can reach and that disabilities doesn’t impair creativity.

Adedayo Epemolu is a contributing writer. He can be reached at adedayo.epemolu@yorkmail. cuny.edu

West African performing group Sidiki Conde and Tokounou during the DISability awareness event. Photo credit: Adedayo Epemolu.

News PB Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

3

#MeToo Panel Discusses The Impacts the Movement Has on Journalism tions has increased.

“It starts with asking the question, ‘where in our society are we teaching guys to treat women so badly?’” Benedict said. “Interestingly, when we look at countries outside the U.S., we’re good at asking these questions, but why don’t we do that about ourselves?”

Helen Benedict (left) and Mehrunissa Wani (right) at the #MeToo Movement panel.

Photo credit: Brienne Kenlock

By Brienne Kenlock The Journalism program held a #metoo Movement discussion panel on Thursday, April 17. Helen Benedict, a journalism professor at Columbia University, along with two York alumni Sadef Kully and Mehrunissa Wani, spoke about their experiences as women working in the journalism field.

The #metoo phenomenon has brought forward the wrongdoings of people in power and

the lengths prestigious organizations have taken to cover up and defend those who have been involved in sexual misconduct cases. From former Film Producer Harvey Weinstein and former USA Gymnastics Team Doctor Larry Nassar to fallen Comedian Bill Cosby, the #metoo Movement has impacted almost every area of modern society and the workforce. Abuses that have been covered up for many years have started to get noticed and scrutiny towards these organiza-

Wani, who graduated from York in 2011 and formerly served as the editor-in-chief of Pandora’s Box, said she had concerns about the speed with which several careers were destroyed recently.

“One thing that I have been struggling with is how do you give due process?” Wani asked. “Is there a due process?”

Wani stressed the importance of timing and investigative journalism in determining whether a claim is accurate or not. “It’s a really big issue,” she said. “We have a lot of women coming forth saying ‘me too’, but how do we prove that?”

Benedict responded by acknowledging the question and the problem it creates. She said it could lead to a backlash not only against the #metoo move-

ment but also against people who try to report sexual abuse.

“The root of all this is the lack of information that leads to the perception that there is a witch hunt against men,” Benedict said. “I suspect it is because the institutions the accused work for are protecting them and will not let out details of what the accused supposedly did. This feeds the perception that there is a witch hunt or a conspiracy.”

Benedict also addressed the controversy over major NPR personalities being let go because of sexual harassment with no details revealed to the public. “We just had to take their word for it which isn’t good enough anymore,” she said.

Kully, who graduated from York in 2009 then worked as a reporter in Pakistan, shared her experiences with sexual harassment as a journalist in several situations. She emphasized the vulnerability of young people, especially young women.”

“There should be something to help female freelancers,” Kully said. “Because you don’t have

a big company backing you, if something happens you’re pretty much on your own.”

The panel offered suggestions on how organizations could better handle sexual misconduct cases such as treating every case as a serious matter and not treating the accused as if they are liars, attention seekers, and or in it to get revenge. Benedict advised that keeping records of inappropriate behavior is the best option so that there is something to refer to.

Despite these challenges, the panel expressed their hopes that the issue will get more attention since actions are being done to expose the injustices.

“These issues need to be exposed to students, so they can know what is going on,” said Benedict. “Women and men must be nurtured.”

Brienne Kenlock is a staff writer.

She can be reached at brienne. kenlock@yorkmail.cuny.edu

SGA Senate Elections Fails Again to Gather Enough Candidates for Quorum Committee on Elections at York.

“There are certain procedures that we kind of have to follow.

The student representatives must be elected, so those 30 will get in and after that, there will be a special election. Hopefully we’ll be able to get another two, at least.”

In the Spring 2016 and Spring 2017 semester elections, there were 27 and 28 candidates respectively for 32 positions and special elections were held during the Fall semesters. The Committee on Elections has yet to hold a meeting to determine the exact date and process for the next special election.

Chang said the immediate priorities of students could be a probable cause for the lack of voting booth during the SGA senate elections. Photo credit: Angel Adegbesan interested candidates to fill the required number of seats in the interested or apathy. I don’t college senate. He said most stuknow. I do know once students

By Angel Adegbesan dents are busy with getting their are elected, they get active.” college education done and may The lack of competition raisStudent Government Associanot take advantage of the opportion elections failed for the third es the question as to why bothtunities, experiences and mentime to gather enough candidates er, since every candidate will be torship the senate may provide. to fill the college senate. Only 30 elected. David Tobo, the current “I think a lot of students don’t candidates ran to fill 32 positions. Student Government Association recognize the benefits and inVincent Banrey, the vice pres- president, said that the decision fluence that you can have as a ident of student development, should be left to the student body senator to improve the commuacknowledged that 44 students of the college. He argued that nity,” Chang said. “And also picked up applications with peti- voting is the students’ way of benefits for yourself. You learn tions to run as senators but only 30 voicing their own opinions about leadership skills. You learn selected representatives. students brought back the proper the how to interact with people in “The rules of the university applications signed by students. positions and stations in life “We advertise it to stu- states that we have to have an electhat are different than yours.” dents, information is shared, tion even though all 30 candidates Tobo said that he knows some then we wait,” said Banrey. “It are going to get in,” said Emmanstudents are excited about being could be students who aren’t uel Chang, the secretary of the

empowered in the student government and causing a change.

“I’ve witnessed the power of government being able to change things,” said Tobo. “At the same time, mentors have told me that not everybody will be as excited as you are about it. But, it doesn’t mean that we should take away the power of the people to vote.”

The student voter turnout for this past election was higher than some previous elections. A total number of 842 students voted in the election which accounts for 12.24 percentage of all students registered for Spring 2018 semester who are eligible to vote.

“That was a very high percentage and we have never seen anything like that,” said Randolph Punter, the dean of student development. “I understood that SGA really kind of pushed it. They were giving out water bottles. I’m assuming that these giveaways helped. To us, it was very important in these events that we set up to get students to come out. And whenever we gave things like giveaways, students will show up.”

In the York College Senate, there is an equal number of 32 student senators to 32 faculty senators. There are 17 senatorial positions slated for the 17 departments while the remaining 15 are left for Senators-at-Large.

The number of positions

Subscribe to our website: @yorkpbnews.net

available for Senators-at-Large increases when departments do not have students running as their representatives. In this election, there are three and 27 candidates running as Departmental Senators and Senators-At-Large respectively.

The Student Government elects one of its members to serve as the head of the student caucus.

The student caucus is comprised of all the student representatives elected to the College Senate. The College Senate has established the following standing committees that are monitored by and reported to the Senate: Committee on Academic Standards, Committee on Elections, Committee on Admissions, Committee on Instruction, Committee on Campus Environment, Committee on Library and Curriculum Committee.

Students do not have to be members of the Senate to serve on standing committees. Standing committees, including student members have full voting right privileges. The committee structure provides an opportunity for students to participate in the decision-making process.

Angel Adegbesan is the Associate News Editor. She can be reached at angel.adegbesan@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

NEWS PB

4

Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

York College Students Bring Second Women’s Leadership Event to Campus

By Adedayo Epemolu York College held another Women’s Leadership event on May 1st in the faculty dining room. The conference sought to inculcate the spirit of leadership into its audience.

The conference was in fact influenced by the 10th Annual Women Leadership Conference at Hunters College which was attended by Keila Ottero and other students at York. With the permission of President Marcia Keizs, the students worked with their professors and other staff to bring this dream to a reality.

“The conference was so beneficial that we thought to bring it home to York where we also have many strong-willed women,” said Ottero, the president of the Helping Hands club.

The event was hosted by the Women’s Leadership Conference Committee and The Office of the President of York College. It featured a panel of female leaders that was parallel to the theme of the conference, “Owning Your Power.” The panelists shared their inspiration and aspiration for leadership.

Rubaiya Rahman, one of the panelists and the executive director of Autism Society Habilitation Association, shared how her son’s

From left to right: Rachel Walton, Rubaiya Rahman, and Heather Robinson. Photo credit: Adedayo Epemolu.

autism encouraged her to start up the organization. She wanted to provide moral and psychological support to mothers who may have been blamed, like she was, for the predicament of their children or feeling pressured to care for them. She went on to say that a disability isn’t something to be hidden; that people have to accept you for who you are.

“Some people wanted my son and I to leave McDonald’s because he was standing in front of their table,” Rahman said while narrating her ordeal with stigma-

Lab technician and His Drug Supplier Still Awaiting Trial

By Pandora’s Box Staff The York College lab technician arrested and charged with selling cocaine to undercover police officers near the high school on campus property is still being held without bail more than four months after he was taken into custody.

Timothy Hawkins, who was arrested on Jan. 16 and hit with 13 felony charges and one misdemeanor, has had six court appearances since then.

His co-defendant, Barry Salter, the alleged seller of the cocaine, is also still in jail awaiting trial. Salter’s bail was set at $750,000, which he has been unable to post.

Both men were arrested after surveillance by officers from the New York Police Department and District Attorney Richard Brown’s office

that began in April 2017, according to a statement issued

by Brown’s office.

The investigation involved physical surveillance, court authorized eavesdropping and search warrants On several occasions Hawkins left York College with the undercover officers, led them to Salter’s home to purchase cocaine, and then returned later to the campus, police said. On two occasions Hawkins allegedly conducted sales near the Queens High School for the Sciences, which is located on York’s campus.

During a search of Salter’s home, the NYPD allegedly seized two kilos of cocaine, two digital scales, a money counter and $2,000 in cash.

Both men face up to 20 years in prison if convicted and are due back in court on June 13.

tization she faces regularly for her son’s ailment and how she has to occasionally lash back at people for it. “But I said me and my son were staying. It is our right as much as it is yours to be here.”

Dr. Heather Robinson, another panelist, is the chairperson of the English department whose scholarship is on language identities and practices of the students of english colonial diaspora and on feminist academic leadership and practices. As a teacher and a mother, Dr. Robinson shed light on the importance of

mentoring students and mentors in any successful person’s life.

“If it wasn’t for my mentor back in college who pushed me to go for my PhD, I probably wouldn’t be here,” said Robinson.

Rashieda Smith, president of Dunton Consulting LLC, also gave her views on what it entails for a woman to own her power in this age. Dunton Consulting is a political consultant agency that operates in six different states. She reiterated that owning your power entails how you perceive yourself because no one can do anything you don’t allow them to do.

Smith said her mother told her, “you have two strikes against you: one you are a woman; two, you are black.” She explained these were facts that she came to realize in her career: that people wanted to pay her less because of the color of her skin and men felt intimidated because of her position as a female.

York 2007 Alumna Rachael Walton was also one of the panelists. Walton’s leadership experience started and developed while she was at York. She was a two year Student Government Association senator and the charter member and vice president of York’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter. Walton was also the

president of the women’s club at York for three terms. She graduated with a B.A in speech communications. In 2012, she travelled to Haiti with the missionaries of the Greater Allen Cathedral where she helped rehabilitating the survivors. Walton is now working for NYC department of education and is the Queens Borough manager of Mayor de Blasio’s early childhood and pre-k education.

Letitia James was one panelist originally scheduled for the event but later canceled. James is an american lawyer and politician in the Democratic Party. She is the current and fourth New York City Public Advocate and the first African American and first woman to hold the office citywide.

“The conference was really helpful,” said Sabby Jenkins, 19.

“It encompassed many issues faced by by a woman and ways to deal with those issues from prioritizing to standing up for yourself.”

The event was originally scheduled for March during the Women’s history month but was cancelled due to weather conditions.

Adedayo Epemolu is a contributing writer. He can be reached at adedayo.epemolu@yorkmail. cuny.edu

Clinton Ehidom: York College Excellence Continued from pg. 1...

As a two-year president of the Cardinal Pre-Med Club, Ehidom has helped prepare students interested in careers in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy and as physician assistants. The club holds frequent Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) workshops to find resources and prepare students for internships.

“We’re trying to help them become doctors and trying to help sprinkle a little bit more color in medicine,” said Ehidom.

Nyah Yearwood, 20, Biology major, is one of Ehidom’s mentee and a member of the Pre-Med club. Yearwood finds the tips and strategies for MCAT’s tests provided by the club to be insightful. She sights visits from experienced people in the medical field as helpful for the future of medical school and a career in the medical field.

Yearwood, who is also a Biology tutor, said that the valedictorian title is befitting of Clinton because he has earned it. She praises him because he is a hard working, determined, intelligent and humble person.

“He is wiling to take the time to help explain to anyone,” said Yearwood. “It does not surprise

me that he is going to be the valedictorian of the graduating class.”

After his sophomore year, Ehidom participated in an aspiring six-week summer program at Yale School of Medicine that prepares students from minority groups to successfully apply to medical school. Among other experiences, he observed a physician at the program to get a fuller understanding of a doctor’s daily work and life. He was the recipient of Alumni Association scholarship for Juniors in 2017.

Jong-Ill Lee, an associate professor of Chemistry, said Ehidom is more than a student with a high GPA. He said he deserves to be the valedictorian and more.

To Lee, Ehidom is like a special son who matches his passion for the human life and humanity's success.

“I think it's a beginning,” said Lee. “He’s well rounded.

He’s blossoming but he hasn't fully bloomed yet. I hope he doesn't stop here as a medical doctor. He can work for international organizations, doing research, healing people and all kinds of things.”

Ehidom plans to help establish programs for the Biology department and the entire academic community that would create better opportunities. These programs would be aimed at helping disadvantaged students and especially students of color who wish to start a career in medicine.

Meanwhile, Ehidom looks back at his past four years at York and expresses gratitude towards the support of the professors like Jong-Ill Lee in chemistry, whom he considers his school godfather, and the support of his fellow students on and around campus.

“Life at York has been great,” said Ehidom. “I'm going to miss it. It's a unique experience especially being an ethnically diverse environment. I'm probably never going to be in an environment this diverse again.”

Though he has not yet written his valedictorian speech, he does have ideas on what to write having dreamt about it for so long.

Angel Adegbesan is the Associate News Editor. She can be reached at angel.adegbesan@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

NEWS

5

Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

New Director for Academic Advisement to Revitalize Freshmen Workshops

By Angel Adegbesan Within 10 weeks of her appointment as the director of the Academic Advisement Center, Charmaine Cruise has already started making changes. She came to York with plans to improve and upgrade students’ interaction with the advisement center.

Cruise wants to implement “untraditional” ways to advise students. She wants to shift the culture of how academic advisors see themselves and how they are looked at by the students.

She hopes to increase four-year graduation rates by providing excellent academic advisement.

“We looked at the information available and saw our numbers were low,” said Cruise regarding the incoming freshman students.

“What we needed to do was build relationships. We would invite them to York College generating excitement about being a part of the Cardinal family. It helped us to get a greater turnout. We’re going old school, and we are being proactive about calling and connecting students with their choice which is York College.”

One of her plans for getting greater turnout at the Freshman

workshops involves integrating students into the workshops so incoming freshmen can become inspired via a peer relationship.

Cruise said the plan is to use students and alums to give testimonies in the workshops to help release incoming students’ tension and inspire them to grow.

There are over 60 workshops planned for the next academic year from April 26 to the last week before classes officially start in the Fall 2018 semester.

“We went from four students out of 20 to 17 students out of 17, and sometimes 20 students out of 20,” said Cruise.

Another plan is to reach students through mobile advisements. Cruise believes advisors will be easily available to help students in different places on campus and cater to their needs.

Yet another plan involves redecorating the waiting room area at the center. Cruise said the aim is to create a space that represents college spirit and student-friendly support for academic advisement.

Cruise brings more than 15 years of experience in student retention, academic advisement,

career services and transfer services to York. She has worked at both four-year and two-year institutions, including CUNY’s Guttman Community College and Hostos Community College.

Cruise earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and completed her Master’s in Management and her Doctorate in Education at Regent University with a focus on institutional accreditation.

Cruise has extensive practical experience overseeing different types of advising models.

“I enjoyed it,” said Fabiola Cameau, a college assistant for the academic advisement center and former York student who has participated in the freshmen workshops. “This is my first time doing it. I enjoyed helping students one on one and choosing their schedule. I wish I could do more.”

“I have a lot of mentors in my life,” said Cruise. “I believe in doing great work because your work will speak for you.

Your empathy will also speak for you. Be both. I try to be both with my staffs and students.”

Lelosa Imasuen, a college assistant who is involved in the advisement process of incoming freshmen, said the advisement center has not had a di-

Dr. Charmaine T. Cruise in the Academic Advisement Center. Photo credit: Charmaine Cruise.

rector since she started working there more than two years ago. “[Cruise] has been revamping the place and she is bringing a different kind of energy,” said Imasuen. “I have gained more responsibilities and I feel like I will be able to move up. It is kind of like building you up to be responsible.”

Imasuen also acknowledged that the numbers of incoming freshmen getting advisement has been increasing.

“Lots of people focus on des-

tination and just getting from A to B,” said Cruise. “But it’s all about enjoying the journey. I love the work that I do, supporting students and developing staff.

I’m hoping to build more connections with the community.”

Angel Adegbesan is the Associate News Editor. She can be reached at angel.adegbesan@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

Life in the Lens Series Focus on New York City Based Film Production

By Brienne Kenlock The series Life in the Lens presented a panel discussion on ‘Careers in the Media’ where three New York City-based journalists talked about online and video journalism, and film production.

The event was sponsored by the Performing and Fine Arts Department and the York College Auxiliary Enterprises.

Guest speakers Dan Avery, Jesus Hernandez and Lea Khayata spoke at the panel about their experiences in starting and working in the media industry.

Born in Paris and growing up in Lebanon, video journalist and filmmaker Lea Khayata grew up with a passion for writing, which inspired her later in life to make a career out of it.

“I knew I wanted to be a journalist from early on because I liked to write and thought it would be easier to write articles,” Khayata said. She became involved in multiple mediums such as print, radio and video.

Khayata has worked for BBC, Allure, The New Yorker, and Bustle among others and is the founder of Pushpin Films, a Brooklyn-based production company.

Dan Avery, editor of NewN-

From left to right: Professor Larry Tung, lea Khayata, Dan Avery and Jesus Hernandez. Photo credit: Brienne kenlock

owNext.com, a website that focuses on pop culture and LGBTQ+ news, shared how he got into journalism. “I actually came late to journalism,” said Avery. Like Khayata, he shared a love for writing but was unsure of how to put it to good use.

“I did small things like movie reviews and realized that I loved it, so I went back to school to get my Master’s in Journalism,” said Avery.

Cuban-born Film Producer and Director Jesus Hernandez spoke about living in Cuba and the difficulties he had to over-

come to get to his position. Originally he wanted to study Sociology, but found heavy opposition from the Cuban government.

“I wasn’t sure of what path I wanted to take, so I studied Film and TV to find my path,” Hernandez said.

He founded Bach Media, a company that specializes in Cuban film production inside and outside the island.

The panelists had a chance to display their work. Khayata’s video I Am the Revolution showcased women’s struggle in Syria and Afghanistan regarding

education and the treatment of women and young girls. Avery showcased his work on his website, NewNowNext.com, focusing on issues in the LGBTQ+ community. Hernandez showcased an indie film he helped make on people living in a psychiatric hospital.

The focus shifted to taking care of one’s self and being wary in certain situations. “One thing is to not be abused by people who do not have the best intentions,” said Khayata.

The panel opened the floor for comments and suggestions from

the audience and asked them to introduce themselves. Many of the students were media majors and received advice by the panel on how to build themselves. The panelists stressed the importance of getting into new experiences and knowing people.

“Look for what you want to do and learn new skills,” said Hernandez. Avery advised the audience about getting enough experience to build resumes.

“One thing I took from this was to never give up, don’t underestimate yourself and build your skills,” said Mohammed Alnefaie, 26, a Communications Technology major. He said that the panel discussion helped him understand how he could sharpen his skills and further his education.

Ashley Davis, 24, also a Communications Technology major, thought the meeting went well and said she plans on taking their advice. “Even though I already took an internship and seeing that they all say that is important, I will apply to do more things and get more experience,” said Brienne Kenlock is a staff writer.

She can be reached at brienne. kenlock@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Pandora’s Box Changes EIC, News, and Managing Editors for Fall Semester 2018

By Pandora’s Box Staff Starting June 1st, Pandora’s Box will have some changes to the editorial staff.

Acting Editor in Chief, Anthony Medina, and Managing Editor Brittany Wright, will be graduat-

ing on Friday, June 1.

In a two thirds vote, Gries Torres was voted in as the EIC starting Fall Semester 2018. Pedro Bermejo, the previous Layout Editor, will take the role as Managing editor. Following in their lead is Angel Adegbesan, former associate editor, was voted into

the News Editor Position.

Anthony Medina was an active member of Pandora’s Box since 2016. He served as Online Editor for a brief semester in 2017 and switched to EIC quickly after holding the position.

In his time as EIC, Medina helped orchestrate the upgrade

to the yorkpbnews website and social media accounts. He also connected PB to the larger shared web platform that brings all CUNY newspapers together called Dateline:CUNY. We salute him.

Brittany Wright served as Managing editor under Medina’s

time as EIC in 2017. She acted as a watchful guardian and mentor for the PB staff. We salute her.

Longtime Staff Reporters Joshua Samuel and Brienne Kenlock will aslo graduate June 1. We salute them for their many years served as staff.

Congrats Class of 2018

6

ARTS PB Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.com

YORK COLLEGE PUT ON AN

York College held its first ever Arts Festival from cluded an array of different live performances, ma love the arts.

One of the first events was the opening of the s the work of various students taking art classes du works of paintings and drawings as well as variou The arts festival also included an array of intera

by Carlos Sandoval de Leon, used helium balloon work.�

York also held a community jam session led by allowed for various musicians in the college to sho create spontaneous and rhythmic music.

During the arts festival the York College Perfor their production HAIR: The American Tribal LoveThe three day arts festival included performanc and the Vissi Dance Theater, in the the Milton G. One of the master classes held during the festi Reynolds. He discussed how to prep for film and Chad Holder (Dj SkinnyDaNerd), taught the basic Another class was the Independent Artist Finan he gave three main points that he called the ESE income, Equity Mindset, Weight your risk, Avoid u York also held a community jam session led b allowed for various musicians in the college to s create spontaneous and rhythmic music.

One of the more large scale events of the arts beside the the Performing Arts Center the York LI es and performances by various artist from the co The festival also included a SOCA Saturday Co Request Band Feat Rayzor and Leonce, and lastl held their 4th annual Bankra Caribbean Folk Fest different Caribbeancultures and their traditions.

The art festival was the first one at York and is semesters.

COLLAGE

BY LAYOUT & DESIGN EDITOR PEDRO BERMEJO

PHOTO CREDIT DANIELLE CRUZ & STEPHANIE VELASQUEZ

yorkpbnews.com

ARTS PB Thursday, May 24, 2018

N AWESOME ARTS FESTIVAL

By Danielle Cruz & Anslem Joseph

m Thursday, May 10 to Saturday, May 12. The three day festival inaster classes and workshops for aspiring artist and those who simply

semesterly Student art gallery opened on May 10. The gallery held uring this spring semester. The art gallery held sculptures, various us works of photography. active art classes like the Master Sculpture Class. The class, taught ns to construct various creations with the intent to “make it fly, not

y York College Music Professor Tom Zlabinger. The jam session owcase their talents in a group setting as they worked together to

rming Arts Theatre department also put on multiple performances of -Rock Musical. ces by various dance troupes, like the Matthew Westerby Company, . Bassin Performing Arts Center. ival was the TV and Film Audition Prep Master Class taught by Nick tv auditions. The DJ Master Class with Brooklyn based free form DJ, cs of being a DJ and working with certain equipment. ncial Literacy Class by finance professional Rob Jones. In the class E WAY which stood for: Eat away bad debt, Save 10% to 15% of unnecessary taxes, and Your purpose (live out your purpose).

by York College Music Professor Tom Zlabinger. The jam session showcase their talents in a group setting as they worked together to

festival was the free concert held on Thursday, May 10. In the field IVE Concert included music from DJ ZEKE, some spoken word piecollege and the Jamaica, Queens community. oncert, which saw performances by Lyrikal and Farmer Nappy, ly DJ Milo Myles and DJ Notorious. Braata Productions also tival in the performing arts center field as they celebrated due to come back annually during the upcoming spring

7

ARTS PB

8

Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

Avengers Infinity War Lives Up To The Hype God Of War Solidifies PS4 as The Top Dog in Gaming

Avengers Infinity War Promotional Poster. Via Marvel Studios

By Marc Torres Avengers: Infinity War was released toward the end of April.

In this film we follow The Avengers, and other superheroes who have been featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (like Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Black Panther) as they try to stop the evil villain Thanos from destroying the planet and life itself as he continues his mission to get all the infinity stones (which control different elements of life like reality and time).

This film is nonstop action.

From beginning to the end, it’s

all filled with amazing fights between super people. For example, in the scenes that open the movie up we get a fight between The Hulk and Thanos, which leaves The Hulk a bit shell-shocked throughout the rest of the film. In another scene we get a huge battle between the people of Wakanda and space aliens controlled

by Thanos. In one of the later scenes, we see a fight between The Guardians of the Galaxy and Ironman and Spiderman. It’s filled with intense drama and epic battle scenes from all of the characters in the universe we’ve come to know and love.

The film is set in space and

several other places like Wakanda, New York, and Knowhere (to name a few). The settings are important as they make the movie feel like four or five different marvel movies all in one. The scenes are quick and you never get comfortable for too long with any set of characters. A lot happens throughout the film, and every detail is too important to give away.

There are beautiful personal moments though that humanize the heroes and make them feel relatable because they’re vulnerable (even Thanos has moments like these). Those are the moments that make the film feel more than just a superhero movie and instead like something that can teach all of us about what it means to be a person. We’re constantly figuring things out, joking around, hurting, helping, and trying to do our best to follow our own beliefs. We fight everyday for what we believe in. Thanos is so set in his beliefs that he’s trying to destroy whole planets to prove to himself that he can. It all proves how these marvel movies are less about epic superhero fights and more about human life itself.

This is the best film to come from the MCU so far, and it makes me look forward to what will come in the future. Much can be said about the ending of this film, however all I can say is that the end works perfectly. We’ve followed this Thanos story for years, and his mission to get all the infinity stones finally comes to an end. He leaves our heroes in quite a conundrum and he smiles because he has accomplished what he wanted to do for so long.

It’s all a sign that there’s more to come. This movie is definitely worth watching if you’ve kept up with all of the other marvel films for this long. Even if you aren’t a big fan of superhero movies, it’s still worth watching.

Marc Torres is the assistant arts editor.He can be contacted at Marc.Torres@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

God Of War Promo Image. Via FLICKR Creative Commons User: BagoGames

By Marc Torres God of War was released on April 20th. It’s the eighth game in the God of War series. We follow the main protagonist Kratos, the greek god of war, and his son Atreus on their journey to spread the ashes of Atreus’ mother at the highest peak of the nine realms.

Kratos keeps his past a secret from his son, who doesn’t really understand what it takes to be a god. Along their expedition they encounter monsters, demons, and other gods.

Compared to previous versions of the game, this one seems to be the best one for several reasons. One change, is that Kratos no longer carries double-chained blades. Instead, Kratos now carries an axe. The game developers also made changes with camera angles as well. Instead of a fixed cinematic camera shot like in previous games, this one features an over-the-shoulder camera angle which according to the developers of the game, serves to give a more immersive experience. The game features RPG elements, and Kratos’ son helps during combat sequences. These are some of the biggest changes to the game, and they seem to work very well.

Although the game is entirely played by Kratos, there are moments where you can control his son in order to get to the

next level. The game isn’t exactly open-world, but the developers have said that the game is open.

This means, players can fast travel to different locations and a boat is used to travel over water in the game (since the swimming feature was cut). During combat sequences there is more freedom with how you fight enemies. The move-set is not so fixed which makes it more open and free to come up with many different possibilities for defeating enemies.

The graphics are stunning.

Kratos, his son and the world around them look very real. The battles you fight make you feel like you’re inside the game. It truly is an immersive experience because of how crisp the visuals are.

The gameplay is also flawless as it’s a fast-paced game where something is always going on or going to happen. It’s a game that keeps you on your toes and gives you hours of fun. You’ll forget how much time you’ve actually spent playing because it’s just so enjoyable. It’s a game that makes you forget where you are and who you are, because for the amount of time spent playing you’re Kratos, the god of war.

It’s definitely worth buying and spending hours of your life on.

Marc Torres is the assistant arts editor.He can be contacted at Marc.Torres@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

The Weeknd Recaptures His Old Sound With ‘My Dear Melancholy’

By Joshua Samuel

The Weeknd released his first EP My Dear Melancholy, suddenly on March 30 with barely any promotion.

The 28-year-old superstar quietly released a screenshot of a text conversation with his friend Lamar on Instagram asking his opinion on whether they should drop music on Friday. Once Friday arrived, The Weeknd put up another cryptic post on what looked to be a cover of some sort with a caption simply saying “tonight.”

Fans speculated whether this cover was for a single, album or EP. The cover itself was bleak, capturing a close up of The Weeknd in intense red lighting, engulfed in the shadows.

After two huge Billboard topping pop albums, My Dear Melancholy is an ode to The Weeknd’s roots and his come-up where he was more of a mystery than a “Starboy.”

The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye, started off as a complete unknown talent who used his anonymity to gain rec-

Photo by Anton Mak, via FLICKR Creative Commons

ognition for crafting a new darker sexier version of RNB. Many had never heard music similar to The Weeknd in 2011 and some were confused about whether or not The Weeknd was a band or one singer.

There weren’t many photos of The Weeknd on the Internet, al-

though huge blogs such Drake’s OVO blog were posting his music. The Weeknd made use of his mysterious aesthetic and created his brand XO. Eventually, The Weeknd dropped a trilogy of mixtapes based on wild highs, depressive lows and raw experiences with drugs and sex and

collaborated with Drake on his platinum album, Take Care.

After dropping his solid first album, Kiss Land with moderate success, The Weeknd made it huge with his next two albums “Beauty Behind The Madness” and “Starboy. The Weeknd then shedded his mystery by reveal-

ing his face and stepping into the spotlight. Number one hits like I Can’t Feel My Face and Starboy gained The Weeknd waves of new mainstream fans and The Weeknd then began to experiment into an electronic sound, with pop vocals similar to Michael Jackson.

Songs like “The Hills” served as a balance between both his old and new sounds and rose to No. 1 on the charts for weeks.

My Dear Melancholy is reminiscent of The Hills with the blending of The Weeknd’s old and new sounds but mixed with a much more emotional, reflective, and heartbreaking much like the slower songs on the Trilogy.

Call Out My Name brings out a mournful atmosphere during its first few seconds with its piano driven beat. The lyrics immediately hit and are a stark contrast from what The Weeknd usually writes. The Weeknd sings about giving his all for a relationship,

CONTINUED ON Pg. 12

ARTS PB Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

9

J. Cole’s KOD is His Grandest Artistic Statement Yet

By Joshua Samuel J. Cole released his fifth studio album KOD on April 20, earning him his fifth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The album cover artwork is strikingly different from any of his previous albums. Depicting a trippy fever dream the watercolor painting shows Cole as a king with no eyes hovering above children snorting coke, sipping promethazine, smoking and swallowing xanax. Only a sentence is written on the art simply stating, “This album is in no way intended to glorify addiction.” This prepares the listeners for the concept of the album where Cole dives deeper into drug usage to analyze its effect on culture, communities and his personal life. Most of Cole’s previous album artworks were simply photos of himself but KOD’s album art symbolizes an artistic metaphor of Cole’s position in hip-hop.

J. Cole is one of the most highly regarded rappers of the modern era, but heavily criticized for being too bland. Often included in the ‘The Big 3” of modern hip hop, with Drake and Kendrick Lamar, he is regarded as a lyrical wordsmith with witty poignant rhymes based on social commentary, and personal anecdotes. To some, J. Cole is seen as a revival of “real hip-hop” with his DIY come-up aesthetic, as he produces his own songs and doesn’t rely on features for his latest albums.

Compared to his contemporaries, Cole isn’t as big of a hit maker as Drake whose catchy melodies, and quotable lyrics have transcended him into a force in the pop genre. Cole has good albums, but he doesn’t compare to Kendrick Lamar who has recently won a Pulitzer prize for his work on DAMN. Good Kid m.A.A.d City and To Pimp A Butterfly by Lamar are both critically acclaimed concept albums where the listener is not just served beautiful storytelling but inventive beats, fresh deliveries, and new ideas that

KOD Cover Art. Via J. Cole P&D Records

keep the listener engaged.

The next generation of up and coming rappers, such as Lil Pump, Lil Xan, Lil Uzi Vert, & Smokepurrp, also pose as a challenge to Cole. These rappers are not known for their lyrical skill but their energy, adlibs, style and charisma. The new school of rappers often promote drugs and a rockstar lifestyle. The recent popularity of this sound have people viewing Cole as boring.

Cole’s last album 4 Your Eyez Only had a good message but wasn’t as entertaining to listen to. There have been memes made claiming J Cole’s music is “Audio Nyquil” and KOD seems to be Cole’s rebuttal, giving the listener a host of different sounds and topics that match its colorful artwork.

KOD is Cole sounding rebooted again since his smash album, 2014 Forrest Hills Drive. The acronym for the concept album is broken down into three mean-

ings. “Kids On Drugs”, for songs have to deal with drug addiction problem for the youth, “King Overdose”, for songs about Cole’s personal addictions with women, money, alcohol and his phone, and “Kill Our Demons”, for songs about facing and overcoming past trauma.

There is one featured artist on the album: kiLL Edward, J Cole’s alter ego where he pitch-shifts his voice to portray a person addicted to drugs. Edward’s slowed melodic hooks adds a spice that differs from a typical J. Cole song and the album feels very contemporary, tapping into what’s relevant.

KOD and ATM are immediate bangers providing a nice energy for the album. ATM has Cole rapping in double time triplets about addiction to money, with a hard-piano driven beat in the background. The hook is simple but extremely effective to get crowds chanting at future

shows. “Photograph” is a mellow slow burn track about Cole trying to talk to a girl he’s only seen through on social media. It’s an interesting look at relationships in the social media era and addiction to social media and phones in general.

Kevin’s Heart is one of the standout tracks on the albums and brilliantly uses Kevin Hart’s real life cheating scandal as inspiration and a metaphor for Cole’s own addictions and struggles to stay loyal. The track is ambiguous, so the listener doesn’t know whether if Cole is really rapping about women or drugs. The song immediately grabs attention and is melodically and musically one of the greatest songs on the album.

The second verse of Brackets proves that Cole’s lyrical prowess is on full display. Cole suggests he should choose where his tax dollars go with an app instead of a corrupt congressman who will

decide to give money to companies that will fill his neighborhood with guns. He brilliantly segues into a story of an academically successful boy who gets killed by a stray bullet and his grieving mother. She walks to his funeral and remembers she still has to file her taxes and it ties the entire verse together in an amazing way.

Tracks such as The Cut Off and FRIENDS serve as a great showing of Kids On Drugs. KiLL Edward’s hook on The Cut Off has J Cole embodying the self-destructive nature of someone who needs drugs to cope with pain.

On FRIENDS, J Cole puts together his major sentiment on the album and muses on the many reasons to blame for why people are addicted. He encourages the people listening to “mediate, don’t medicate” and it doesn’t sound preachy but genuine and concerned.

Surprisingly, the interlude Once an Addict was the best song on the album and tied the whole album together. J Cole tells his most vivid and powerful story about his mother being an alcoholic. Cole avoided facing his mother by staying out late with friends and going off to college.

Cole ends the song with deep regret not being there for his mother and KOD as an album is Cole killing his demons and using his voice to help others suffering from addiction.

KOD is Cole’s grandest artistic statement to date. An earnest attempt to explore the many different meanings of addiction and connect his personal experiences to the community at large. The last track 1985 (Intro to The Fall Off) is for hip hop culture as Cole speaks directly to the new school of rappers with real advice. Passing down his words of wisdom, the crown on Cole’s head seems fitting when the album ends.

Joshua Samuels is a Staff Writer.

He can be contacted at Joshua.

Samuels@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

Cardi B’s Debut Album Introduces The Bronxite To Mainstream Fame

By Tylaisha Davis On April 6 female rapper Cardi B released her debut album Invasion of Privacy. The album consist of 13 songs and featured artist like Migos, Chance The Rapper, J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Kehlani, 21 Savage, YG and SZA. In the album, Cardi B talks about once being a stripper, being broke, loved, hated, heartbroken, and her fiancé, the rapper Offset, and more.

Cardi B, who grew up in the Bronx, became known first from her viral Instagram posts. Cardi was also once a stripper before becoming a reality star on hit show Love and Hip Hop New York on VH1 which played a role in jumpstarting her rapping career. Cardi B has had a lot of obstacles she went through to get her to this point but says she does not regret anything.

On radio station HOT 97 Ebro in the Morning interview, Card B talked to radio host Ebro and Laura Stylez about stripping.

“You can’t relate to being a stripper until you have been in their shoes. Stripping is not an

Invasion of Privacy cover art. Via Atlantic Records

easy job,” said Cardi. “It’s not easy for a woman to dance for eight hours and have disgusting men touching you making women feel uncomfortable but we have to take it. I never regret stripping, it changed my life” The first single Cardi B released off of her album was Bodak Yellow. Cardi B made history with this single on the Billboard Hot 100 as Bodak Yellow rose to No. 1 on the chart— making Cardi B the first female rapper to rank No. 1 in decades. The last female rapper to rank No.1 was Lauryn Hill in 1998 for her song “Doo Wop”. The Bodak Yellow video is now at 532 million views on You-

Tube.

Before Invasion of Privacy came out Cardi B was featured in a lot of songs and videos, such as Rapper G-Eazy No Limit, Rapper Phresher Right Now, Singer Bruno Mars Finesse, Singer Ozuna La Modelo and the Rap group Migos Motorsport.

Last october, Cardi B was proposed to by rapper Offset, who is a part of hip-hop-trio Migos, while onstage during Power 99 radios Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia.

A couple of months after her engagement she announced to the world about her pregnancy by performing her new single

Be Careful off debut album on the Saturday Night Live show, revealing her baby bump in an all-white dress. Cardi B says she already has a name for her baby as well as she already knows the gender. Although she is happy she wished she could have kept it a secret awhile longer.

“I wanted something for me, I don’t want people making me feel like a blessing is a mistake or something... I just wanted it to myself, no negative pressure” said Cardi B in a HOT 97 Interview with Ebro in the morning.

On the first day Invasion of Privacy was released it went Gold. Making Cardi B the first female rapper to go gold in one day.

On April 15, Cardi B performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club. As Cardi B and her dancers performed they payed homage to female group TLC by wearing clothing and hairstyle inspired by the group. Cardi B also performed alongside artist G Eazy, YG, Chance The Rapper, Kehlani, and 21 Savage, all of who were featured on her Invasion of Privacy album.

Cardi B has been promoting her album Invasion of Privacy by stopping by radio stations HOT 97, Big Boy Neighborhood, the Breakfast Club and Power 105.1.

Cardi B was also the first person to co-host the Jimmy Fallon Show.

Cardi B also performed her hit song Be Careful on SNL, and was interviewed alongside her sister, Hennessy Carolina, on TRL live

by Sway Calloway.

Cardi B says she is overwhelmed and tired. From back to back interviews, shows and performances she has not got a lot of rest. But it will not slow her down or stop her as she continues to promote her album, get ready to go on tour with Bruno Mars and is preparing to drop a new single.

“I feel so motivated, I’m hungry” said Cardi B on her Power 105.1 interview. “People invested their time and money in me I don’t want to disappoint anyone.

The pregnancy was not planned but I want to prove people wrong and show that a baby won’t stop me.”

Tylaisha Davis is a contributor.

She can be contacted at Tylaisha.

Davis@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

ARTS PB

10

yorkpbnews.net

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Nicki Minaj Breaks Silence on Social Media and drops albums

By Joshua Samuels Nicki Minaj released two singles Barbie Tings and Chun-Li on on April 12. Both are set to be featured on her upcoming fourth album. The two singles are Minaj’s comeback after a long social media silence which started on December 30 of last year.

For years, Minaj has positioned herself as the new “Queen of Hip Hop” and has come under fire from veteran female MCs like Remy Ma and Lil Kim who paved the way for her. Minaj’s success has been unparalleled as she is the best selling female rapper of all time, but over the years she’s been criticized for selling out and going further into a pop direction.

Part of the problem for Minaj was the lack of competition from female rappers in the modern era.

Mainstream rappers like Iggy Azalea, Dej Loaf, and Young MA have had hits in the past ten years but haven’t touched Minaj’s accolades or overall impact. Things have changed now since Bronx rapper Cardi B set the music world on fire with her smash hit Bodak Yellow and people have started seeing Cardi as a worthy competitor to Minaj due to her entertaining personality, quirky adlibs, and overall charisma. Cardi, however doesn’t see herself as a competitor to Minaj as she’s gone on record saying she just want to make enjoyable music instead of

Photo via FLICKR, Creative Commons

competing for a status.

Minaj raps on Chun-Li like she has a point to prove about her own status, but it doesn’t come together in a way that convinces listeners that she isn’t running out of steam. Minaj recently did an interview for Beats1 radio where she broke down crying because of Cardi B. She claimed Cardi hurt her feelings by not thanking her for her featured verse on Migos song Motorsport. In the interview, Minaj also referred to the “Nicki Hate Parade” and Chun-Li seems to be Minaj’s retaliation to all of that.

On Chun- Li, Minaj subliminally throws shade at Cardi B by asking “How many of them coulda did it with finesse? /Now everybody like, ‘She really is the best’/You play checkers, couldn’t beat me playin’ chess/Now I’m about to turn around and beat my chest” subtly referencing Cardi B’s and Bruno Mars’ song Fi-

nesse (Remix). Minaj is more rap focused on Chun-Li and there is more emphasis on Minaj’s wordplay and braggadocio lyricism than pop melodies.

The beat is barely better than an average trap beat, with gong sounds to add to its “Street Fighter” theme. The refrain is catchy but doesn’t quite stick in your head like a sure-fire hit. The biggest issue with Chun-Li is although we are finally getting a more lyrical Minaj and it feels like her personality is being drowned out by her wanting to show her chops as a MC. Minaj always had a talent of making things seem effortless and light, bouncing from unique cadences and flows. This is most notably shown in her standout feature on Monster on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, oozing multiple personalities where she even outshines rap icons like Jay Z. Chun-Li isn’t

an bad song, but it doesn’t fully show how creative Minaj can be.

Barbie Tings feels much more energetic than Chun-Li and it’s percussion works well with Minaj’s changing flows. Minaj takes more command of the beat and her voice changes from aggressive to soft and melodic. The downside to this song is Minaj’s lyrics become mixed and occasionally become cringeworthy to listen to around the second verse. The beat as a whole isn’t something memorable compared to Minaj’s previous rap hits like Beez In The Trap Chun-Li and Barbie Tings sound like Minaj clawing her way back onto the throne after her break. They are fierce songs where Minaj puts in effort to prove that she deserves the number one spot despite criticism and naysayers.

However, Minaj sounds like she’s overcompensating for the lack of effortless charm and charisma she lost after years of being on top.

As Cardi B has gained clout and popularity from her wacky and free personality which inspires her music, Minaj’s drive to be to be “Queen of Hip Hop” now is the biggest factor in what she creates.

Time will tell if Minaj will continue to go in this direction or aim for something bigger that shows her full potential.

Joshua Samuels is a Staff Writer.

He can be contacted at Joshua.

Samuels@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

RaMed Studios Brings Music Back to Jamaica Avenue & York

By Joshua Samuel In February RaMed Studios opened near York College and became a place for music and performing arts majors to expand and develop their creative vision.

Located on the second floor at 9922 Guy Brewer Blvd, the studio provides equipment for audio recording, music videos, photography, vocal lessons and more.

“We chose our location near York College because we are bringing the future to aspiring artists and entertainers,” says Reginald Myrie, who owns, operates and created the studio with his team.

Myrie is a professional music producer and engineer and felt passion from an early age. His love for music led him into recording studios where he first developed an interest in his future career.

“I remember the lights were dim, the buttons on the equipment were lit up and it just did something to my brain,” says Myrie.

Myrie was influenced by his time in the studio to buy his own equipment and started practicing on his craft whenever he could.

He understood the importance of putting in work to gain experience and success. “I was selftaught, and I feel if you spend enough time in your interest, you eventually master it,” says Myrie.

The recording studio at RaMed Studios works with all genres and provides different block rates for various artists’ needs. The studio doesn’t just record the artists who have their own music but can also create custom instrumentals for artists. Artists can also choose to work with producers, engineers

The recording studio at RaMed is state of the art. Photo via remed.com

and assistants during their sessions.

The studio uses industry standard equipment such as mixing monitors and UAD plugins for Mastering to achieve a professional sound. RaMed Studios hosts a comfortable environment where newcomers and experienced artists can both get valuable suggestions and feedback from professionals who want to mold greatness out of their potential.

“I have the best time with any artist I work with because I appreciate everyone’s talents,” says Myrie. “I don’t look at one person as better than another person.

Everyone gets an equal platform to stand on and I learn from each experience.”

RaMed Studio is not just a recording studio but a multimedia studio for various creative projects including videography, photography, graphic design, makeup, and editing. It also includes a dance studio and a rehearsal space. Maricia Morgan, Marland Morris, and Olivia Francois all work at RaMed Studios and are key members of Myrie’s team.

Maricia Morgan instructs vocal lessons and assists at RaMed

studios helping with everything from audio to photography. She is a passionate recording artist and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music education. Morgan understands the need for RaMed Studios to expand as musicians need much more than music to sell their craft.

“Most musicians also want the photo shoots and the videos,” said Morgan. “So, it was easy for come up with the concept of having everything under one roof.

We offer our clients a complete package, so they don’t have to search anywhere else.”

Olivia Francois is a photographer and videographer for RaMed Studios and does graphic design.

She agrees on the versatility of RaMed Studios and has watched them expand from a platform for artists to even companies reaching out to the studio.

“The studio brings awareness to companies and we not only help artists develop their artist page and brand, but we also help companies expand and bring in more revenue,” says Francois.

Clients can join a membership for the photo studio or choose from their hourly rates. When

shooting photos with a client, Francois makes sure to work with the client and put their individuality first. She represents the diversity in each client and showcases that through her pictures.

“An R&B artist may not want their photo taken in a same way as a reggae artist or a pop artist.

It all varies. We cater to your vision and the look you want,” says Francois.

Marland Morris is a video director, musician, and graphic designer for RaMed studios. He believes it’s not just quantity, but quality makes the RaMed Studios brand what it is. “We have quality audio recording, video recording, graphic design, and photography and we know to keep that quality consistently high.”

Though RaMed Studios recently the team has already been thinking about the future. “We just started up like a newborn baby, but we are looking to build an empire. This is the dynasty,” says Morgan. “We’re going to have more locations to help more universities and schools. We want to expand to show more people how to become the greatness they are.”

The team at RaMed is focused on enhancing originality and letting artists tell their own story. They provide the tools and knowledge to achieve the vision as a full package. Myrie has a motto for his team and his clients, “RaMed is the definition of Excellence. Excellence is what we do.”

Rates for the studio can be found at http://www.ramedstudios.com.

Joshua Samuels is a Staff Writer.

He can be contacted at Joshua.

Samuels@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

‘My Dear Melancholy’ CONTINUED From Pg. 10 helping someone he loves out of a broken place, but ultimately feeling used. It is the standout song of the EP and it’s a personal song, even driving Abel to tears during an acoustic performance at Coachella.

Try Me has the catchiest hook and it is the most replayable track on the EP. However, it still doesn’t feel like a basic pop song with its moody intro that utilizes Abel’s falsetto and an outro with pitched down vocals.

Wasted Times is an experimental song gone right with Abel singing over a UK garage inspired instrumental. It’s another reflective song where The Weeknd muses on his ex and whether she’s in love with someone else.

The outro is a standout moment on the album with the chopped and pitched down vocals transitioning smoothly into a warm melody.

I Was Never There is fantastic due to its unique production by Gesaffelstein. It starts out with loud alarming sirens before The Weeknd goes into a mesmerizing hook. The song really comes together during the epic beat switch. The Weeknd was known for his long two-parter songs during the Trilogy era, with songs like Loft Music, The Party & The After Party, and XO/ The Host. It was exciting to hear The Weeknd bring back the same feeling of surprise and go more in-depth with the mood and story he was telling in a more concise song.

Hurt You is another song produced by Gesaffelstein and induces similar vibes and flows of The Weeknd’s latest collab with Kendrick Lamar, Pray For Me. The song brings The Weeknd back to his customary lyrics as he sings about not wanting to hurt a girl searching for a real relationship and being direct in only wanting a hookup.

Privilege is the final song off the project and is the definition of Melancholy. The Weeknd sings about going back to his old ways and taking two red pills to take his blues aka “sadness” away.

The lyrics left many fans speculating that the song is alluding to his breakup with Selena Gomez. The song is an embodiment of The Weeknd’s original Trilogy vision, using the nightlife, drugs, alcohol and sex as a way of numbing pain and heartbreak.

My Dear Melancholy, was a beautiful surprise and proof The Weeknd does care about his original fanbase and the mystique that created him. It’s not a pop album with a clear cut hit, but a great cohesive project that works as true emotional expression.

Although The Weeknd’s pop hits are genuinely great songs, but there’s something about The Weeknd more raw and vulnerable songs that make it more captivating.

Joshua Samuels is a Staff Writer.

He can be contacted at Joshua.

Samuels@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

ARTS PB Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

11

Gaming Convention Sheds Light on Next Level Entertainment Technology

By Richard Heaton In early April, the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center served as the four day home for the ninth annual Boston Penny Arcade Expo. Nearly 100,000 attendees from New York to Los Angeles made their way to Boston for one of the largest gaming and entertainment conventions in the world.

The expo, which rivals the Electronic Entertainment Expo was a place for hundreds of indie game developers to showcase their new games, get feedback from gamers, sell games and merchandise, and even reach investors.

Some major game developers made appearances at PAX as well, such as Nintendo, Bethesda, and Square Enix. In addition to selling games and accessories, these brands made major announcements at the event, as well as held tournaments and interactive activities for fans.

For many indie developers, showcasing their games at PAX was a game-changer. Having their completed game ready to be played means a lot to these developers, who went from just an idea, to years of hard work, and finally to a finished product.

One example of a team testing out their creativity is Mooneye Studios. Their game, Lost Ember was originally a part-time college project. In October 2016, the developers launched a Kickstarter campaign which was fully funded in under three days.

Since then, the five team member worked on making the game as great as it can be. The team was really excited to bring the game to PAX and was hoping to meet

Photo by Richard Heaton

those who helped fund the game but also attract new fans.

The Producer for Mooneye, Sinikka Compart, claims that roughly 60 people have tried the game at PAX, and that most never heard of the game beforehand.

“We met roughly 5 or so Kickstarter backers, but most of the people discovered Lost Ember at PAX East and seemed to like it,” she said.

PAX was also a great excuse for game developers to bundle games together or make limited edition collections in order to boost sales.

One developer, Prideful Sloth had their game Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles sold as a Signature Edition collection. The game came with a special signed case, artwork, stickers, and buttons. Zack Furniss, a member of Stride PR, who worked with the games distribution, liked where the game was going.

“The more you do or offer to promote a game, the better. Free stuff always draws attention,” he said.

When it comes to display, there was a huge contrast in exhibitions. Some developers simply chose to set up a monitor and let guests play their game. Others chose to go all out and set up props, giant posters, and more.

To attract attention to their booth, developer Holospark created a life-size replica of a creature from their game Earthfall. Guests would stop to take pictures with the statue and then learn more about the game.

PAX wasn’t all about games, the convention was home to many other creators, such as YouTubers and streamers. One of the largest booths belonged to Twitch Interactive. Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, is the leading streaming service in the United States.

In addition to a seating areas

and giveaways, the booth hosted a number of meet and greets with various popular streamers throughout the weekend.

For the most part, streamers were limited to the Twitch booth and other meet and greets. On the other hand, Youtubers had a lot more going on. Some of the world’s biggest YouTube personalities made an appearance at PAX, and along with meet and greets, they hosted panels and large autograph sessions.

Year after year, Markiplier and JackSepticEye headline the PAX East festivities. This year the two YouTubers with more than 18 million subscribers each, hosted a panel and an autograph session.

On April 5th, Markiplier hosted a panel in front of an audience of more than a thousand guests.

Throughout most of his panel, he fielded questions from those in attendance. He talked about his career and life, along with other

topics, all in a comedic way.

A couple questions in, Mark brought up restaurant chain Cracker Barrel, which had an impact on him through most of his life and was prominent in some of his videos.

JackSepticEye held a similar panel the next day. For both of their autograph sessions, lines began to form three hours in advance and were cut off less than 15 minutes after forming.

On the consumer side, many gamers enjoyed the convention as well as the trip to Boston itself.

This year was the first time that Jerome Daniels went to PAX. The 26 year old from Newark, New Jersey was hoping to meet streamers and test out some games. “I know there’s going to be a ton of people, but as long as I can get some giveaways and meet people, I’ll be fine.

On the other hand, Minhazur Khan, a LaGuardia Community College student didn’t feel the same way about PAX itself. “PAX will be fun, but I’m only going for the full experience. It’s a chance to go on an adventure, explore Boston, try new places to eat and shop.

For the most part, PAX East was a huge success, bringing together tens of thousands of gamers, entertainers, and brands for four days of fun and memories. Some went home from Boston thinking it was the best weekend of their lives, until next year at least.

Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor . He can be contacted at Richard.heaton@Yorkmail.cuny. edu

OP ED PB Thursday, May 24, 2018

12

yorkpbnews.net

Plus-Size Representation Misunderstood As Promoting Unhealthy Habits

Photo Credit unsplash.com

By Stephanie Velazquez In the past few years, plussize representation has been on the forefront of diverse conversations. With some believing that the increase in plus-size representation will only promote obesity and encourage an unhealthy lifestyle; while others believe that all body types should have equal representation in the Fashion Industry.

Firstly there is a difference between being overweight and being obese. Although the terms

overweight and obesity mean the condition of excess weight they are quite different. Overweight means having more body weight than is considered normal or healthy for one’s age or build.

Whereas obesity is when someone is obese or has excess amount of body fat with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of over 30, said Diffen. An overweight person may have excess weight but they may not have on excess accumulation of fat.

Though there are many health problems associated with obesity, to blame Plus-Size models of

promoting obesity is ridiculous.

If anything the inclusion of plussize models is encouraging plus size people to love themselves and their body.

In a 2016 study by the diet company LighterLife, it was found that nearly 40% of obese adults have been mocked by strangers and people they know personally. It was also noted that women are ridiculed more for their excess weight than men.

Professor Randall Houston, a York College Performing Arts Professor said that being plus size does not mean that you are unhealthy. He also recalled a conversation he had with one of his students who feels strongly about the stigma around being plus size.

“So she [the student] compared it to the equivalency of someone that smokes cigarettes.

I feel that it should be up to the individual. It should be based on how you feel about yourself,” said Houston. “Of course if it’s doctor diagnose then you should be working towards a healthier you but it shouldn’t be shamed and it shouldn’t be judged.”

While some think body diversity is great others feel that it’s promoting a dangerous lifestyle.

In an interview with the Daily News about the Dove campaign, Doctor Ellie Cannon said, “As a doctor I have to tell you that two of these are too fat to represent

‘real woman’. Women wanting to see more ‘wobbly bits’ are promoting obesity.”

York College student Tiffany Holland says she’s Plus-Size and feels that the Fashion Industry should have more Plus-Size Representation.

“I despise it. It’s not fair because I’ve been Plus-Size since I was a child and that doesn’t mean I have lived my life wrong. But it’s not fair that all I ever seen growing up was skinny.” Holland who is 19 years old and lives in Copiague, Long Island, is a Music Production major and interns at an Organic Farm. Holland continues, “As a Plus-Size person myself, I know for a fact that on a regular day basis maybe not today I’ll eat healthy, I exercise, I dance, I sing, and I do so many things and yet I’m still Plus-Size.”

Amanda Gardner is a York College student and considers herself to be Plus-Size and is disappointed with the lack of PlusSize Representation and believes companies will make more money from being inclusive instead exclusive. “I think it’s very unfortunate because we are people too and people talk about expanding their design to more groups of people but Plus-Size are never included in. Plus-Size people have money to spend as well. So if you cater to everyone you will make twice the money you’re already

making.”

Whether you’re Plus-Size or not the Fashion Industry and media itself is a cutthroat industry where a lot of views are discussed.

Professor Houston started out as a Journalism major in York College. His experiences in interning and in college with Journalism led him to fashion.

“I didn’t like the criticizing that Journalism put out there whether it be in magazine or blogs or on the news. When I switched over to fashion and working on shows, designers, and showrooms,” said Houston.

“I realized that it’s a very cutthroat industry whether you’re big or small, tall, short, conventionally attractive whatever that actually means. The whole nature of the business is very judgmental and that’s why I got into teaching oppose to mainstream fashion designing. I feel that the essence of making it in the big promotion and as a big designer a lot of it has to due with judging and that was something that I wasn’t willing to do. I would rather teach the art of fashion design and costuming than be a participate in the media side of the Fashion World.”

Stephanie Velazquez is a staff reporter. She can be reached at Stephanie.Velazquez@yorkmail. cuny.edu

The wonders of Natural Hair and a Journey Towards Self-Beauty

By Danielle Cruz I’ve always loved my hair… no that’s a lie I’ve always loved how long my hair was, my curls and the texture of my hair not so much.

One my earliest, and probably clearest, childhood memories is of a random old lady petting my head and telling me that she loved how long my hair was.

My parent had taken me and my siblings to a vacation to a beach in New Jersey and I had been the only one to wake up early enough to go see the sun rise and have breakfast on the boardwalk. So I was just about to dig into my pancakes when I felt a hand land on my head, startled I looked up and came face to face with an elderly lady smiling at me and petting my head. When she finally spoke she told me that my hair reminded her of how long her hair used to be and made me swear to never cut my hair.

As strange as the experience might have been it stuck with me and made me feel a sense of pride that I had such long hair, especially considering the fact that all of my siblings have really short hair.

So yes, I love my hair but it took me a very long time to learn to love not only the length of my hair but also my curls.

Nowadays there are so many people embracing their natural hair but growing up I was surrounded by people who thought that hair looked better and prettier when it was straight. Now I’m not

hating on people who have naturally straight hair but rather just pointing out this societal beauty standard that centers around the beauty of straight hair.

No one ever outright told me that my natural hair was ugly but it was implied that it wasn’t desired, from the way people did a double take when I straightened my hair and would say things like “wow u look so pretty today” or “oh u should straighten your hair more you look so pretty with it straightened like that” or even the occasional “wow you finally did

something nice with your hair.”

I don’t think people made these comments to intentionally make me feel self conscious of my curly hair, I do think most of their comments were said in a fairly offhand way but nonetheless it was these comments that shaped my view of beauty and my perception of my own curly hair.

So there began my downwards spiral of straightening my hair almost every week and effectively damaging and ruining my hair.

I really started to straighten my hair in the ninth grade after

begging and pleading with my mom, who had wanted me to embrace my curls, to let me spend money to buy my own blow dryer and and hair straighteners. If I didn’t have my hair straightened I would typically have it pulled back into a ponytail or have it braided.

I essentially didn’t feel comfortable with my own hair.

I would make excuses for why I wanted my hair to be straight just so I didn’t have to admit to myself that I didn’t like my hair.

I would say things like “well it’s

easier to have it straight cause I don’t have to do anything to it” even though it took a good three hours to straighten my hair to perfection and I would still probably have to use a straightener in the morning especially towards the end of the week.

It was something about myself that I never really noticed until I was in college. As I started to see all these youtubers and influencers on instagram promoting natural hair I realized how “dependent” I was on my hair to feel confident and began to really see how the heat had turned my curls into dry and damaged looking “noodles” on my head.

I remember the first time I decided to let my hair dry naturally I had been shocked by the mess of loose, frizzy and dried curls that had framed my face. It was honestly after seeing how messy it looked that decided that I was going to try and go natural and revive my curls.

I made that promise nearly a semester ago and have kept to it since, I ended up having to cut my hair but I figured that it would eventually grow back and healthier than ever.

Going natural was hard and sometimes I do miss having my hair straightened, but I’ve grown to love my hair as it is curls and all.

Danielle Cruz is the Arts Editor. She can be reached at Danielle.Cruz@yorkmail.cuny.edu

yorkpbnews.net

Letters

OP ED PB

13

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Looking Back on A Strenuous Seinor Year

Dear Editor,

From 1971 through graduation in June 1974, I was the Sports Editor for Pandora’s Box. In addition to writing and editing, I used the platform to petition for the expansion and improvement of our sports program. I even took on voting positions on the Executive Athletic Board, headed by Ivan Kusinitz, the AD at the time. By the time I graduated, we had added womens basketball, baseball, wrestling, had added NBA Coach Bill Bash to our basketball program, and swimming.

It was bittersweet at times. As a senior, Hilti Shapiro, baseball coach, informed me that I was being cut because I was a senior and I gave him no future benefit. It hurt because I had lobbied for three years to bring baseball in. Now, at 66, it still hurts.

There is, however, a much brighter story. One of my other successful lobbies was the swim team. Under coach Peter Schwenker, I went on to be the first team captain, set seven records, and collect York’s first three medals at the CUNY Swimming Championships...1000 free, 500 yd. free, and the 200 yd. free. But my story doesn’t end there,,, I went on to compete around the world...Championships in New Zealand, Japan, Denmark, back to New Zealand. Even became a Long Distance All-American. (19 medals from world competitions.)

Two months ago, I found that for the 9th and 10th times in my life I had made it to the FINA Masters World Top Ten. In fact, I can be Googled, “James Ryan, USMS” What a long strange trip it’s been.

Beyond that, I went on to get my MBA at Adelphi University and complete a 30 year career that saw me honored at Leaders Council in 1996 as one of AT&T Top Sales Professionals in the world and continue on to become a regional sales director and launch a nationwide sales organization. (Still pushing to build and expand things!)

Right now, you are the “me” decades ago, but now. You can’t see it yet, but you are at the beginning of a great adventure if you approach it right. You can influence the world. I used to enjoy the stories about Babe Ruth. One of my favorites was about his last day as a pro. He hit three shots out of Forbes Field and quit. Due to some medical issues, my swimming career just ended. One week before surgery, at USMS Colonials Zone Championships, I took 2 minutes off the Zone Championship 1650 record. Was still swinging for the fences!

Make the world a better more exciting place! Swing for the fences, as tomorrow is promised to none of us! June 1974 now feels like yesterday. The time goes fast! Strive for greatness!

By Brittany Wright As we approach the last week of school, I’m feeling anxious and a little overwhelmed. The end of this chapter is so near, but I still have final exams and projects, and in the back of my mind I’m still a little scared thinking about where I will be and what I’ll be doing come this time next year.

I’ve been applying to jobs noticing that somehow employers want 3-5 years of experience for entry level positions. Like... how? Do they not understand the concept of what ‘entry-level’ is?

But along with dealing with finishing up and starting a new chapter in life, I’m starting to feel sort of nostalgic. It’s been a journey to get here—a very long one. A lot of hard work, studying, sleepless nights and lengthy papers. What is there to do without having to stay up all-night because I waiting until the last minute to start a paper? Procrastination is always so tempting.

Sincerely, James Ryan Class of ‘74 Capt. of York Nomads Swimming, ‘73-’74 Sports Editor, Pandora’s Box, 1971-74 jryan1500@yahoo.com

Pandora’s Box EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief: Anthony Medina

Anthony.Medina@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Managing Editor: Brittany Wright

Brittany.Wright@yorkmail.cuny.edu

News Editor: Greis Torres Greis.Torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu Assisant News Editor: Angel Adegbesan

STAFF REPORTERS Joshua Samuel Brienne Kenlock Fabio Martinez Stephanie Velazquez

Assistant A&E Editor Marc Torres

Marc.Torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Online Editor: Ashleigh Brown

Ashleigh.Brown@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Sports Editor Richard Heaton

Richard.Heaton@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Faculty Advisor: Bill Hughes w.hughes@yorkpbnews.net

am here! I am a part of this 2018 graduating class and I am proud of all that I have accomplishment throughout this time educationally and personally.

This is starting to sound like a commencement speech but I once read a quote by Amy Poelher saying, “there’s no one way of doing things. You know how when you unscrew something it’s ‘righty tighty, lefty loosey’?

If you just get a hammer and hit it really hard, whatever it is, I guarantee you it’ll open.”

We all have had different paths to get to graduating but remember you are not restricted to follow the path of someone else.

We all work at our own paces.

If you are still on your way and are dealing with overcoming circumstances and situation don’t give up!

But to the graduating class of 2018, we made it!

Brittany Wright is the Managing Editor. She can be reached at Brittany.Wright@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

PB

Joshua.Samuel@yorkmail.cuny.edu Brienne.Kenlock@yorkmail.cuny.edu Fabio.Martinez@yorkmail.cuny.edu

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Adedayo Epemolu Tylaisha Davis Anslem Joseph

Angel.Adegbesan@yorkkmail.cuny.edu

Arts/Ent. Editor: Danielle Cruz Danielle.Cruz@yorkmail.cuny.edu

I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I have had a lovehate relationship with school. I loved learning new things and interacting with people, but sometimes I hated just getting there or having something to do constantly.

My journey at York College has taught me a lot. I have built relationships and had opportunities that I have may never have again. I will miss it. I will miss the professors that I have grown to admire and my classmates that I have also learned from and have grown with.

I won’t act like all my experiences here were perfect. I struggles with classes—Spanish 2 was my arch enemy and I had my share of fights with the registrar.

But dwelling on the hardships and discouragement doesn’t help with moving forward. I just see them as a slight trip.

My path to getting my degree was far from “traditional,” I’ve started and stopped, moved to an another state and then took time off after a loss. But no matter the journey or voyage. I

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Adisa Sobers

This policy states Pandora’s Box’s position on discrimination. This policy applies to all Pandora’s Box employees, volunteers, members, clients, and contractors.Pandora’s Box follows an equal opportunity employment policy and employs personnel without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status. This policy also applies to internal promotions, training, opportunities for advancement, terminations, outside vendors, members and customers, service clients, use of contractors and consultants, and dealings with the general public.

Advertisements

14

15

16

PANDORA’S BOX SPORTS Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.com

Brownsville Boxers Do Right By Brooklyn and Battle at the Barclay Center

By Pedro Bermejo

After what turned-out to be a night filled with action at the Barclay Center, spectators came away from the night of boxing with some interesting new storylines developing.

The “Straight Outta Brooklyn” fight card was headlined by the, Brownsville-native, number 3 ranked middleweight, Danny Jacobs, 31. His opponent was the Polish boxer Maciej Sulecki, 29.

The co-main event was a heavyweight bout between the #3 ranked contender, Jarrell “Big Baby” Davis, 29, and the 37 year old Frenchman, Johann Duhaupas.

In the first of the two fights that were broadcast on HBO that evening, “Big Baby” Miller, also from the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, defeated his opponent via unanimous decision. It was the first time in Miller’s 21 fight pro career that his opponent went the distance with him.

He is now 21-0 as a pro (20 KOs), and is eyeing a shot at heavyweight champions–British superstar, Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), and fellow American, Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs).

In his post-fight press conference Miller did not mince words.

The Brownsville-native made it clear that he wants his title shot.

“Of course we want the AJ (Anthony Joshua) fight. Eddie Hearn has been talking a lot that AJ is going to come to Brooklyn, do this and do that,” he said, calling out the Matchroom Boxing

Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller facesoff with the Frenchman, Johann Duhaupas.

Photo by Pedro Bermejo

Promotions managing director.

“I’m not going to get on my knees and beg. Us New Yorkers work hard to earn our shot. But if you bring him to New York I will bust his behind. If not, we have Manuel Charr in Germany and we could probably make that happen. So that’s my next best option if Eddie doesn’t put his money where his mouth is and make

Danny “The Miracle Man” Jacobs and his opponent, Maciej Sulecki put on a show for the audience.

The fight was close, and filled with action throughout the 12

“I’m the mandatory now. So, it’s only a matter of time. These guys can’t run forever.”

-Danny Jacobs it happen.”

In what turned out to be a closely contested main event,

Jacobs & Sulecki meet in the center of the ring. Photo by Pedro Bermejo

UFC and ESPN Announce New Streaming Deal

The Octagon lit up during UFC 223 in Brooklyn. Photo by Pedro Bermejo

By Pedro Bermejo On May 8th, UFC and ESPN announced a massive streaming deal. The contract, worth 750 million dollars over five years allows for the exclusive streaming rights to 15 full fight cards each year.

Beginning in January, 2019, ESPN will have the exclusive rights to live stream the UFC’s content over its new subscription based streaming service, known as ESPN+. The streaming service, which launched just a month ago, costs $4.99 a month.

The World-Wide Leader in Sports currently allows users

rounds. Sulecki came out strong, and was most active in the opening rounds of the fight.

But the tide quickly turned in the twelfth round when Jacobs dropped Sulecki with a vicious overhand right to the face. It was the first time in Sulecki’s career that he had been knocked down in a fight.

After 12 rounds of boxing, the judges scored the bout 116-111, 117-110, and 115-112, respectively.

Daniel Gonzalez is a writer and analyst for Side Step Boxing.

He said that he had the fight a lot closer than the judges did.

“I had it 115-114. I think that Sulecki is an excellent boxer. His jab was very effective, and it was slowing Danny down,” he said. “I felt like Sulecki won the first part of the fight. I’d say the first 4 of 6 rounds.”

Raul Saenz, the East Coast correspondent for NotiFight, a Spanish-language website that covers

with a cable or satellite subscription to stream other live sporting events, such as NBA or MLB games. However, this new deal represents the first series of marquee live sporting events that will be available exclusively through their paid streaming service.

The president of ESPN, Jimmy Pitaro, praised the UFC in statement released to the press. “UFC is a premier global sports property with legions of incredibly avid fans… We are excited to be able to bring their world-class events and content to ESPN+ and the ESPN networks,” he said.

Apart from the 15 full fight

cards, ESPN+ subscribers will also get access to Dana White’s Contender Series, exclusive preand post-fight shows, and access to the full archive of the UFC’s library of content and old fights.

The deal also features plans to create original content, such as a new 24/7-style series produced by the UFC and other UFC-branded content.

Ronald Peña, 26, is a fan of the UFC, and was at the last live event that was held in Brooklyn, UFC 223. He said that he’s excited about the deal, and likes that ESPN is clearly targeting millennials like him with this move.

“I don’t have cable, so I usually just rely on relatives or friends to share their logins with me so I can watch stuff. But 5 bucks is a reasonable price for a monthly subscription if it includes UFC live streams,” he said.

“I might pay 5 dollars a month just to watch the UFC alone if I’m being honest. So the extra content is just a plus. But I don’t think I’d pay the money for ESPN+ if they didn’t include the UFC, or other live sports. For that, I’d just keep using my friends logins,” he added.

Next up for the UFC is negotiating a new television broadcast deal. Its current deal with Fox is set to expire at the end of 2018.

The 7-year deal was worth $120M annually. ESPN is expected to bid on the television broadcast rights when the UFC’s current contract with Fox is up.

Pedro Bermejo is the Layout Editor . He can be contacted at Pedro.Bermejo@Yorkmail.cuny. edu

boxing around the world, said that he thought the difference in the fight was the knock down.

“You saw those scores? Without the drop the third judge would have have given the fight to Jacobs as a split decision.”

With the knock down, Jacobs narrowly secured a victory, and solidified his status as the number 1 contender, and mandatory challenger to the WBA middleweight champion, the Kazakhstani, Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin, or “Triple G,” who he lost to last year.

During the media workouts earlier in the week, Jacobs told Pandora’s Box that he wasn’t worried about getting passed over for a rematch with Triple G, or a potential fight with the Mexican boxer, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez. “I’m the mandatory now. So, it’s only a matter of time. These guys can’t run forever.”

His tune was little different in his post-fight press conference though. When asked about what fights he wants next, the Brownsville-native said that he would consider Jermall Charlo, who became the WBC’s interim middleweight champion after knocking out Hugo Centeno Jr the week before. “My plan is to fight any of the champions with the belts, any of the top guys at middleweight,’’ Jacobs said.

“If Brooklyn wants Charlo, then Charlo it will be.’’

Pedro Bermejo is the Layout Editor . He can be contacted at Pedro.Bermejo@Yorkmail.cuny. edu

York Athletics Begins Offering Live Streams Of Home Games

By Richard Heaton York Athletics recently took the plunge into the digital age with the addition of a new live-streaming service. The service, which began near the beginning of the semester allows for all indoor athletic events to be streamed online through the York Athletics website.

Such events include all basketball and volleyball matches, as well as swimming events that take place on the York College campus.

For now, the service will be very limited. Basketball and swimming aren’t in season and outdoor sports will not be available for the time being due to connectivity issues, meaning that Men’s Volleyball was the only sport to receive the treatment.

In the coming months however, other sports will begin to utilise the service as we get closer to the fall semester and the new basketball season. It is also a possibility that in the future, broadcasts will be available for other sports beyond the three sports listed.

Assistant Athletic Director John Scarinci mentions the possibility of added sports in the future, saying, “If and when our soccer field and track are fixed, we may be able to stream those as well.” He notes that this may not become a reality for at least a few years.

Scarinci himself plays a major role in the set-up and maintenance of the stream during its early days. Currently, Scarinci is the one handling the stream as well the equipment and one day, if the streaming can prove to be successful, some sort of team dedicated to the broadcasts may be created.

Additionally, Scarinci hopes that further down the line, the broadcasts can expand beyond simplicity.

“It will start off pretty basic, but we expect to have it grow to a professional-level broadcast over time,” he said.

The first event that utilized the streaming service was when the Men’s Volleyball team took on Bard College on March 14th. After this match, an additional three Men’s Volleyball home matches were live-streamed before the end of the season All events are live-streamed on the York Athletics website and are also available on their YouTube channel. In addition to live-streams, once the matches are completed, the footage will be uploaded and archived on the YouTube page, allowing for unlimited re-watching of your favorite CUNY teams.

Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor . He can be contacted at Richard.heaton@Yorkmail.cuny. edu

PANDORA’S BOX SPORTS Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.com

Sunset Park’s Julian Sosa Dominates Fighters Throughout Brooklyn

17

the fight a draw.

Sosa’s uncle, David Simon, 33, also thought that his nephew looked good in his match. “He looked sharp and he was fast.

You know, obviously, this is one for the books. I hope he learns a lot from it,” said Simon.

“I wasn’t disappointed, but we always want him to strive for better. So for the next fight, we gonna’ wish him better luck. We hope he took a lot from this fight, and learned. So for the next fight, we gonna’ make it happen” he added enthusiastically.

Larry Ventus & Julian Sosa meet in the center of the ring at Barclays Center. Photo by Pedro Bermejo

By Pedro Bermejo With the crowd chanting his name, and under a minute left in the third round, Julian Sosa delivered a vicious shot to the body of his opponent. 32 year old Wilmer Rodriguez would not recover from it and when the referee stepped in to stop the fight, Sosa raised his hands triumphantly.

Following his victory, Sosa turned to face his supporters, who filled the audience within the majestic Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn, on March 10th as they cheered his name, “Sosa! Sosa!

Sosa!”

On that evening back in March he headlined former world champion Evander Holyfield’s “Real Deal Boxing” showcase. When it was time for the main event, he walked out to Los Tigres Del Norte’s classic song “Jefe De Jefes.” They are a Mexican band that have been called the “Rolling Stones of Mexico” and the song’s title loosely translates to “The Boss of Bosses.”

crowd went wild when he raised his fist toward them, and made sure that he knew they were there to support him.

After brief introductions, and a rendition of the national anthem performed by recording artist, Pierre Anthony that was less than pleasant, it was time to fight.

Despite the obvious reach advantage for Sosa, Rodriguez came out aggressive.

The young boxer really embraces his identity as a native son of the South Brooklyn neighborhood. Sunset Park is a neighborhood that is home to a large community of Mexican immigrants, and Mexican-Americans. Even his social media presence makes it clear that the young boxer is very proud to call the neighborhood home.

Sosa’s crew prepares him for the next round. Photo by Pedro Bermejo

It was fitting walk-out song for the melee that would ensue.

When Sosa stepped into the ring, he did so to the sound of cheers from many hometown fans. The recently renovated Kings Theatre is located just 10 minutes away from the gym he trains at in Flatbush, Atlas Cops and Kids. He was at home.

Sosa was wearing green camo trunks with his surname SOSA emblazoned across the front in old english lettering. The

Yankees Quest For 28

CONTINUED From Pg. 16 fighting for the first place spot on the American League East division against Boston.

The long history between these two teams allows baseball fans to witness real competitive baseball. Bill Gunn a Yankees fan for 45 years tries his best to attend every Sunday home game at the stadium and can be found eating inside the Pepsi Lounger before the game.

“With all the media attention it gets pretty insane, almost

59 seconds into the third round, Rodriguez’ corner threw in the towel. With the win, Sosa secured his 11th victory as a pro, and extended his undefeated record.

In an interview with the Ring Magazine leading up to the fight, Sosa shared his thoughts on the upcoming fight.

“I didn’t expect it to go this far.

I knew that I was very talented at this sport, but I always saw myself going the school route. Now I see how good I am in the professional ranks and how far I’m actually going and what I’m achieving,” he said.

Afterwards, his father, Aureliano Sosa stepped into the ring and embraced his son. Acting as both father and trainer, Aureliano was visibly proud of the young fighter’s accomplishment.

Julian Sosa is a Mexican-American professional boxer from Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He is 22 years old, and currently studies Music Technology at the College of Staten Island. He is undefeated as a professional, and has strung together an impressive series of wins throughout his home borough of Brooklyn.

As he readied himself to deliver the final blow, the bell rang, sparing Rodriguez for another round of punishment. When the bell rang for the second round, Rodriguez was visibly fatigued.

over the top,” said Gunn. “When there’s a game, it can also be some of the most stressful times for fans. “People look like they are looking for fights all over the place and it gets a little bit too crazy, but I am pretty sure will fight all year against them for that first place spot,” he added.

The Yankees are among baseball’s best teams and with a stacked lineup full of power, speed and good pitching. They have all the tools they need to obtain that prestigious 28th World Title this season.

Fabio Martinez is a contributor.

He can be contacted at Fabio.

Martinez@Yorkmail.cuny.edu

Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic, had only fought once outside of his home country, back in 2006–long before meeting Sosa. He lost that last fight to the notable featherweight boxer, Abner Mares. He was stopped in the fourth round.

The initial barrage would be the only highlight of Rodriguez’ night.

Sosa took control of the fight soon after, and looked dominant. He attacked Rodriguez with straight jabs, and worked the body from the onset.

With two minutes left in the first round, both men were feeling each other out in the middle of the ring. After the initial barrage that Rodriguez started the fight with, he slowed down and began distancing himself. He was visibly uncomfortable with Sosa’s length.

With 80 seconds to go in the round, the crowd started chanting again, “Sosa, Sosa, Sosa.”

With 30 seconds left, Sosa cornered Rodriguez. He cut the ring off seamlessly in the process, like a jaguar cornering its prey. The crowd grew rowdy. They were hungry for a knockout, and Sosa was ready to give his fans what they wanted.

“You could say that it took me two years to notice that I could do this as a living if I put my mind to it.”

Marco Balbuena, 28, is a relative of Sosa who traveled to Brooklyn from West Chester to watch him fight. “I thought he looked really good tonight. He worked the body well, his punches looked crisp. I’m really excited about the growth he’s shown from the last time I watched him fight,” said Balbuena.

Less than two months later, Sosa was in the ring again. This time he edged out his opponent, 31-year-old Larry Darnell Ventus at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn. All along Flatbush Avenue, Sosa was dominating his opponents.

After six rounds of boxing the judges scored the fight 57-57, 5856, and 58-56, respectively. With a majority decision in hand, Sosa improved his record as a professional to 12-0-1.

Carlos Felipe, 33, said that he came to the Barclay Center that evening to show support for his fellow Sunset Park resident.

Felipe thought Sosa represented the neighborhood well.

“He threw a lot of good punches, and looked great tonight,” he said. “I don’t know what he was looking at, the other guy. It was clearly a unanimous decision toward Julian,” he added, referring to the the one judge who scored

Raul Saenz, the East Coast correspondent for NotiFight, a Spanish-language website that covers boxing around the world, said that while he agreed with the majority decision, he was not impressed with the young boxer’s execution. Saenz, who’s been covering boxing for close to 20 years, suggested that his performance did not convince him.

“It was pretty much a setup fight for him to look good, to show what he has, in front of a crowd in the Barclay Center– which is becoming the Mecca of boxing in the city of New York,” he said.

“But it looked more like a door-die fight. When you’re an up and coming fighter, you really have to shine. Especially in a division like the welterweight division, which is full of stars, and full of a lot of talent.”

Saenz suggested that in a division that’s filled with so many established boxers–up and coming fighters really have to put on a show to separate themselves from the pack, but he didn’t think that Sosa accomplished that on that particular evening.

“You saw tonight, there are fighters in that division who did better than him. Honestly, he didn’t impress me, really. He definitely won, but he didn’t impress me, and I don’t think he impressed anybody here at the Barclay Center either,” he added.

Sosa’s supporters might dispute that assessment though.

Die hard fan and relative of Sosa, Chris Gonzalez, 25, was in attendance at both fights. “Julian looked really good man. He’s getting stronger. I’m excited to see him fight again,” he said.

Gonzalez thought that while the fight was close, he saw improvement in the young fighter’s approach to increasingly difficult competition.

“I agree with all the judge’s decisions. One of them had a draw, I could agree with that, I could see how it could be a draw. I was a little biased, so I’ll take that into account. But I think it was a good fight. Either Julian won, or it was a draw, so I think it was a good decision,” he said.

Gonzalez thought that Sosa looked active though, and that he was disciplined with his jab. “I think he gotta’ keep using his distance to his advantage, because it looks like he’s got a long reach.

But it was a good fight. I think he looked good.”

Pedro Bermejo is the layout editor. He can be contacted at Pedro.Bermejo@Yorkmail.cuny. edu

18

PANDORA’S BOX SPORTS Thursday, May 24, 2018

yorkpbnews.com

Yankees and Red Sox to Play New York Mets Trade Former Ace Matt Harvey in First London Series in 2019

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is the most storied rivalry in Baseball. Photo via FLICKR

By Richard Heaton For years, Major League Baseball has primarily belonged to the United States and Canada, but that changed recently with commissioner Rob Manfreds proposal to go beyond the two countries.

In early May, The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres played a three game series in Mexico. This was the first time that an MLB game had been played in Mexico since 1999, and the third time in history.

All three times involved the Padres.

Just two days after the series concluded, Manfred made an announcement that shook the baseball community. Following in the footsteps of the National Football League and their International series, London will host their first ever MLB games next season.

What better way to kick off an exciting new chapter for baseball than with the league’s most storied teams and one of the most well known rivalries in the word.

These teams are none other than the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. That’s right, next season some of baseball’s biggest hitters, including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Mookie Betts, and J.D. Martinez will square off in for the first time ever in Europe.

The Red Sox will serve as the “home” team and two games will be played on June 29th and 30th, 2019. The series will be played at London Stadium, which served as the home of the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Yankees and Red Sox playing in London however, is not a new idea. Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees Managing General Partner and Red Sox owner John Henry have been discussing the possibility of an international series between the two teams for almost a decade.

Hopefully, this series isn’t just a one time deal either. The owners, Manfred, and London mayor Sadiq Khan agreed to a two year commitment to play MLB games in London.

However, the two teams that will face-off during the 2020 series has not been determined yet and the future of the series beyond 2020 is unclear. All sides involved want the series to continue into a regular feature.

Like Henry and Steinbrenner, Mayor Khan had been a fan of the idea for a long time and has been trying to bring MLB games to London since he first became mayor.

The last time that the Yankees or Red Sox played on international soil was a decade ago, but nev-

er against each other. Both times were for season openers.

In 2008 the Red Sox opened the season with a two game series against the Oakland Athletics in the Tokyo Dome. In 2004 the Yankees opened with a two game series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, which was also in the Tokyo Dome.

This isn’t historic news for just MLB, but also for London citizens. Who are incredibly passionate about sports. The United Kingdom features some of the most elite leagues, teams, and players in the world for Soccer, Cricket, and Rugby.

Baseball currently isn’t that big in the United Kingdom. There only baseball team is the Great Britain National team, which only competes at world events and features some current and former MLB players.

Introducing some of baseball’s biggest stars such as Judge to the british sports base can further improve the sports standing outside of America, similar to its popularity in Korea and Japan, and can solidify its place as a worldwide sport.

We might still be more than a year away from this series, but we can already tell that it’s going to be one for the record books.

Those who might be interested in heading out to London to see their favorite team for this historic series can already register for ticket access.

Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor . He can be contacted at Richard.heaton@Yorkmail.cuny. edu

Matt Harvey walks off the field during the 2013 MLB All Star Game. It was a highpoint in his Mets career. Photo via FLICKR

By Richard Heaton Baseball is an unpredictable sport.

A team that is down by five runs in the ninth inning could go on to win the game. A team that barely makes the playoffs could win the world series. A player on top of the world one season could be at the bottom of the heap the next.

The latter is especially true for Matt Harvey, who in no time at all turned himself from an all-star to an injured, talent-less, and hated player.

In 2011, Harvey was the Mets number two prospect and was estimated to make his debut in 2013.

He made his debut a year early and instantly rose to become one of the best pitchers in baseball, earning the nickname “The Dark Knight.”

Fast forward to May 2018. After a few poor outings to start the season, Harvey was demoted to the bullpen. On Friday May 4th , Harvey was asked to go to the minors to work on his pitching.

He refused and on May 5th he was designated for assignment.

His Mets career was done, as this means the Mets had seven days to either trade him or release him.

Five years ago, if you told a Mets fan that Harvey wouldn’t even make it to free agency with the Mets, they would have

laughed.

In 2013 he started the season on fire. He played 13 games before losing his first game and started the All-star game that year at Citi Field. Just a month after the All-star game, Harvey was shut down for the season due to a shoulder injury.

He required Tommy John surgery and would go on to miss the entire 2014 season. He came back in 2015 and continued right where he left off.

He was a star again and came within inches of winning game five of the 2015 World Series. He also won the National League Comeback Player of the Year award that season.

After that, everything went downhill for Harvey. There are many theories on what led to Harvey’s self destruction, injuries, overuse during the 2015 season, and poor personality may have all contributed.

Harvey missed most of the 2016 season because he suffered from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

Most pitchers who suffer from this injury are able to pitch effectively again, but Harvey was determined to prove everyone wrong.

In 2017 Harvey was suspended for three games due to violating team rules and missed almost half the season due to a stress fracture.

In total, between 2016 and

2018, Harvey was only able to start 39 games. He won nine of those games and lost 19 while pitching to a 5.93 ERA, which are not the kind of numbers that a team wants any pitcher to hold, let alone an ace.

It was a sad fall for one of the most promising and memorable pitchers in baseball. For his first few seasons, there was nothing but praise for the young star.

When Harvey was a prospect, the pitching coach for the St. Lucie Mets, his team at the time liked what he saw in Harvey.

“He gets everything over. He’s one of the few that has stepped right out of college and can handle it. He is just wise beyond his years,” he said.

Even with all the injuries and poor outings, it’s hard for Mets fans to look back on Harvey’s career and be left with only bad memories. Harvey’s career in general was pretty good, but for now, with the Mets, it’s over.

On May 8th, the Mets traded Harvey to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for catcher Devin Mesoraco and cash, just hours before the two teams played each other. Throughout the remainder of the season, Harvey will use the change of scenery to try to rebuild Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor . He can be contacted at Richard.heaton@Yorkmail.cuny. edu

The New York Yankees and their Hunt for 28

By Fabio Martinez After being eliminated by the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the 2017 American League Championship Series, the New York Yankees look to win the World Series this season. After nearly two months of play, the Yankees are one of the hottest teams.

General Manager, Brian Cashman was able to bring the reigning National League MVP, Giancarlo Stanton to the team in a trade with the Miami Marlins.

Stanton accompanies an already offensive lineup joining the likes of Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius and American League Rookie of the Year, Aaron Judge.

Casey Waterman from Oceanport New Jersey feels that the Yankees lineup is tough.

“I think that with guys like Stanton, Judge, Sanchez and Didi it is really hard for any pitcher in the league to navigate through” said Waterman.

Photo by Keith Allison, via FLICKR Creative Commons

Omar Brown, from the Bronx and a Yankees fan since 1981 feels that Brian Cashman has made some real good choices in terms of player trades over the last 2 years.

“The team has a lot of young talent. Cashman did a really nice job stacking the farm system with all the trades he made” said Brown.

The most noticeable change he made was the change in manager. After about 10 years with the team, Brian Cashman decided that it was time to get rid of Joe

Girardi. Girardi won the World Series with the team in 2009 ending a ten year drought without a championship.

For New Jersey Native Tom Pskowski, he felt that it was time for a change. “I think everything changes and Brian Cashman thought the Yankees needed a change in their leadership” said Pskowski.

Girardi’s replacement was none other than former Yankee player Aaron Boone, who comes

from a baseball family. His older brother Brett played second base for the Seattle Mariners, his father Bob played for the Philadelphia Phillies and his grandfather played second base and was a two time All-Star.

“It was sad for me to see Joe Girardi go but I think Aaron Boone is going to do fine here” said Pskowski on how well he thinks Aaron Boone will do managing the Yankees.

Aaron Boone is most famous for his walk-off home run against division rivals Boston Red Sox off of pitcher Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship series. That home run sent the Bronx Bombers to the World Series.

The Yankees are currently

CONTINUED ON Pg. 15